Scheduling the main meal for the two of us in early afternoon allows my playing around with ingredients in the evening while giving The Calm One an opportunity to sate his grazing instinct with his favourite nibbles from the fridge and cupboard.
Working on a recipe is both frustrating and gratifying, and in that regard, messing about in the kitchen resembles life in general. The chagrin comes from noting the inevitable gap between an ideal concept and the real deal; the reward results from lessening that difference as much as possible.
A warm dip is more adapted to the winter months than its cool counterpart, but they both share the tasty function of accompanying crackers, chips, breads, and crudités. The last of the frozen Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Garlic Dip which I had made from the late-summer harvest and some broccoli fresh from our autumnal potager provided a colourful foundation.
Adding grated Parmesan and Edam, along with cream cheese and mayonnaise, and mixing well, brought it up to potential warm dip status.
Spreading the mixture in a pie plate and then baking for about thirty minutes in a 150 degrees C/300 degrees F oven until golden brown were the next steps.
A mound of this dip is not exactly an unyielding rock, but neither does it move like unctuous lava intent on lavishing grilled sourdough rye among other worthy dipping partners which was my envisioned goal when choosing the ingredients.
The lack of ooze probably is caused by stolid Edam's inability to pull off molten lusciousness. A nicely aged cheddar would have been up to the challenge, but there wasn't any in the house. Also topping with additional cheddar five minutes before taking it out of the oven will boost the dipping factor. But it was good enough and its flavour held even when eaten cold.
Ingredients for Broccoli & Sweet Red Pepper Warm Dip Experiment
(Tablespoons are level not heaped!)
Dirac the Young Cat meanwhile had no trouble embracing an effortless furry flow state . . .
. . . of tail meeting back paws.
À la prochaine!
 |
| Browned a bit, puffed somewhat, bound-with-cheese & hot from the oven |
Working on a recipe is both frustrating and gratifying, and in that regard, messing about in the kitchen resembles life in general. The chagrin comes from noting the inevitable gap between an ideal concept and the real deal; the reward results from lessening that difference as much as possible.
 |
| Broccoli, sweet red pepper, garlic & fennel (the herb) all came from our potager |
A warm dip is more adapted to the winter months than its cool counterpart, but they both share the tasty function of accompanying crackers, chips, breads, and crudités. The last of the frozen Roasted Sweet Red Pepper Garlic Dip which I had made from the late-summer harvest and some broccoli fresh from our autumnal potager provided a colourful foundation.
 |
| Roasted sweet red pepper/garlic, cream cheese, fennel the herb, olive oil & lemon juice |
Adding grated Parmesan and Edam, along with cream cheese and mayonnaise, and mixing well, brought it up to potential warm dip status.
Spreading the mixture in a pie plate and then baking for about thirty minutes in a 150 degrees C/300 degrees F oven until golden brown were the next steps.
A mound of this dip is not exactly an unyielding rock, but neither does it move like unctuous lava intent on lavishing grilled sourdough rye among other worthy dipping partners which was my envisioned goal when choosing the ingredients.
 |
| Dip & Swedish flatbread |
The lack of ooze probably is caused by stolid Edam's inability to pull off molten lusciousness. A nicely aged cheddar would have been up to the challenge, but there wasn't any in the house. Also topping with additional cheddar five minutes before taking it out of the oven will boost the dipping factor. But it was good enough and its flavour held even when eaten cold.
 |
| Dip & corn chips |
Ingredients for Broccoli & Sweet Red Pepper Warm Dip Experiment
(Tablespoons are level not heaped!)
- Broccoli florets, finely chopped, 170 grams/6 dry oz, if less crunch is desired, parboil first
- Parmesan, finely grated, 4 T
- Cheddar, finely grated, 8 T
- Roasted red pepper/garlic spread (recipe here), 2 T or substitute minced sweet red pepper/garlic/fennel the herb/lemon juice to taste
- Onion, finely minced, 2 T
- Cream cheese, 8 T
- Mayonnaise, 8 T (substitute more cream cheese for some of the mayo if you want a less oily dip)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (go easy on the salt if using salty crackers/chips
Dirac the Young Cat meanwhile had no trouble embracing an effortless furry flow state . . .
. . . of tail meeting back paws.
À la prochaine!
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