The Super Bowl is next week. Try these appetizers for your party.
Wedge salad dip
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 C sour cream
1 1-oz. pkg. dry ranch dressing mix
1-1/2 C chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 C chopped tomatoes
1/2 C chopped cooked bacon
2-4 oz. crumbled blue cheese according to taste
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch dressing mix and mix until smooth. Spread into bottom of a 9-inch pie plate or other similarly sized pan. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, bacon, blue cheese, and chives. Enjoy with your favorite tortilla chips.
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Spinach and crab dip
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 lb. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
8 oz. lump crab meat, picked through for bits of shell
1/2 C shredded Monterey Jack
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan
2 tbsp. panko breadcrumbs
crackers
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 6 minutes. Add cream cheese, Worcestershire, dry mustard, paprika and cayenne, and stir until melted. Add spinach and crab meat, and stir until warm and bubbling. Stir in cheeses and season with salt and pepper.
Transfer dip to a small baking dish and top with panko. Place baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and golden, about 15 minutes. Serve hot with crackers.
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Cheesy bread
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 C grated mozzarella
1/2 C grated fontina
1/2 C grated Parmesan
1/2 C grated Romano
2 tsp. chopped chives
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 round artisan or sourdough loaf
1 stick (1/2 C) salted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put garlic cloves on a square of heavy foil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper. Wrap it up and bake until garlic is golden, nutty and mushy, about 1 hour. Let cool. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Mix garlic together with 4 cheeses, chives, crushed red pepper flakes and some black pepper in a bowl. Cut bread in strips in one direction, being careful not to cut all the way through the loaf. Rotate bread 90 degrees and cut in other direction. Stuff cheese mixture in between rows. Drizzle melted butter all over the top.
Wrap in foil and bake for 25 minutes. Open up foil and bake until cheese is hot and bubbly, another 10 minutes. Serve immediately.
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He said, “Did you ever wake up, kiss the person beside you and feel glad to be alive? I just did and will apparently not be allowed on this airline again!”
If you would like to share a recipe with me, just send it to the J-T or email it to me.
(Melanie Behrens – melb@marysvillejt.com)