Tasty Tuesdays: Dip

It's that time of the year again, folks. With the start of school comes the start of college football, and i'm guessing normal football too but I've never really been very in tune with that. Anyways, all this fall-frenzy sports mania craziness means tailgate parties, game-watching sunday afternoons, and lots and lots of food. most likely greasy, cheesy, bready foods. and dip. more dip than anyone really needs, but we know we all love it.

in an effort to help us all branch out from veggies with ranch and potato chips with sour cream and lipton onion soup mix, I've decided to make this edition of tasty tuesdays totally centered around dip! Awesome, slightly more complicated but a million times more delicious dips that are certain to be the highlight of whatever sports-related event you're attending/hosting. hell, it doesn't even have to be sports related. it doesn't even have to be an event! If you want to eat an entire bowl of one of these by yourself at home, i totally won't judge you.

click on the pics for the recipes :)

Jalapeno Popper Dip
i love jalapeno popper anything. something about adding cheese and seasonings and breadcrumbs to a roasted jalapeno just wins me over every time. I don't see why dip form would be any different.

Italian Hoagie Dip
I don't eat meat, but for some reason this recipe really intrigues me. Classic sandwich in dip form? How could that not be totally awesome? This is from one of my favorite bloggers, and after this dip he also made a cheesesteak dip, a meatball sub dip, and a blt dip.

Zucchini Hummus
I love me some hummus, but I don't love the high calorie/fat content. Yeah yeah, i know it's the "good" fat, but a calorie is a calorie. This sounds like an awesome, healthier, lighter alternative to the real deal- and lord knows we're all up to our ears in zucchini right now.

Blueberry Cheesecake Dip
Sometimes you want all the ease and functionality of dip, but all the delicious goodness of dessert. This dip is here to save the day.

Cheddar Guinness Dip
This dip contains some of my favorite things. Multiple cheese, Guinness, mustard, and hot sauce. I might have to buy some Irish cheddar from T-Joes and whip this one out for irish day next year.

Hot Reuben Dip
Another sandwich-turned-dip, but from a different one of my fave blogs :) Strangely enough I love reubens although i don't eat meat (usually), and don't really like thousand island or sauerkraut. If you happen to live in the portland area, the vita cafe makes a freaking awesome vegan one. otherwise, just make this dip.

Clam Dip
hands down my favorite dip from my childhood. this was made for every get together, potluck, and camping trip. My family's was just cream cheese, clams, clam juice, and salt and pepper though. I'd be interested to see what it's like with these additions!

Buffalo Chicken Dip AKA Crack Dip
there are lots of recipes for this dip- titled "crack dip" for it's addictive qualities- floating around the internet. some of them include bleu cheese and bleu cheese dressing, but i'm more of a ranch girl so i'm more inclined to try this one. I imagine one would use celery sticks for serving :)

Cookie Dough Dip
my idea of a dough/batter replica dip is a bowl of raw brownie batter, served with spoons for dipping. while i'm home alone. but this sounds good too, i suppose ;)

Pizza Dip
Maybe you want all the fun of dip but your friends are more the delivery-pizza types. Compromise! This looks pretty awesome. I guess i'm just into things that are normal foods/meals turned into dip form.

Enjoy your fall/football festivities!

Tasty Tuesdays: Crazy Feta!

Oh my gosh you guys, do I have a recipe for you. I first found it on that wonderful yet soul sucking website called pinterest, and it's one of the only things I've "pinned" that I've felt like I absolutely HAD to try as soon as possible. As soon as possible turned out being about a week later. And it only took that long because it was the last meal I scheduled for Stew and I. Cause I schedule a week or two of meals at a time, so we can go grocery shopping together and get exactly what we need. Cause I'm adorable.

I may not have expressed this very clearly on this blog but there are a few ingredients in cooking that I LOVE. Number one: cheese. Oh lordy, cheese. I have been and could still be a vegan, but damnit I can't let go of my cheese. Crappy, run-of-the-mill cheese fine, whatever. But chevre? gruyere? gouda? What is life without them. Last year, stew and I probably ate nothing but cheese, bread, and fruit for dinner at least once every two weeks. When I'm hungry, I usually crave a hunk of cheese, nothing else. Yep, I know it has opiates in it. I'm an addict, and I don't plan on quitting.
Number two: lemon. What can't be improved by squeezing half a lemon over it? very few things. I always add more lemon than called for in recipes, and if lemon is served as a garnish to any meal, I squeeze the heck out of it over everything on the plate. I love lemon.
Number three: SPICY. I used to hate spice. I'd throw a fit when we went out for indian food and my dad wanted to order anything past mild. I don't know when the switch flipped but somewhere in high school I started loving all things firey. Jalapenos on everything. Fire sauce at TB. Sriracha and chili powder on mac n cheese. Chalulah on hash browns. I just can't get enough, guys. I love the burn.
Number four: garlic. but everyone loves garlic, so who the eff cares. garlic is the spice of the gods and we all know it.

SO, theres no question why I'm deeply, madly in love with this spread/dip/meal if you eat it straight from the bowl with a spoon like I was tempted to. It's a combination of feta, roasted jalapenos, roasted garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil. oh, my.

Apparently It's from a DC restaurant called Cava, but the recipe I used was one that had already been adapted from whatever recipe the restaurant uses. It's awesome, delicious, and if you can handle a wee bit of spice, you'll love it. And so will whatever guests you invite over to the party you're serving it at because seriously, you should not trust yourself alone around a bowl of this stuff.

I made this with some baked zucchini cakes which came out meh so I wont give you the recipe, stuffed into halves of whole wheat pita bread with tomato, lettuce, and onion. It was TO DIE FOR and really low in calories too. Surprisingly low. I'll tell you more about that after the recipe.

Crazy Feta- (btw, i halved this recipe from the original and it still made 24 1 tbsp servings. If you're putting it out for a larger party, just double the amounts I have given.)
Ingredients
1 8 oz block feta cheese- I used trader joe's
1.5 jalapenos
1/2 head garlic
1/4 cup plus 1/2 tsp olive oil
zest from 1/4 lemon (or half small lemon)
juice from 1/4 lemon (or half small lemon)
pita chips, pita bread, fresh veggies, or whatever your want for serving.

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Take your 1/2 garlic head, cut off the top bit (not the part that keeps all the cloves together) and drizzle with the 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Wrap the garlic in foil and put on a baking sheet. You'll probably have some excess oil from the 1/2 tsp, so use it to coat the jalapenos. I roasted two and just saved the leftover roasted half. Place the oil coated jalapenos on the same baking sheet, and stick it in the oven. The jalapenos will take 10-20 minutes to get slightly charred (flipping them halfway is helpful) and the garlic will take about 40 minutes. go longer if you want. it just gets softer and more caramel-y.

when you remove the jalapenos (after about 20 min), let them cool and then remove the skin, cut in half and remove the seeds, and then chop into very small pieces.

while the garlic finishes roasting, crumble your 8 oz block of feta into a bowl. The smaller pieces the better- this is a dip after all. Then add your chopped jalapeno, and the zest and juice of the lemon. the 1/4 of a lemon is just a guideline. I like a LOT of lemon, so I was actually wishing I had more of it in my dip. If you're a lemon lover like me, go crazy. if not, stick to the recipe. Take your garlic out of the oven and using a hotpad or some other device squeeze the soft, caramelized cloves right into the bowl. You should have something like this:

Add the 1/4 cup of olive oil, grab a fork, and mash away. Mash until the jalapeno is evenly distributed and there are no more large chunks of garlic or feta. It should be between the consistency of a dip and a spread... nice and thick but not too thick :)

This recipe made a cup and a half of dip, or 24 tbsp. the calories equal out to 45 cals/tbsp. Not bad at all considering it's mostly cheese and oil. the average mayonnaise is about 90 cals/tbsp, and it's no where near as delicious as this stuff.The pita I used was 160 cals a full round so 80 for a sandwich pita, and the lettuce, tomato, and onion only come to about 10 calories. the zucchini patties were 18 cals each (one per pita) but they weren't that great so you don't have to worry about them :)

that makes a healthy, delicious, filling meal at just 180 cals if you use 2 tbsp of crazy feta, one half pita, and a decent amount of lettuce, tomato, and onion. I love good for you yummy meals :)

Oh, we also made Firefly Arnold Palmers (just in case you felt like you were being too healthy) made with Firefly Sweet Tea Liquor (have you tried it? it's amazing! like Arizona sweet tea with alcohol. Stew being 21 has opened me up to a whole new world of alcoholic beverages), Simply Lemonade, and a wedge of lemon. Soooo good. and the perfect complement to this fresh, tasty Mediterranean meal.

Be back later, have a wonderful tasty tuesday my lovemuffins!

love,
Em

Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche

Ceviche is an example of some of the reasons I really love cooking. It's so simple, yet it usually blows everyone's minds with how freaking delicious it is. Also, the whole concept of it- cooking fish without heat, with the acid of citrus alone- is really cool. Food can do some pretty crazy things.

I hadn't had ceviche since... well, mexico last winter, but before that i hadn't had it since I was a youngun, and my grandpa would make it for our family every once in a while. Back then i didn't know what it was, and my parents just called it "marinaded shrimp". Probably because they knew if they told me it was raw shrimp that sat in lime juice for a few hours I wouldn't eat it.

I don't usually eat meat, but I ate it in greece (it's kind of necessary... though I ate less than I thought I was going to have to) and so I felt ok about making this for my parents and myself a few days after I got back. It's an adaptation of one of Dan at The Food in my Beard's recipes, and as is the case with most things that are inspired/from tfimb, it was awesome. really, really refreshing and surprisingly full of flavor. like, suspiciously full of flavor, for how few ingredients there are.

Make up a batch of this, it's freaking delicious and seriously one of the most perfect summery dishes out there!

Orange Basil Shrimp Ceviche
Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp (get the best quality you can find) 
5 oranges
4 limes
2 tbsp finely chopped basil
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic, finely minced or grated
Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Start by removing all the crap parts of the shrimp- the legs, shell, etc. Then cut the shrimp into small, 1 cm pieces.
2. Juice the oranges and limes through a strainer into a medium serving bowl. Make sure you get as much juice as you can!

3. Cut the onion into thin strips. you could also dice it if you wanted to have a more salsa-like ceviche, but my grandpa always used thin onion strips so that's what I like :)

4. Add the onions, garlic, basil, and cilantro to the bowl with the citrus juice. Stir to combine.

5. Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste. you can always add more after the shrimp is done cooking, too.
6. Add the shrimp to the marinade and stir, making sure all the shrimp pieces are completely submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 1-6 hours, or until the shrimp is completely opaque and cooked all the way through. the cooking time varies depending on the size of your shrimp pieces and how fresh the shrimp is. The longer you leave it in there the more cooked and marinaded and flavorful it will get! I left mine overnight. Serve with chips or eat by itself.

Caprese Bites

I'm still bringing on the summer recipes, although after this one they start to transition more into anytime recipes. This is almost stupidly simple, to the point that it's ridiculous that I'm even posting it. All the talent it requires is the ability to cut cheese into cubes and put things on a toothpick. Think you can handle it?

Quick Jalapeno Poppers

Labor Day weekend has something to do with football, right? And barbecues? I don't really know, I'm not a big sports fan and we've never had big parties on holiday weekends... but I do know that late summer is upon us and that means no more wearing white (although I doubt anyone in Tucson follows that old rule), the fall sports are just beginning, and soon the season of orange leaves and scarves and small children dressed up in costumes will be upon us.

I might just have to take frequent trips to Prescott to get my fall fix of nippy and gorgeous weather this year.

Anyways, the point I was getting to before I got all excited about the best season ever is that Labor Day Weekend is a mix of the last few days of summer and the first few days of those weird sports fans beginning to congregate in bars and stadiums and house parties to watch bulky guys run around and knock each other over, all leading to a way-bigger-than-it-should-be ultimate throw-down in February. What better way to kick off (heh... no pun intended) the start of football season than with some classic sports bar food?