Herb Cheese Dip - Blue Monday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...It's drip and dip season here in Oregon. Rain and football seem to go hand in hand and those games are a great excuse to make a dip whose roots can be found in Lyons, France. There the dip is made with fromage blanc. Rest easy in the knowledge that cottage cheese will work nearly as well and that the herbs needed to make it can all be found in your neighborhood grocery store. It was originally intended to be used as a dip for raw vegetables, but I've found it to be a wonderful sandwich spread as well. As you scan the recipe ingredients you'll find it to be a healthy and figure friendly addition to your snack repertoire. The recipe, developed by Patricia Wells, is easy to make, but the cheese needs to drain for a day or two before it is served, so wait time will have to be factored into your game plan. This also gives the flavors of the herbs an opportunity to permeate the cheese. If you have a particularly macho crew for game day, you might want to omit the vegetables and serve the dip as a spread on rounds of rye bread that are topped with salami or other deli meats. It would also be wonderful as a spread on thick slices of crusty peasant bread. The dip can be made several days in advance of serving and you probably won't have leftovers to worry about. Here's the recipe.

Herb Cheese Dip...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Patricia Wells

Ingredients:
2 cups full-fat or low-fat cottage cheese
2 shallots, peeled and minced
1 plump, fresh garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons fresh chives, snipped with a scissors
3 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves, snipped with a scissors
3 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, snipped with a scissors
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, carefully stemmed
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 teaspoon best-quality sherry wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Mixed fresh herbs, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
1) Place cottage cheese in bowl of a food processor and pulse once, just long enough to break up cheese curds. Add shallots, garlic, chives, tarragon, parsley, and thyme, and process very briefly, pulsing only to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pulse once again to distribute the seasonings.
2) Transfer mixture to a cheesecloth-lined large sieve set over a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
3) Remove cheese from refrigerator. Discard any liquid that has drained from the sieve. Transfer cheese to bowl of a food processor. Add wine, vinegar, and oil, and pulse to blend. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a small bowl. Serve at room temperature. Yield: 2 cups.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip - Easy Appetizers
Smoked Salmon Cheese Spread - Drick's Rambling Cafe
Hummus - Anja's Food 4 Thought
Taramosalata - Kalofagas
Warm Black Bean Dip - One Perfect Bite
Blue Cheese Dip - One Perfect Bite

This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday

Light and Chunky Clam Dip

From the Kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Dips and spreads were all the rage in the 60's and the 70's. Cookbooks had whole sections devoted to them and during the holiday season you'd be hard pressed to find a magazine that didn't feature them. The dips were not gourmet affairs and nearly all of them had a base of sour cream and mayonnaise. They were calorie laden and as bad for you as they were delicious. As times and tastes changed, the rich and creamy dips seemed to disappear, replaced, instead, with ubiquitous bowls of salsa or more exotic fare from the Mediterranean or Middle East. If, however, you looked really carefully, you'd find at least some of the golden oldies tucked safely in the fridge away from prying eyes. They hadn't gone away, they had been lightened. I'm not at all sure that's a good thing. As I look at the chemical feast that are food is becoming, I sometimes question the approach we are taking to eat in a more healthy way. That, however, is a topic for another day. Now, before I drift too far afield, I want to share this recipe with those of you who still enjoy the classic dips. It come from from America's Test Kitchen and it is awfully nice. Here's the recipe.

Light and Chunky Clam Dip...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Cook's Illustrated

Ingredients:
4 strips bacon (about 4 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup light sour cream
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 (6-1/2-oz. each) cans minced clams, drained
2 medium scallions, sliced thin
Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:
1) Fry bacon in small skillet over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.
2) Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce together in a medium bowl. Stir in minced clams, scallions, and bacon. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cover and chill for at least an hour. Refrigerated dip can be kept for up to 2 days. Yield: 2 cups.



You might also enjoy these recipes:
Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip - Easy Appetizers
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus - Eat Real
Chile con Queso - Drick's Ranbling Cafe
Peperonata - Sweet Bites
Bulghur and Walnut Kibbeh - Anja's Food 4 Thought
Easy Appetizer: White Bean Dip - Spoonful
Roasted Olive and Grape Crostini - The Daily Dish
Dips and Spreads - The Spicy Skillet
Zucchini, Mint and Yogurt Spread - The Kitchen
Red Pepper Cannellini Dip - Have Fork Will Eat
Grilled Eggplant Spread with Fresh Herbs - Open Salon

Adam's Lime Curd

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have, for years, had atrociously bad luck making lime curd. More often than not, it breaks or refuses to thicken and I'm left with a delicious but runny mess that's not much good for anything - especially my reputation. I've been looking for an easy, fool-proof recipe to solve the problem and I finally found one in a most unusual place. The recipe comes from the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine and it's called Adam's Lime Curd. If third time's a charm, then the curse visited on my curd has been broken. I made Adam's recipe for the third time tonight and used the curd to make a tart and fill a layer cake. The results were spectacular and I'm thrilled. I love the "bite" lime adds to desserts and this is a recipe I'll use over and over again. I've been using common Persian limes to test the recipe, so I know you'll have no problem getting the ingredients you need to make this on your own. It's easy to do and if you like tart desserts I know you'll love this. Here's my version of Adam's recipe.

Adam's Lime Curd...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of the Pacific School of Herbal Medicine

Ingredients:
3 ounces unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup freshly squeezed Lime juice
Zest of 4 limes grated or very finely chopped, divided use
4 large eggs, well beaten
Pinch of kosher salt

Directions:
1) Melt butter in top pan of a double boiler set over simmering water. Add sugar, lime juice, half of lime zest, eggs and salt. Whisk until curd just begins to thicken, about 5 minutes aside half of the zest. Then stir continuously, alternating with a whisk and a wooden spoon until curd thickens. Add remaining zest. Continue to stir continuously, alternating with whisk and wooden spoon until curd thickly coats spoon, about 5 minutes more.
2) Remove curd from heat and whisk until no more steam rises. Pour into a glass jar. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate. Yield: 2 cups.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Jamaica Lime Pie - Taste and Tell
Key Lime Pie - Let's Dish
Lemon Lime Bars - Chewing the Fat
Coconut Lime Custard Pie - Vegan Healthy Happy Life
Lime Meringue Tart - David Lebovitz
Blueberry Lime Scones - The Sweet's Life
Cold Lime Souffle - One Perfect Bite
Key Lime and White Chocolate Cake Squares - One Perfect Bite

Rosemary Aioli

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love a really good sandwich and over the years I've learned that a little extra effort can take a good sandwich and make it great. The best of sandwiches start with good bread and a wonderfully flavorful spread to bind the bread and filling to each other. Good bread is no longer a problem as sources for it abound, but it's a different story when it comes to sandwich spreads. While there are good commercial spreads available, they make adequate, not great sandwiches. Years ago Julia Child and her contemporaries developed recipes for blender mayonnaise. That changed the way I made sandwiches. Those early recipes have long since been retired, but I still use the blender to make a highly flavored aioli that will make your socks go up and down. I use this particular spread for roast beef and roast pork sandwiches. It is also wonderful with leftover chicken. While this is an extremely easy recipe, when you are pressed for time rosemary and garlic can be added to commercial mayonnaise for somewhat comparable results. I hope you will try this. It will make your sandwiches truly exceptional. Here's the recipe .

Rosemary Aioli...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
Mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Aioli Additions
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt to taste

Directions:
1) To make mayonnaise: Place egg yolk, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in jar of an electric blender. Blend for 30 seconds. Combine olive and vegetable oil in a 1-cup measure. With motor running, slowly add 1/4 cup oil in a slow stream, blending until mixture is smooth and begins to thicken. With blender running, add remainder of oil in a steady stream.
2) To make aioli: Place 1 cup mayonnaise in a bowl. Add garlic, rosemary, pepper and salt. Mix well. Store in refrigerator. Yield: 1-1/4 cups.

Cook's Note: Tarragon can be substituted for rosemary if you prefer a tarragon flavored aioli.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Mexican Beer-Cheese Spread - One Perfect Bite
Pumpkin Butter - One Perfect Bite
Liptauer Cheese Spread - One Perfect Bite
Pimento Cheese Spread - Foodista
Orange and Chive Aioli - Fine Cooking
Garlic Lemon Aioli - Culinate

Baba Ganoush - Blue Monday

Baba Ganoush



Connor - the youngest of Oma's "Blue Boys"

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Baba Ganoush is a vegetable dip that's very popular in the Arabic Middle East and other Mediterranean countries. It's a simple, inexpensive dish, and there are probably as many versions of it as there are kitchens in those countries. I don't mean to confuse the issue by posting yet another, but I wanted to record our family version of the dip in a spot where my girls can get to it when they need it. My version has a smoky flavor because it's grilled over an open flame, rather than being baked or broiled in an oven, as is the custom in some homes. This recipe also has some zip that comes from a fairly substantial addition of fresh lemon juice. There are several acceptable ways to garnish this dish. I tend to use what I have on hand, so, more often than not, I'll drizzle it with olive oil or sprinkle it with chopped flat-leaf parsley. When they are available I also love to use pomegranate seeds. I used to serve the dip with pita bread, but I have recently started to use still warm, freshly fried tortilla chips in their stead. It is not authentic, but it is delicious. Without further ado, here's the recipe for a dip or spread that is a wonderful accompaniment to a Middle Eastern or Mediterranean meal.

Baba Ganoush...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 large (1-pound) eggplant
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Garnish:
3 tablespoons pomegranate seeds, or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, or 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
1) Prepare a charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill. Puncture eggplant in several places with a fork. Grill for 20 minutes, turning occasionally, until skin is charred and eggplant is soft.
Cool until it can be handled. Cut eggplant in half and scrape pulp into a sieve. Hold under cold and gently running water. Squeeze as much liquid as possible from pulp.
2) Combine pulp, garlic, lemon juice and salt in bowl of food processor. Process until smooth. Add tahini and process just to incorporate. Adjust seasoning if required. With processor running, add olive oil, cumin and pepper. Transfer to a small serving bowl, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes. Baba Ganoush can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. Garnish and serve. Yield: 2 cups.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Red Pepper Hummus - One Perfect Bite
Black Bean Hummus - One Perfect Bite
Mexican Beer-Cheese Spread - One Perfect Bite
Hummus en Fuego - eCurry
Muhammara - Closet Cooking
Grilling Baba Ghanoush - Serious Eats

This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday

Mexican Beer-Cheese Spread

From the Kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is one of my go-to cheese spreads. Success with this recipe depends on the quality of cheese that you use. Here in the Pacific Northwest, I use Tillamook Special Reserve Extra Sharp Cheddar and their Pepper Jack cheese to make my spread. Having lived in other areas, I can tell you that premium Wisconsin and Vermont cheeses can also be used and will produce an equally great cheese spread. It takes 5 minutes to prepare and it's close to effortless if you use a blender or food processor to make it. I like to make this several days before serving it in order to allow all the flavors to blend. Truth be told, it can be served in eight hours if you are in a bind. The spread will keep in the refrigerator for 10 days or so. Because jack cheeses vary in heat, I've included an optional addition of hot peppers or pepper flakes in the recipe. If you like heat and feel the base mixture is too tame, go for it. Otherwise take a pass. I think you'll like this spread for its great flavor and ease of preparation. Here's the recipe.

Mexican Beer-Cheese Spread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 small grated onion and juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup + 1/4 cup flat Mexican beer (i.e. Corona), divided use
1 tablespoon tomato based steak sauce (i.e. Heinz 57)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1/2 pound freshly shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 pound freshly shredded pepper jack cheese
Optional: 1 small, finely minced jalapeno pepper or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:
1) Combine minced onion and onion juice, garlic, 1/2 cup beer, steak sauce and mayonnaise in the bowl of a food processor. Process until blended.
2) Add cheeses and process until perfectly smooth. Add additional beer by the tablespoon until mixture has a spreadable consistency. Fold in optional jalapeno pepper or pepper flakes if using. Transfer to a refrigerator container and chill for several days before serving. Serve at room temperature with crackers or crisp chips. Yield: about 2-1/4 cups.

Maple Butter - Made Two Ways

Maple butter made without a candy thermometer.



Maple butter made with boiling syrup.

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...There are small things that can make a meal memorable. Maple butter is one of them. Its most obvious use is on pancakes or waffles, but biscuits and cornbread, even dinner rolls, are taken to another level when spread with either of the butters we are featuring today. Both are easy to do, though one requires a boiled syrup. I know that some of you are uncomfortable working with sugar syrup, so a second recipe that requires no boiling is also being provided. In one of those contradictions that drive good cooks wild, the butter made with boiled syrup is the most flavorful but it's quite plain to look at. The easier recipe looks like a beauty queen. Whichever version you try, use real maple syrup. The imitation syrup will produce a butter that's not worthy of your time. Once you try maple butter I suspect it will become a staple in your home. I'm starting to use it as a butter replacement in coffee cakes and frostings. It is that good. Here are the two recipes.

Maple Butter I...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup butter

Directions:
1) Using a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat maple syrup until it reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter.
2) Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment until it is thick and creamy, about 8 to 10 minutes.
3) Pour into glass containers and refrigerate until required. Yield: 1-1/2 cups.

Maple Butter II...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:
1) Combine butter and maple syrup in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat with paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
2) Spoon into jars, cover, and refrigerate. Yield: 3/4 cup.

Recipes courtesy of OSU Extension Service.

Liptauer Cheese Spread - Blue Monday

This may look familiar. It is Arva castle and from its highest parapet there is a view of Lipto, home of Liptauer cheese spread. It's also the site where the old vampire film Nosferatu was filmed.





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I know that early exposure helps us develop an affinity for certain foods. It's the only plausible explanation for my love of Central European food. I had my first taste of Liptauer cheese at the age of 4 and we've had an improbable love affair ever since. Lipto is a fresh Hungarian cheese that's made with sheep's milk. It has a very soft consistency, but it's so mild that it's almost flavorless. That's taken care of by the addition of herbs and seeds and spices that are used to flavor the food of the region. A little paprika, a few capers and a spoonful of caraway seeds help move the bland to "bingo." When we lived in Chicago, Lipto cheese was just a bus ride away. It became harder to find in the suburbs of New Jersey and I haven't been able to find it at all where we now live. This cheese spread is popular in Slovakia and Italy , where it's called Spuma di formaggio all'ungherese, as well as in Austria and Hungary. It's almost effortless to make and it's wonderful for those occasions where beer is the beverage of choice. Liptauer cheese spread can be made with any soft cheese. Cottage cheese, cream cheese, quark, and soft goat or sheep cheese are all great substitutes for Lipto. The cheese is mixed with sour cream, butter, and finely chopped onions. Spices like ground paprika, fresh parsley, and bruised caraway seeds are added to the mix along with mustard and anchovies. The cheese is served with crackers or dark breads such as rye or pumpernickel. Some folks serve it with vegetables and others use it to stuff vegetables. All in all, it's an amazingly versatile spread. If you add two or three extra tablespoons of sour cream to the mix, it becomes a dip that's not at all bad with chips or pretzels. Liptauer takes 10 minutes to assemble, but it's flavor improves if it's allowed to sit for a few hours before serving. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. Here's the recipe.

Liptauer Cheese Spread...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
8 oz. of Lipto or cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup soft butter, softened
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 mashed anchovy fillets or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon capers
1 tablespoon finely minced onion
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds smashed or bruised to release flavor
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1) Combine cream cheese, butter, sour cream and anchovies in a small bowl. Mix well to combine.
2) Add capers, minced onions, mustard, paprika, caraway seeds and salt. Mix well.
3) Form a smooth mound. Make slight indentations in mound using tines of a fork. Sprinkle with paprika.
4) Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Garnish as desired. Yield 1-3/4 cups.

You might also want to try:
Choosy Beggars - Spinach and White Bean Dip
Grow.Cook.Eat. - Baba Ganoush
The Perfect Pantry - Herbed Cheese Spread

This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday