Dips!

DIPS!

A Classic Appetizer

Popular anywhere! At Home, at Work, Picnics, Parties, Get-Togethers, Luncheons, Teas… you name it!

This is where we will put our DIPS! We do have a few listed on our website in various other posts, but here is where all the rest will end up.

A delicious addition to anything, and anywhere.

We hope you think so too!

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Our Dips:

Greek, Herb, Feta, and Roasted Garlic Dip

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Our Bottoms Up Spinach Artichoke Dip

(As in Topped with Artichoke Bottoms, grilled.)

Artichoke Bottoms

I Julie, have to say that this is the best Spinach/Artichoke Dip I’ve ever eaten, and we have eaten quite a few. This one was created by Gordon and Myself, and we are happy to bring it to you.

We initially made 4 of them. 2 we froze, and 2 we were going to eat. However, we ended up eating 1 of them with some Tortilla Chips, and I got a bit bored with eating it with chips, and got the idea to place our second Spinach/Artichoke dip on a pizza and cook it that way. It ended up being the best pizza we’ve ever eaten as well!

We hope you enjoy these pizzas as much as we did!

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Classic Onion Dip

Easiest Recipe Write Up EVER! 🙂

Just add some chopped Chives, and Ruffles Potato Chips.

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Hot Cheesy Bacon Dip w/ Toasts

(See Recipe Below)

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New DIPS!

Green Goddess Herb Dip

Fresh Greek Herb Cucumber Feta Dip

Jazzed Up Mex Salsa Dip

Italian Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Bacon Herb Horseradish

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(Recipes Down Below)

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Cheesy Fig and Nuts Spread

(Recipe Down Below)

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AND Lastly….

Our Vegetable Dip

(See Recipe Below)

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So, we are very happy to bring you 4 new recipes here and we hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do!

Julie and Gordon

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Greek, Herb, Feta, and Roasted Garlic Dip

Ingredients:

2 Cups Chobani Yogurt

1 Tbsp. Greek Herbs

6 Roasted Garlic Cloves – mashed

10 Roasted Garlic Cloves – chopped

1 Tbsp. Parsley – saving some not chopped for garnishing

2 Tbsp. Dill, chopped

1 Tbsp. Basil, chopped

2 Tbsp Green Onions, chopped

1/2 Cup Feta Cheese

Juice of one Lemon

1 tsp. Lemon Pepper

Freshly cracked pepper to taste

We bought this Greek spice mixture…

But you can create your own by combining some dried oregano, garlic, sea salt, feta cheese powder, black pepper, onion and lemon zest, if you like.

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Place all the ingredients into a medium sized bowl.

Gordon Adding the Spices

Mash your roasted garlic cloves on the side of the bowl to help with evenly spreading it throughout the mixture.

Chop up your herbs thinly and place into the bowl.

Dill, Basil, and Feta Cheese

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Gordon Chopping the Herbs

Add to the Bowl…

Chop your green onions into thin rounds and place into the bowl.

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Crumble your Feta Cheese and add to the bowl.

Mix all the ingredients well before adding the yogurt.

Add the yogurt into the bowl.

Slice your lemon in half and …

Squeeze the juice out of the lemon.

Mix well and taste the mixture.

We believed it needed more lemon, so we added some lemon pepper.

and some freshly cracked pepper.

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Lastly, add your chopped roasted garlic cloves and mix well.

Eat the dip with various kale and spinach chips or any that you so desire.

Garnish with a few sprigs of parsley.

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Our Bottoms Up Spinach Artichoke Dip

(As in Topped with Artichoke Bottoms, grilled.)

Artichoke Bottoms

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Making Spinach Artichoke Pizzas w/ Leftover Dip

Another Great Way to Eat our Spinach/Artichoke Dip

Recipe at Bottom:

Topped with Fresh Spinach Leaves

A Grilled Artichoke Bottom

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Our Bottoms Up Spinach/Artichoke Dip

The below amount will make 4 good sized amounts of dip, in which one is enough for a party of 6 to eat.

NOTE: You will need two large saute pans to cook the dip. Split the ingredients between the two pans.

Ingredients:

1 Lg. Vidalia Onion – chopped

1 Lg. Yellow Onion – chopped

~6 Tbsp Butter

12 Garlic Cloves – chopped

6, (6 oz. jars) of Marinated Artichoke Hearts – drained and chopped

2 (~12 oz. bags) of Frozen Cut Leaf Spinach – thawed and squeezed of most of its liquid

2 (8 oz. packages) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese – room temp.

1 Quart Sour Cream

4 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese – grated

2 1/4 Cups Pecorino Cheese – grated

2 1/4 Cups Parmesan Cheese – grated

6 tsp. Sweet Paprika

6 tsp. Hot Red Pepper Flakes

6 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 Pints Ricotta Cheese

2 Cans Artichoke Bottoms

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

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Eat the dip with your favorite Tortilla chips!

Or you can use the dip to make a fantastic pizza, as we did below!

Slice your onions into small pieces.

Place 3 Tbsp of butter in each pan over medium high heat. When melted, divide the amount of onions in half between both saute pans.

Mix the onions with the butter and saute until mostly translucent.

While the onions are sauteing is a great time to slice and chop your garlic cloves, being sure to continue to stir the mixture as needed.

Here is where it helps to have another person in the kitchen with you.

My Julie is a great helper…but she’s not for rent!

When the onions begin to brown or caramelize, turn the temperature to low.

TIP: Before you start to slice your onions wet your knife, which will prevent the garlic from sticking to the knife.

When the onions are the color you like, add your garlic. The caramelizing of the onions brings out their sweetness.

Cook the mixture over over low heat for a few minutes to cook the garlic, taking away some of its raw harshness.

Add your drained and chopped artichoke hearts and stir well.

Cook the mixture for a few minutes.

Now, add your well squeezed chopped spinach.

Mix your spinach into the mixture then add your room temperature cream cheese.

Next add your sour cream. Remember to split the ingredients between both pans.

Mix all the ingredients well.

Now, place half of your Sharp Cheddar, 2 Cups each of your Pecorino, and Parmesan cheeses into each pan … and mix well.

The rest of your Pecorino and Parmesan cheese will top the mixture when completed.

Add your Sweet Paprika

Hot Red Pepper Flakes and fresh Ground Pepper, mixing well.

In the meantime, drain and pat dry your Artichoke Bottoms.

I recently found these in the store down what I call the Ethnic Foods isle. Even though they were in a can, they still maintained their flavor.

Finally, add your Ricotta Cheese to the dip mixture and mix well.

The Ricotta gives the dip a sweet creaminess which goes well with the other ingredients.

Julie and I couldn’t help ourselves now and we had a few more tastings than usual… just to make sure it was perfect!

It tastes delicious at this stage just dipping chips into it. 🙂

Next we divided the Spinach/Artichoke mixture between 4 dishes.

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Below, I placed the Artichoke Bottoms on a plate to help take them out to the grill.

Turn your grill on high heat.

Brush on your Olive Oil to the tops of the bottoms.

Top side down, grill your Artichoke Bottoms until grill marks appear… about 6 min.

Turn your bottoms over.

Repeat until grill marks appear as seen below.

Here, I felt the Artichoke Bottoms made a great garnish to the dip, giving people a hint to what they were about to enjoy!

The grill marks create interest and contrast to the other ingredients.

We would have had more to decorate the top of the above dish, but we ate a few as they were soooo good.

Add a touch more Pecorino and Parmesan cheese to top the dip.

I also sprinkled a bit more Paprika on top.

Bake your dips at 350’F for about 30 min. or until the cheese starts to brown.

We only baked two of the dishes and froze the other two.

When freezing them, be sure to wrap them in Parchment Paper then plastic wrap to help avoid freezer burn.

This is one of our favorite dips, Enjoy!

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Spinach Artichoke Dip Pizza

This recipe will make two medium pizzas.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Spinach Artichoke Dip

~5 White Mushrooms – chopped

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 (16 oz.) Whole Wheat Pre-made Pizza Dough

1 (16 oz.) White Flour Pre-made Pizza Dough

Fresh Spinach Leaves – washed

2 Tbsp Flour

Place 2 T. of Olive Oil on each pizza pan and using a paper towel, move the oil coating the entire pan.

Heat your oven to 400’F

Place some of the flour on your hands before attempting to remove the dough from the bag.

Remove one of the dough from its bag and begin to stretch by using gravity to help.

Move your hands down the edge and stretch it as your go, attempting to maintain a round shape.

Stretch the dough until it reaches the size of your liking and place it on your oiled pizza pan.

Here you can see I am moving the dough around the pan to make a near perfect circle.

I pre-cooked the dough for 3 min. to make the dough under the dip more firm and give it a slight crust.

We prefer this to placing the dough on an uncooked pizza dough.

Remove the dough from the oven and using a spoon, remove the Spinach/Artichoke dip and spread it on the dough.

(The dip is fresh out of the refrigerator so therefor a little congealed and not as pliable as straight out of the oven.)

You may need to use your fingers some to help with this process.

Once the dip has been spread to the thickness you desire on the dough, add some of your Grilled Artichoke Bottoms.

Now, add your chopped mushrooms to the pizza.

Bake the pizzas for 25-30 min. in your pre-heated 400’F oven.

Once the crust is brown as seen above, while still hot, top the pizza with as much or as little Spinach Leaves.

On the left, I topped the pizza with a little extra Parmesan Cheese.

The Spinach gave the pizza an extra boost in flavor plus really helped with adding great color.

The raw spinach wilted some due to the pizza’s residual heat, adding to it’s flavor.

We hope you enjoy these pizzas as much as we did!

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Hot Cheesy Bacon Dip w/ Toasts

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Butter

1/2 Yellow Onion – sliced thinly

2 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Pepper

1 1/2 Cups Kraft Sharp Cheddar Cheese – grated

1/2 Cup Boar’s Head 3 Pepper Colby Jack Cheese – grated

1/2 Cup Boar’s Head Chipotle Gouda Cheese – grated

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Grey Poupon Country Dijon Mustard

1 tsp. Boar’s Head Delicatessen Style Mustard

1 Cup Half and Half

1 1/2 Tbsp. Hungarian Sweet Paprika

~8 Thick Sliced Smoked Bacon – cooked crispy – not sure how many slices we ate before putting them into the dip, ooops!

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Slice your onion in half and remove the peel. Then slice the onion half thinly (1/8 inch thick) without cutting through the root end. Doing this will hold the onion together while you slice it more. Place 1 Tbsp. of butter into a large pot and heat to medium high.

Here you can see the thin slices of onion. I keep the root end towards me so I can get very close to the root end without going through it.

Now slice the onion in the opposite direction to produce fine squares as shown above.

Nice pictures Julie!

Use the back of your knife to remove the sliced onion from your cutting board. This will save your knife’s blade. Place your sliced onion into the pot when the butter has melted. Stir the onion and butter mixture and saute the onion until soft. Add fresh ground pepper to the mixture.

Softening our Cream Cheese to Room Temperature

Slice the Philadelphia Cream Cheese into chunks as shown and add them to the pot with the softened onions.

Here are the Boar’s Head 3 Pepper and Chipotle cheeses I bought on sale. Taste the cheeses as you may find them too strong in flavor for your dip. If you can’t find these cheeses or don’t like them, you could use more Cheddar or another cheese you like that melts well.

Shred your 3 Pepper, Chipotle, and Cheddar Cheese and add them to the pot. Shredding the cheese will help it to melt faster.

Stir all the ingredients together.

Now, add your Worcestershire Sauce to the pot and stir to combine.

Then add both of your mustard’s to the pot…

and stir to combine.

Add your Half and Half to the cheese mixture…

…and stir to combine.

At first it may appear it won’t mix together as seen in the picture on the left, but just keep stirring. As you can see it looks amazing.

Add in your Hungarian Sweet Paprika.

(Or any Paprika that you like.)

Stir the mixture to combine.

Lastly, cook then crumble your bacon into chunks (not shown) and add it to the cheese mixture. We cooked our bacon using this pottery device in the microwave. The bacon grease drips away from the bacon leaving it crispy.

Serve the cheese dip hot with thin slices of toasted bread!

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Green Goddess Herb Dip

Fresh Greek Herb Cucumber Feta Dip

Jazzed Up Mex Salsa Dip

Italian Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

Bacon Herb Horseradish

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You Will Need a Food Processor For a Few of These Dips

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Washing My Herbs and Lettuce Ahead of Time

(I didn’t know exactly how I was going to present my Dips here, so I washed some Butter Lettuce to perhaps line one of my dip bowls, but changed my mind. So, the lettuce doesn’t actually serve a purpose here for me, although it could be an idea for you.)

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Everything Washed and Drying

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Green Goddess Herb Dip

(Serve with a Pita Chip)

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Ingredients:

3/4 Cup Mayonnaise

3/4 Cup Sour Cream

Lots of Fresh Herbs

About 1 Cup Loosely Packed

(I used Chives, Parsley, and Tarragon)

2-3 Garlic Cloves

1 T. (Or a little more) Lemon Juice

(I used Fresh Lemon Juice and Volcanic Lemon Juice)

2 t. White Wine Vinegar

1 t. Anchovy Paste

The Zest of 1-2 Fresh Lemons

Hawaiian Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Garnish:

You can top with some Fresh Herbs or anything you like.

I made a Star with the Tarragon and added a Walnut in the center.

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You want to place the Mayonnaise, Sour Cream, Fresh Herbs, Garlic Cloves, White Wine Vinegar, Anchovy Paste, Fresh Lemon Juice, Lemon Zest, Salt, and Freshly Ground Black Pepper into your Food Processor. Turn on your Food Processor and blend until everything is nicely combined.

I Added Fresh Lemon Juice as Well As Volcanic Lemon Juice

(The Volcanic just added a different Lemon taste to it.)

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I Did End Up Adding More Chives and Here I Added my Hawaiian Sea Salt, and Pepper

Process Until You Are Satisfied….

..Then Place Into A Bowl In The Refrigerator To Chill and Thicken Up For A Few Hours

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Fresh Greek Herb Cucumber Feta Dip

(Serve with Pita Chips or Eat as a Salad)

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Ingredients:

1 English Cucumber De-Seeded and Chopped

8 oz. Feta Cheese, Crumbled

1 Red Onion, Chopped

Fresh Herbs Chopped: 1/3- 1/4 Cup of Dill and Mint

2-3 T. Fresh Lemon Juice/Volcanic Lemon Juice

Hawaiian Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

1 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to Drizzle Over Top

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Add as much of the English Cucumber and Red Onion as you like to a medium sized bowl.

You Want to De-Seed The English Cucumber

It is very easy to do. Just run a spoon down the middle and it’s easy to remove the seeds.

Place the Red Onion and English Cucumber into a Bowl

Time To Crumble The Feta Cheese Over Top

Hawaiian Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, and then the Feta, Crumbled

Adding the Fresh Dill and the Lemon Juice

(I like to use 2 kinds of Lemon Juice. Fresh and Volcanic.)

Chopping the Fresh Mint and Adding It

Then Combine. You Can Drizzle the EVOO Over Top Now.

Keep Refrigerated Until Ready to Eat.

Also, Because this is such a “busy” salad, I don’t think it needs a garnish.

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Jazzed Up Mex Salsa Dip

(Serve with any sort of Tortilla Chip.)

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You Will Need a Food Processor For This

I Pretty Much Just Wanted to Jazz Up a Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

Pico de Gallo

(Whatever the amount is in it, I don’t know? I bought it from the grocery store.)

4 Medium Tomatoes

3 Garlic Cloves

4 Spring Onions

2 Jalapeno Peppers (De-seeded)

Handful of Fresh Cilantro

Chili Powder to Taste

(You may also add more spices to your taste. Such as Jalapeno Powder, or Ground Cumin, etc.)

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In a medium bowl dump your Pico de Gallo.

In the Food Processor, Add the Cilantro, Garlic Cloves, and Spring Onions

Then Add the Tomatoes, and Mix it Well

Cut the tops off the Jalapeno Peppers and slice into, then de-seed…

…Then place into the Food Processor

Grind Away…..

Then Combine All Ingredients and add the Chili Powder and Whatever Else You Like.

Mix Together and Place into a Serving Bowl

Garnish with some Cilantro

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Italian Pesto Cream Cheese Spread

(Serve on a nice Toasty Italian Bread)

Topped With Roasted Pine Nuts and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3, 8 oz. Cream Cheese’s, Softened

Approximately 6-7 oz. Basil Pesto

(I used Cucina & Amore Pesto Alla Genovese)

Garnish:

Roasted Pine Nuts

Sun Dried Tomatoes

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You first want the Cream Cheese to soften. Then add as much of the Pesto as you like.

You can stir it around in order for it to have the look and taste you are looking for.

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Roasting Some Pine Nuts

This is a very easy way to bring out the flavor in Pine Nuts. Just place them into a saute pan on a medium heat and let them roast until they are a bit browned. It really does enhance their flavor. Nice garnish too.

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Bacon Herb Horseradish

(Serve with any sort of Potato Chip you like.)

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(Frying Up The Bacon For Our Dip, Although I Didn’t Use It All)

Ingredients:

1 Cup Mayonnaise

1 Cup Sour Cream

1/4 Cup Horseradish

1/2 Chopped Fresh Herbs (Parsley and Chives)

4-6 Bacon Strips

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper to Taste

Garnish: Bacon and Snipped Spring Onion

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My Philosophy is to Use as Much or as Little as YOU Like

You Will Need a Medium Sized Bowl

Add the Mayonnaise and Sour Cream

Add the Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Then Add The Horseradish….

….Chopped Fresh Herbs, and Crumbled Up Bacon

Stir Together and Refrigerate for a Few Hours

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Cheesy Fig and Nuts Spread

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You can make this as thick or as thin as you like.

I wanted a very hearty and chunky spread that would taste great piled up on a nice baguette.

The nuts give it some great crunch!

Ingredients:

4, 4 oz. Containers of Crumbled Goat Cheese

9 oz. or thereabouts of Sour Cream

2 T. Milk

2, 9 oz. Dried Figs

10 oz. Walnut Halves and Pieces (Toasted)

Fresh Basil, as much as you like.

Fresh Thyme, as much as you like.

(Save some Fresh Thyme for a Garnish.)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

And a Baguette or Two

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All of the Ingredients

My Fresh Basil and Thyme Drying

Toasting Walnuts, 300F Oven for about 10 Minutes.

You can flip them over after 5 Minutes, then Place back into the Oven.

While My Nuts Are Roasting…..

It’s Time For Me To Chop Some Figs

I’m Chopping Them Into Small Little Chunks

I’m Also Removing Any Hard Stem, Etc. From The Figs

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My Walnuts Are Ready

(Perhaps a Little Too Toasted but They were Good Nonetheless.)

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My Crumbled Goat Cheeses

(I bought a few different brands as I wanted to experiment with the taste.)

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In a Medium Sized Bowl add your Crumbled Goat Cheeses, Followed by the Sour Cream.

Now Add The Fresh Basil and Thyme

(Add as much as you like. This is all about taste so gear it toward your own.)

Add Your Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to Taste

Mix Together

Then Add Your Chopped Figs and Toasted Walnuts Halves and Pieces

(You can chop the Walnuts up to even smaller pieces if you like.)

It’s at this Point where you want to add your Milk. You just want to thin it out a bit. Use a Tablespoon at first. Then if it is still too Thick, add another one. Or just add a few drops at a time until you find the consistency that you prefer.

Now Just Mix Everything Together

Spread Onto A Baguette, Sprinkle with Thyme, And Enjoy!

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Our Vegetable Dip

Ingredients:

1 ½ Containers of Chobani Greek Yogurt

½ tsp Garlic and Chive Spice Blend

8 small Carrots – shredded

1 ½ Scallions – sliced

Mini Peppers – Used for dipping

Green Broccoli – some florets shaved – others for dipping

Purple Broccoli – cut into dip sized pieces

1 Shallot – minced

1 Yellow Summer Squash – grated

1 Zucchini Squash – grated

½ tsp Florida Sunshine Blend of Spices

½ tsp Roasted Garlic Powder

½ tsp Lawry’s Seasoned Salt

½ tsp Onion Powder

1 tsp Lemon Pepper

1 tsp Dried Dill

Florida Sunshine Seasoned Salt

More Spices

Fresh Vegetables

Above, the slicing of the squashes…

Slice the top and bottoms off of the Yellow and green Zucchini Squash.

Place a paper towel into a bowl to absorb the liquid from the squash.

Grate the Zucchini Squash into the bowl

Use the paper towel to squeeze the liquid out of the squash.

Then using a new paper towel, do the same with the Yellow Squash.

Vegetables Ready for Grating and Chopping

Grating the Yellow Squash

Now, grate the carrots into the bowl

Peel and slice the shallot finely and place them in the bowl.

Slice off the root end of the scallions then thinly slice them and add to the bowl.

Mix the Vegetables Together

Now add 1 ½ containers of the Chobani Yogurt into the vegetable mixture.

Add your seasonings starting with your Garlic and Chive mixture.

(We bought this spice blend at a Blueberry Festival and it is excellent.)

Then add your Florida Sunshine mixture

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And your onion powder, roasted garlic powder, and Lawry’s seasoned salt.

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Lemon Powder and Garlic salt … then your Dried Dill and mix all the ingredients well. Taste the mixture and add any more seasonings you feel necessary.