Herbed Veggie Dip

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I know it’s kind of lame to post a veggie platter, but I get so many rave reviews on the dip, I thought it was worth sharing. It’s creamy, cool, herby, and delicious. I always make this for pretty much every cookout we have, and because of it’s portability, it’s great to take to a friend’s house for a potluck as well.

I’m sure lots of you folks are planning to do a little get-together in the backyard for Dad, so trash that overpriced store-bough plastic tray nonsense, and make a gorgeous platter yourself. My standard veggies to use are baby carrots, sliced cucumber, broccoli florets (blanch them for a minute), celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, and radishes. If you happen to have any leftovers, it makes for an awesome chopped salad!

I hope everyone has a lovely Father’s Day weekend with plenty of quality family time. We’re hoping to get some boat and beach time in. Haven’t made it out to the sandbar (a little strip of land off the coast only accessible by boat. Mostly locals, and a lot less crowded than Assateague Island beach) yet, had had some boat issues, which were taken care of this week. So, we’re hoping to get out there on Sunday and relax. I feel very blessed to have both a great dad, and a great husband in my life. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Herbed Veggie Dip

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup chopped scallions (about 3), roughly chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Place the cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley, dill, salt, and pepper in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.

Pulse 10 to 12 times, until just blended, but not pureed. Serve at room temperature.

Source: Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten

Chile Rellenos

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As a girl who used to turn her nose up at Mexican food, I’m a million miles away from where I started. One of my very favorite things to order at a Mexican restaurant is chile rellenos. A pepper that’s been stuffed with potato and cheese, then fried? Sign me up. Now that summer is upon us, and in another month or so I’ll be picking a basket full of poblano peppers every couple of days, I figured it was only prudent to buckle down and come up with my ideal relleno recipe.

A big misconception is that chile rellenos are super spicy. Not the case, so don’t let the word “chile” scare you off. We don’t mind a little heat, but if you’d like them even milder – just remove all of the seeds from inside the pepper before filling. I fried this batch to keep it authentic, but often I skip the batter entirely and just stick the stuffed peppers under the broiler for a few minutes. Shaves some time and calories, which is always a good thing! When paired with some Spanish rice, these make a delicious and satisfying summer meal. Enjoy!

Chile Rellenos

4 poblano peppers
2 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded cheese (Monterey jack, cheddar)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
vegetable oil, for frying

For the sauce:
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock

Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly, place in a large bowl, and set aside.

To make the sauce; combine the onion, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the onions have softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, chili powder, and cumin; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and chicken stock, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Set aside.

Make a slit down one side of each pepper. Place them in a dry skillet over medium heat, turning them frequently until the skins blister. Place the chiles in a Ziploc bag and seal closed to steam peppers. Set aside for 20 minutes, then carefully peel off the skins and remove the seeds, if desired, keeping the chiles whole. Dry the chiles with paper towels and set them aside.

Put the cream cheese and shredded cheese in the bowl with the potatoes. Add salt and pepper, and mix to combine. Spoon some of the potato filling into each chile, and squeeze it back closed.

In a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites to firm peaks. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale, then fold in the egg whites. Scrape the mixture onto a large, shallow dish. Place the flour in another shallow dish and season it with salt.

Add 1/2″ oil to a heavy bottomed skillet and heat to 375. Coat a few chiles first in flour and then in egg before adding carefully to the hot oil. Fry the chiles in batches until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels. Serve on a bed of chile sauce, with some sauce drizzled on top as well.

Source: adapted from The Complete Mexican, South American & Caribbean Cookbook

Strawberry-Chipotle BBQ Sauce

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Strawberry-Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Summer is officially in full swing here on Delmarva. We spent all day at the beach on Sunday – then came home and fired up the grill. What speaks of summer more than that? I normally count on my good friend, Sweet Baby Ray to handle most of my BBQ needs. But, the DIYer in me won out, and I remembered the BBQ sauce that my friend Josie had posted a few weeks ago. I’d made the sauce before, and was blown away with the results. I love it because it’s super quick – requiring only a few ingredients, and doesn’t need to be cooked.

I decided to add some of the strawberry-chipotle jam I’d made to the sauce, to spice it up a bit. The sweetness of the strawberries and the smokiness of the chipotle really came out on the grill. We both kept raving about it!  Will definitely be making up more batches of this stuff all summer long, looking forward to trying a version with peach jam in a few weeks when I’m able to make some preserves with those juicy gems.

Summer is here, kids. Fire up those grills!

Strawberry-Chipotle BBQ Sauce

1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup strawberry preserves
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, chopped
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
salt and pepper

Whisk together all the ingredients in a medium bowl.  Taste and season with additional salt, pepper, and/or hot sauce. Store covered, in the refrigerator, for several weeks.

Source: adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, via Pink Parsley

The Belmont Breeze

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To say that I’m excited about Saturday’s race at Belmont Park is kind of an understatement. For a girl who grew up in  Maryland’s prime horse country, the Triple Crown stakes (3 races composed of the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness, and the Belmont) were always a big deal for us. Sadly, in my 29 years here on Earth, there has not been a horse that has won all 3 races to become a Triple Crown champion. I’m hoping that this year, the flashy chestnut colt they call “I’ll Have Another” will remedy that situation by taking this last leg of the race by storm, as he has the others, and bring home the title!

I’ll be cheering him on with one of these in hand, a fruity yet deceivingly strong beverage that is the signature cocktail of the Belmont Stakes. I’m usually a tequila or vodka kind of girl, but a change of pace once in a while is nice. Bourbon is the go-to liquor of choice for most cocktails created around horse racing. I used store-bought lemonade (Simply Lemonade, y u so good?), but you could certainly use some sweetened lemon juice and sparking water.

So, let’s raise a glass and toast to I’ll Have Another – here’s hoping we have the first Triple Crown Winner in 34 years come Sunday morning! I’d be one very happy girl.

*Update: I’ll Have Another has been scratched due to a leg/tendonitis injury. A huge disappointment, yes. However, it shows that they really care about the horse’s welfare, and not just the race purse. Maybe next year, folks! Best of luck to all the other entrants tomorrow.

The Belmont Breeze

1 ½ oz. Bourbon
2 oz. lemonade
1 oz. pomegranate juice

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge or cherry.

Source: The Belmont Stakes