Tag: Snacks
Mediterranean 7-Layer Dip
Awhile back, I read a Buzzfeed article called 24 Things You Know If You’re Always Hosting Dinner Parties. (Be warned, if you read it, there’s quite a bit of unnecessarily foul language in the article.) Some of the items on the list were so true that I wondered if the Buzzfeed author had been spying on my house recently as I prepared to host events. As is probably obvious from the fact that this blog has an Entertaining section, we throw a lot of parties at our house–not just dinner parties, any parties! White Elephant Christmas parties, Nacho Libre parties, Butterfly Tea Parties, Beatles Singalong Parties! With dreams for the future to host a Murder Mystery Dinner, Talent Show, and Grown-Up Prom, just to name a few. Anyway, as a frequent party hostess, I can tell you, like the Buzzfeed article, that certain truths are universal to hosting large number of people in your home. Like the fact that you always buy a ton of alcohol, thinking there’s no way people will drink it all, and they always do, or that you shouldn’t bother to vacuum your carpet before a party, only after.
BUT…the one truth that prevails above all else when you host any event that serves food–yes, the one tried and true guarantee is this:
Someone will ALWAYS bring hummus and pita chips.
When did this happen? I feel like the general American public was only introduced to hummus, like, ten years ago. How did this rookie food item rocket up the ranks of party appetizers to become El Capitan of potluck takealongs? My theory is this: it’s classier than a bag of chips but just as easy and only slightly more expensive. But psssst…I have a secret up my sleeve. If you really want to impress with your contribution to a party spread (and you just gotta have that hummus), there’s a better way than the Trader Joe’s grab-and-go standard. This richly flavored 7-layer Mediterranean dip starts with a hummus base, but builds on it with cucumber, tomatoes, red pepper, feta, artichokes, and Greek yogurt for a truly unique party dip. Layering with fresh ingredients adds vitamins, flavor, fiber, and crunch, along with bright colors that make for a visually interesting and much more substantial side than hummus alone. I served it at a recent house concert we hosted and it went over beautifully.
So give it a whirl when your next “heyyyyy, we said we’d bring something to that party this weekend” moment hits. Your friends will thank you.
(The other option, of course, besides taking it as an impressive dish to a party, is to use it as a head-’em-off-at-the-pass menu item when hosting potlucks.
“Hey, we’re coming on Saturday! How about I bring pita chips and hummus?”
“Actually, I’ve already got that covered. How about something else?”)
P.S. No hard feelings if you’re reading this and you’ve ever brought hummus to one of our parties…I still love you. 😉
Mediterranean 7-Layer Dip
(Adapted from Cookin’ Canuck)
Ingredients:
8-10 oz. container regular hummus
1/2 c. cucumber, diced
1/2 c. tomato, diced
1/2 c. roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. salt
2-3 canned artichoke hearts, chopped
1/3 c. crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp. flat-leaf parsley, minced
Directions:
- In the bottom of an 8 x 8 inch pan, spread hummus in a smooth layer. Sprinkle with cucumber and tomato.
- Drop yogurt by tablespoonfuls over the vegetables. Smooth with a spatula or the back of a spoon and sprinkle with paprika and salt.
- Top with artichoke hearts, feta, and parsley. Refrigerate or serve immediately. Goes great with pita chips, crackers, or raw vegetables!
Frozen Yogurt Bark
Wellllll, we’re on track to reach a balmy 90 degrees here on this first day of March in Mesa, AZ. I’m not sure whether it’s a brag or a complaint, but yesterday afternoon I actually got so uncomfortably warm sitting on our new backyard swing that I had to come inside to cool off. Friends of mine have already been swimming in their (unheated) pools. Is this real life? Does this mean the snowbirds will go home early? Are we seeing Al Gore’s dystopian prophecies fulfilled? I don’t know, but I’m already biting my nails wondering how we’ll be feeling come July.
Anyway, if this crazy heat is here to stay (and having lived in Arizona since 1985, I can pretty well attest that it is–I mean, we had a half dozen days under 60 degrees this winter, so hey, we had a good run!) at least I have a new healthy-ish frozen snack recipe to mitigate the unseasonable weather. This frozen yogurt bark is a novel way to try Greek yogurt, particularly if you have family members who turn their noses up at this protein-and-propbiotic-packed wonder food, or even if you just get bored with regular old yogurt cups. In our family, we apparently goes through Greek yogurt by the boatload, judging by the coupons my grocery store keeps sending me. (I literally got a 3-page leaflet of coupons JUST for yogurt. They are cashing in on my obsession. Soon I will be made entirely out of yogurt…and I will be delicious.) So since we–or maybe just I–am/are such ravenous yogurt consumers, using this recipe to turn it into something cold and crunchable was a fun diversion, both for my kids and me. The other great thing about this recipe is that it is endlessly modifiable to suit your tastes. Peach almond, strawberry chocolate, cinnamon pecan–just a few ideas of mix-in options. This time I went with a mix of cranberries, coconut, and chocolate for a combination of sweetness and crunch that did not disappoint.
So even if you live in a place that’s still freezing with snow on the ground, take heart! It’s March! And before you know it, a cold snack will actually sound good.
Frozen Yogurt Bark
(Inspired by My Fussy Eater)
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
3 Tbsp. honey, or more per your sweetness preference
1/4 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. dried coconut, plus more for sprinkling
1/3 c. mini chocolate chips, divided
Directions:
- Line a small jelly roll pan with wax paper.
- Mix yogurt and honey until well combined. Stir in dried cranberries, coconut, and about half the chocolate chips. Spread mixture in an even layer in the prepared pan. Top with remaining chocolate chips and an additional sprinkle of coconut.
- Freeze for at least 2 hours, or until totally firm. To make bark, remove entire mixture from the pan, holding the sides of the wax paper, turn over onto a cutting board, peel off paper, and cut into pieces with a sharp knife.
- Store in the freezer in an airtight container (using wax paper to separate bark pieces, if you don’t want them sticking together). These are best eaten when they have sat out about 5 minutes, so they’re not rock hard.
Cranberry-Orange White Cheddar Cheese Ball
December is the month of appetizer recipes in our house. Between the rush of Christmas shopping, party hopping, and school performances, it’s a blur of a month when meals tend to happen catch-as-catch-can (or eat-as-eat-can). The real dinners can be few and far between. Also, as I prepare for our annual White Elephant Christmas party (11 years and running!), I tend to spend the days leading up to it testing out appetizer recipes I might want to serve. So it ends up being a month of foraging, nibbling, and hors d’oeuvre-ing.
Last week as I was attempting to finalize the Christmas party menu, I tried out a cheese ball recipe on my family. (That sounds a little vague. I mean, like, I had them eat it. Not like I threw it at them like a softball or slathered them in it like sunscreen.) This is NOT that cheese ball recipe. I think the best word to describe that one would be “meh.” It had good bones–ingredients you would think would have made it a winner of an appetizer: cream cheese, white cheddar, pecans, cranberries. But something was lacking. I decided to take matters into my own hands and concoct my own cheese ball recipe. (I know, I like to live dangerously.) In the end, I came up with something I could hardly keep myself from eating in its entirety before the party. The secret? Turning it into something more sweet than savory. With honey, goat cheese, and orange zest, this cheese ball has just the right amount of sweetness to parallel the cranberries studding its exterior. I can’t wait to serve it!
Cranberry-Orange White Cheddar Cheese Ball
A Love Letter to Food Original Recipe
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
5 oz. chèvre (creamy goat cheese)
4 oz. shredded white cheddar
1/4 c. honey
Zest of 1 medium orange
1/2 c. chopped pecans
12 oz. dried cranberries
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, chèvre, honey, and orange zest until smooth. Add pecans and gently stir to incorporate. Form into a ball with your hands.
- Pour about half of the dried cranberries into a shallow dish. Set cheese ball on top and carefully press cranberries up the sides. Pour remaining cranberries over the top, pressing in to cover the entire surface of the ball.
- Refrigerate, wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with crackers and/or apple slices.
Serves about 12 as an appetizer.
Mexican Street Corn Dip
When referencing major historic events–especially dramatic, unexpected ones–people always say, “I remember exactly where I was when…(fill in the blank).” For my parents’ generation, it’s “I remember where I was when Kennedy was shot” or when the Challenger exploded. For my generation: “I remember where I was when the O. J. Simpson car chase was on,” or when Obama was elected. Well, I’m going to play the “I’m a legit foodie” card and say that I tend to remember exactly where and when I first had particular amazing foods. Apparently certain gustatory experiences are right up there with transformational historical events in my mind. So it is with Mexican street corn, also known as elote: immediate mental time travel to March 2006 at a hole-in-the-wall Cuban restaurant in Manhattan.
My husband and I were on a pre-kids spring break vacation to New York to spend time with his extended family and some friends in NYC. I have glimpses of memories of a boat tour to the Statue of Liberty, a visit to Oheka Castle (later to be used as Taylor Swift’s crazy-lady mansion in her Blank Space video), and the two of us sleeping in a twin bed at Anthony’s friend house (at 23, we were still in Piaget’s We’ll-Sleep-Anywhere-As-Long-As-It’s-Free stage of development). But perhaps over and above these experiences, I remember eating street corn for the first time. Anthony’s friend Rosemary, whose twin bed we were maxing the weight limit on, told us we not only HAD to try this Cuban place, but we HAD to have the street corn. As we waited for a table in the freezing cold of a Manhattan March evening, I recall being a little skeptical. As much as I love mayonnaise, putting it on corn on the cob has never seemed like a natural impulse. It sounded like putting chocolate on carrots. But once I tried it–caramelized roasted corn slathered with a creamy-cheesy-limey sauce–I was a believer.
I think I’ve been chasing that first street corn experience ever since that spring break trip. I’ve tried elote at numerous restaurants here in the Phoenix area (where you’d think we’d really have the hang of all Mexican foods) but none has ever hit the spot quite like the kind at the Cuban restaurant with the long-forgotten name. Hence this recipe for Mexican street corn dip. It’s not really fresh corn season right now, being December, but I’ve been craving that creamy-limey blend of flavors lately and I wanted to try something along those lines for our upcoming annual Christmas party. This dip is my answer–creamy, limey, a little spicy, and super simple to make with frozen corn in the absence of fresh. Nothing may ever live up to my fondly remembered first taste of elotes, but this one comes pretty close. I’m calling it a winner for a crowd-pleasing crunchable appetizer that comes together in under 15 minutes.
Mexican Street Corn Dip
(Adapted from Damn Delicious)
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. butter
12 oz. bag frozen corn (roasted frozen corn, like Trader Joe’s, would be even better)
2 Tbsp. diced jalapeño
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
3 Tbsp. crumbled cotija cheese
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. chili powder
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
salt, to taste
Directions:
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add corn and jalapeño and sauté 8-10 minutes, or until corn is cooked through and begins to char.
- Remove from heat and stir in all remaining ingredients. Serve warm or cold with tortilla chips (but I think you’ll prefer warm)!
Makes about 3 cups.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothies
With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming before we know it, we’re rounding the corner on the season of excesses. Some excesses delicious and worth it (PIE PIE PIE), others less so (canned-soup-soggy green bean casserole, perhaps?). And as we as a society chow down on a parade of turkey and casseroles and pies, we can also be sure another type of food will be paraded before us: so-called “detox” foods. You’ve seen them featured on Pinterest and the pages of magazines. Detox smoothies! Detox teas! Detox watermelon-broccoli salad! Having taken several classes on nutrition and biology, the idea of detoxing kind of drives me nuts. “Why, Sarah?” you may ask. “Shouldn’t we cleanse our bodies of unhealthy toxins? Shouldn’t we have squeaky clean colons that flap in the breeze?” Well, yes and no. (Yes to being healthy; no to flapping colons.)
Today I came across an excellent article that explains why the idea of detoxifying our bodies is essentially a myth. In it, Edzard Ernst, professor emeritus of complementary medicine at Exeter University, says there are two definition of “detox”: one, the medically respected term that refers to when people are treated for life-threatening addictions. The second: “the word being highjacked by entrepreneurs, quacks, and charlatans to sell a bogus treatment that allegedly detoxifies your body of toxins you’re supposed to have accumulated.” (Could I love that quote more? No, I could not.) In essence, say Ernst and other experts, our bodies already possess their own detoxification process—also known as your kidneys, liver, and lungs. These organs work constantly to filter and excrete the things we don’t need, can’t use, or are harmful. There is nothing you can do, eat, or drink to make already healthy organs function better. So the idea of a kale smoothie or cucumber water atoning for the epic helping of roast beast you ate is pretty silly. The smoothie might be good choice, containing some great fiber and nutrients, but it won’t wash anything away that your body’s organs aren’t already working their hardest to process—(and it won’t change the fact that you ate 38 gingerbread cookies on Christmas Eve). The best—dare I say only?—way to have a healthy body is to maintain healthy habits like eating well and staying active.
All that being said, I have a smoothie recipe to share with you. I could call it “detox.” I could call it “skinny.” I could call it “clean eating.” But for the sake of honesty, I’m just going to call it a really yummy (and pretty healthy) pumpkin pie-flavored smoothie. Made with wholesome ingredients like pumpkin, banana, and Greek yogurt, it’s a great way to enjoy the flavors of pumpkin pie on the lighter side. It might make a delicious healthy breakfast Thanksgiving morning, when you’re trying to save your calories for later in the day. I’ve even had it as part of a light lunch. It won’t flush your body of mysterious toxins or scrub out your intestines, but it will make for a cold, creamy, cinnamon-y snack or treat in the midst of seasonal excess.
Pumpkin Pie Smoothies
(Adapted from Gimme Some Oven)
Ingredients:
1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 c. low-fat milk (or almond milk)
2 Tbsp. maple syrup or honey
1 frozen banana
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 c. ice cubes
whipped cream, if desired for topping
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Garnish with whipped cream, if desired.