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

Quick Marinara Sauce

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I’ve been making my own tomato sauces for a few years now, but most take at least a couple hours on the stove. I made up a batch of this quick marinara from Teresa Giudice’s book last week when I made the stuffed artichokes, and I was so pleased with how the sauce turned out after only 15 minutes on the stove! I always have these ingredients on hand in the pantry, so I know I’ll be going to it from time to time for a quick dinner when things “run amuck” in the kitchen.

It was great with the artichokes, and then I enjoyed the leftovers with pasta for lunch throughout the week. I love a chunky tomato sauce, so I just used my hands to break up the whole tomatoes when adding them to the sauce. But, if you prefer a smoother marinara – give the tomatoes a few pulses in a food processor first. Will keep in fridge for up to a week, or you can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months.

Quick Marinara Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
One (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes, broken up, with their juices
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
kosher salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the tomatoes and their juices and the tomato paste. Bring just to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the basil and sugar. Simmer to blend the flavors, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.

Source: Fabulicious! by Teresa Giudice

Penne alla Vodka

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Do you ever have those nights when things don’t go as planned? And, your intended dinner for the night falls by the way-side? It happens to me more often than I’d like to admit. While ordering a pizza is very tempting on nights like those, this pasta dish is almost as easy as picking up the phone and ordering. This was one of the first dishes I learned to make “by heart”, and I can always turn to it in a pinch.

You probably have everything you need in your pantry already. The sauce just takes a few minutes – saute the onion, add the tomatoes and vodka and allow to simmer, you add the cream and basil at the last minute. One note of caution, don’t use inexpensive vodka. I’m not saying to go out and spend $40 on Grey Goose just for this recipe, but lets not go for the $7.99 special either! The flavor of the vodka is concentrated in the sauce, so you really want to use the best possible. With a green salad, this is the perfect summer meal for those warm nights.

Penne Alla Vodka

1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 small onion minced (about 1/4 c)
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 medium garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 C vodka
1/2 C heavy cream
1 lb penne pasta
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh basil
Grated Parmesan for serving

Puree half of the tomatoes in food processor until smooth. Dice remaining tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces, discarding cores. Combine pureed tomatoes and diced tomatoes in liquid measuring cup add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Add onion and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are light golden around the edges, about three minutes. Add garlic and pepper flakes; cook, stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 tsp salt. Remove pan from heat and add vodka. Return pan to medium-high heat and simmer briskly until alcohol flavor is cooked off, 8 to 10 minutes; stir frequently and lower heat to medium if simmering becomes to vigorous. Stir in cream and cook umtil hot, about 1 minute.

Add pasta sauce to penne pasta that has been cooked to al dente. Stir in basil and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, top with parmesan.

Source: Cooks Illustrated, November/December 2006

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

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Making homemade biscuits always scared the hell outta me. They always seemed to be time consuming, and anything involving “cutting in” of cold butter tends to make me nervous too. After seeing Josie’s post on them (such the Southern belle!), she gave me the confidence I needed to try. So glad I gave it a go – because they turned out absolutely perfectly. And both of my concerns that I listed above were completely unfounded.

First off, they aren’t time consuming. Not even15 minutes of prep work, and I had gorgeous butter-topped biscuits that I was putting into the oven. The food processor pretty much does all the work for you, that machine is such a workhorse in my kitchen. A few quick pulses of the flour and butter, then you add the liquid components, knead a few times, shape and cut. It’s that easy!

I don’t like to brag, but they easily were the best biscuits I’ve seen, or tasted. They stood a mile high! Okay, maybe not a mile…but still, very tall.  And the fluffy layers? Unparalleled. They were the perfect accompaniment to the fried chicken dinner I made that night, and the boys and I enjoyed the leftover biscuits with blueberry preserves the next morning. So, if you’re a bit scared of them like I was, get your butt in the kitchen and give it a try. This recipe won’t let you down!

Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits

2 1/4 cups cake flour or 2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
6 Tbs cold unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
3/4 cup cold buttermilk
2 Tbs melted butter, for brushing

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Pulse several times to combine well.  Add the butter, and continue to pulse in 2-second increments, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized pieces (about 5 pulses).  This can also be done using a pastry blender or 2 forks if you don’t have a food processor.

Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl, pour the buttermilk over it, and use a fork to mix for about 1 minute, or until the dough just comes together.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead with floured hands, and pat into a rectangle about 6×10 inches and 1-inch thick.

Fold the dough like a business letter (the righmost third over the center third, then the left third on top).  Turn the dough a quarter of a turn, pat it into another 6×10 inch rectangle, and fold it upon itself in thirds again.  Repeat one more time, then pat the dough into a 6×10 inch rectangle a final time.

Using a floured 2-3 inch biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits from the dough and place them about 1 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.  Pat the scraps into a 1-inch thick rectangle and cut more biscuits.

Brush the tops with half the melted butter, and bake 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are just beginning to brown.  Brush the tops again with the remaining butter and serve warm.

Source: Pink Parsley, originally from The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook