Recently Ben asked me to make his favorite hot spinach dip for his birthday dinner. It’s a recipe I give out a lot because it’s pretty much a bowl full of comfort food.

We usually eat it with chips or pita chips, but lately, we’ve been spreading it on toast as well. Any way you eat it, it is a happy cheesy mess of yum.

Santa Fe Spinach Dip

Ingredients:

2-3 onions, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 jalepeno pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 can of chopped tomatoes, drained

500 grams chopped or 16-18 ounces, frozen spinach

8 ounces or 280 grams cream cheese at room temperature

4-6 tablespoons buttermilk

3 cups of grated cheese (I used 130 grams Parmesan and 220 grams Edam cheese, but also you could use Monterey Jack)

A few shakes of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and paprika.

Directions:

Sauté onions in a bit of oil for five to ten minutes. Add peppers and garlic. Cook a few more minutes. Add tomatoes and spinach.

Let mixture cool for a minute. Mix cream cheese and buttermilk in a bowl. Stir in vegetables and seasonings. Mix in the cheese, reserving a 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top.

Spread in a baking dish and sprinkle on the remaining cheese.

Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C or gas mark 4.

Serve with tortilla chips or pita wedges or even on toast.

Here’s a photo of it in the baking dish…not super pretty, but you can see how it’s meant to look after you bake it.

I also make it often in a cast iron skillet. The above photo is pre-cooked, but below you can see the cooked dip on this table full of happy birthday food!

Ben is pretty great at choosing a party menu, so we should probably let him do it more often than just on his birthday!

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Looking for something healthy + inexpensive to take as an appetizer to a party this weekend?

I’ve got you covered. Butternut Squash Hummus.

We have been cooking all year out of Jamie Oliver’s Save with Jamie, as a way to both save money on groceries and use recipes for which we can find the ingredients at our local markets.

Back in the US, I am used to buying pita chips by the bag full at Sam’s, but they are not as common here, so we’ve been making our own. You can pick up a package of pita (or pitta) bread here for less than a pound (or quid) and it is always really fresh. We eat it with curries, tzatziki and hummus.

Butternut Squash Hummus

or Houmous, adapted from Save with Jamie by Jamie Oliver

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

3 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 red chili

1/2 a bunch of cilantro (coriander, 15 grams)

1 can chickpeas, including liquid (1 tin, 400 grams)

juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Slice squash in half, de-seed and roast face down on a baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven (180 degrees C, gas 4) for 90 minutes.

Allow squash to cool before scooping the flesh out.

In a food processor, mix the squash with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until you reach desired consistency. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle with paprika, cayenne and maybe a little drizzle of olive oil.

Serve with Pita Chips.

Easy Homemade Pita Chips: Cut pita bread into strips, brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and crushed chili pepper. Bake on a sheet pan in a 350 degree F oven (180 degrees C, gas 4) until crisp. 10-15 minutes.

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Bread + Cheese  + Wine = Perfect.

Just add friends.

I can’t think of  a meal I love more than bread and cheese.  Seriously, I can not turn it down.

A perfect bread and cheese platter is easy to put together and effortless to serve, plus it’s so beautiful.  We used to have a bread and cheese spread as an appetizer for Christmas dinner, but then we found we were too full for the dinner.  We loved the cheese so much, that we omitted the big dinner and now we just have bread and cheese!  So much the better.

Here are my 5 steps to A Great Cheese Platter:

1. Cheese Quality and Selection.

Go for the good stuff.  Leave that pack of multi-colored cheese cubes at the store.  If you want cubes, cut them yourself out of a brick of extra sharp Irish cheddar.

For a group of 8-10 people, you can get by with three cheeses.  A soft creamy cheese (brie), a hard cheese and something in between.   My three picks would be a camembert, a blue cheese and a Manchego.  You could alternate a soft goat for the blue cheese or a sharp cheddar for the Manchego.  You could use brie if the camembert is too strong for your taste.  Or try goat brie or goat gouda for something different.

2. Baguettes please.

I buy rustic baguettes and slice them up.  My sister takes this a step further and brushes them with olive oil and toasts them in the oven to crisp them up.  I am also not opposed to water crackers and pita bites.  Crackers that have too much of their own seasoning tend to take away from the flavor of the cheese, so keep them simple if you’re using crackers.

3. Add fruit.

Grapes look beautiful on a cheese platter.  So do strawberries.  I think pears and apples compliment the flavors of cheese best.  Fruit brings the color to your cheese board.

4. Bonus additions.

If you’ve never put a piece of Manchego, a dried cranberry and an almond in your mouth at the same time, stop reading and rectify that immediately.  A sprinkling of nuts and dried fruits will compliment any hard cheese and add texture to your platter.

A fig or raspberry jam served alongside a goat cheese is also a great addition.

And if you’re having your bread and cheese board as a feast, then the sky is the limit.  Add hummus and pita chips, an artichoke dip, cured meats or even shrimp!

5. Don’t forget the wine.

A dry red wine goes with cheese, which also happens to be my wine preference.  Lately I am enjoying a Malbec with my cheese platters but I would never turn down a Pinot Noir.  Shiraz and Cabernets also work well.

And of course, a wine and cheese platter is best enjoyed with friends!  So invite some over and watch their faces as their crazy days wash away when a perfect cheese platter is served!

What’s your favorite cheese to grab for a cheese board?  Anything you would add to your perfect platter?

PS All of these GORGEOUS photos were taken by the VERY TALENTED Whitney Loibner. She and I have been eating cheese together for a very long time!

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Yummiest little bite of party food ever?  Bacon Wrapped Dates With Goat Cheese!

Sweet + Salty + Cheese = Goodness.

Such a happy combination of flavors, I promise.

Bacon is relatively hard to beat as a crowd pleaser, so naturally, these were a big hit at my house. My sister makes platters and platters of them for parties at her restaurant.  It took me a little while to prep them, but that part could be done ahead of time for sure.

And speaking of bacon, I am giving away a Petit Jean Bacon Sampler this week!

Just in time for Father’s Day!

Bacon Wrapped Dates With Goat Cheese

1 pound (16 slices) Petit Jean bacon

1/2 cup goat cheese

32 dates

toothpicks

Cut bacon slices in half.  Fill dates with goat cheese.  Wrap a half slice of bacon around each date and secure with a toothpick.  Repeat with all the dates.

Bake on a parchment lined cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: I am a Blue Diamond Club member with Petit Jean Meats, which means they send me products to try and share with you.  I received a Bacon Sampler, with which I made these dates and the most amazing BLTs EVER, but all opinions are my own, of course.  For more information about and special discounts from Petit Jean Meats, you can sign up for their newsletter.

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I have posted this wonderful recipe before but it just seems like the most perfect appetizer to make for your Super Bowl weekend, unless of course, it does not fall on the list of seven foods you are eating for the month of February.

If you need an entire menu for your Super Bowl Party, I’m pretty sure this Tailgate Menu would do the trick.

Happy Weekend!

Pan-fried Onion Dip from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients:

2 large yellow onions
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup good mayonnaise

Cut the onions in half, and then slice them into 1/8-inch thick half-rounds. (You will have about 3 cups of onions) Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onions, cayenne, salt and pepper and sauté for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 more minutes, until the onions are browned and caramelized. Allow the onions to cool.

Place the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayonnaise in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth. Add the onions and mix well.

Taste for seasonings.
Serve at room temperature with kettle potato chips or tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Special thank you to my friend Sarabeth Jones at The Dramatic for taking all these lovely photos for me!

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I did a demonstration on Monday for an appetizer you can take to a holiday event that requires no cooking.

Just chop and assemble.  So easy.  And it’s Christmas colors!

Shrimp Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

10 oz shrimp cocktail sauce

6-8 oz already cooked salad shrimp

½ green bell pepper chopped

2-3 small tomatoes, chopped

8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Spread cream cheese on a platter.

Layer other ingredients.

Begin with shrimp and cocktail sauce.

Add bell pepper and tomatoes.

Top with mozzarella cheese.

Serve with Ritz crackers

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