Buffalo Chicken Dip

Buffalo chicken dip is a classic crowd-pleaser and we especially like to make it when we have friends over to watch football.  You get the buffalo chicken flavor without the mess of chicken wings.  Mixed with the creamy cheese, I have to say it is far more tasty than eating plain buffalo chicken.  Opting out of the canned and bottled ingredients, we like to use fresh shredded chicken and homemade blue cheese dressing in our recipe.  I also add some diced celery for a little texture and crunch.  This makes enough for about 6, so double the recipe for a big crowd. 

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups shredded chicken (I usually boil the chicken if I don't have any already cooked)
• 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup blue cheese dressing (recommend home-made, recipe below)
• 1/2 cup hot sauce (recommend Frank's Red Hot)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 celery rib, finely diced
• salt and pepper

Directions:
 
To make the blue cheese dressing:
 In a food processor, combine 3/4 cup heavy cream with 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese or gorgonzola, 1/2 cup mayonaisse, and 2 tablespoons white vinegar.  Blend and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Use 1 cup for this recipe and save the remainder for salad dressing.

To make the dip:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  In a bowl, mix the chicken with the celery, cream cheese, and blue cheese dressing until well blended.  

Add the hot sauce and stir to combine.  Fold in 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese.  Pour the mixture into a small casserole or other baking dish and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.  The perfect opportunity to use our new ceramic dish we got this year for Christmas, which also kept the dip nice and warm long after it was out of the oven.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Serve with celery sticks and crackers or chips.  Yum!

Gorgonzola Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Dates

We made these stuffed dates last weekend for an appetizer when a couple friends were coming over for dinner.  Bacon is delicious on it's own, but wrapping it around sweet dried dates that are stuffed with tangy Gorgonzola cheese is an amazing combination.  Best of all, these are so easy to prepare, and you can make them in advance and then just bake them right before your guest are coming over.  The bacon gets crispy and the inside stays soft but is bursting with flavor from the cheese filling.  These are already wrapped up with a toothpick so they are easy to serve right out of the oven.

Ingredients:

10 strips of bacon, cut in half

20 pitted dates

4 oz Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

1/3 cup softened cream cheese

tooth picks

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Slice the dates in half long ways, cutting only through half of the date so it opens up like a pocket.  Blend the two cheeses together.  Place about a teaspoon of cheese into each date.  

Wrap a half slice of bacon around each date and seal it with a toothpick.  Because you will flip the dates half way through cooking, put the toothpick horizontally through the side instead of from top to bottom.   

Place the dates on a foil covered  baking sheet and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the bacon is light brown and crispy.  (Flip the dates half way through cooking.)  Remove and serve hot!

Lemon Goat Cheese Balls

These little cheese balls are the perfect appetizer or party food.  And they are super easy to make, look fancy, and taste amazing!  I made these in less than 15 minutes, and it took even less time for our us and our two friends to wolf them down before dinner.  The creamy cheese with the tangy lemon and salty pistachio coating is close to perfect.  We had them alone with a drizzle of honey which I definitely recommend, but they would also go great paired with bread or crackers.  

Ingredients:

4 oz. low-fat cream cheese

4 oz creamy goat cheese

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 t lemon zest (from about half a lemon)

2 T minced shallot

dash of salt

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

Directions:

In a food processor (or nut chopper) blend the pistachio nuts until they are coarsely ground.  Put the nuts into a shallow bowl or dish.  Mix remaining ingredients together in a separate bowl until well combined.

With your hands, form little balls out of the cheese mixture and roll them in the pistachio crumbs until they are covered on all sides.  Set them on a plate or platter.  Refrigerate until 30 minutes before you are ready to eat them, to let them come closer to room temperature before serving.  

Candied Bacon

I made Sean a few treats on Sunday for an early Valentine's Day present.  Because we both LOVE bacon, I knew this recipe would be perfect for a sweet and savory surprise.  And... it was.  The brown sugar and crushed nuts that coat the bacon caramelize in the oven creating a sweet crunchy crust around the strips as they bake.  The result is super addicting!  We had this as a pre-dinner snack, but it would also pair wonderfully with dessert.  (Such as the chocolate cookie dough truffles, below!)

Ingredients:

1 lb (or less, as much as you want to make) sliced bacon

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup crushed nuts (use whatever you have on hand - walnuts, pecans, hazlenuts, almonds... etc.)

2 T flour

Directions:  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover a broiler pan and the tray underneath with foil to make the clean-up easy.  Mix together the sugar, flour, and nuts in a bowl.  Dredge each slice of bacon in this mixture and place it on the broiler sheet.  I pressed more on top of each slice because it didn't seem like that much was sticking.  *If you are allergic to nuts, I would just add more sugar and I'm sure it will still taste amazing.

Bake for approx. 30 minutes, or until golden-brown and barely crisp.

 Let the slices cool for a couple minutes before you remove them from the pan.  We found that the foil stuck to the bacon slightly, but it was easy to peel right off.  Break the slices into two or three pieces and stack on a plate to serve!  (if they even last long enough to make it to a plate)  Sean paired the snack with a glass of Buffalo Trace bourbon. 

I made sure Sean knows I love him more than bacon... but this recipe comes in as a close second!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

This tasty hot dip is great for parties because it is made in a crock-pot and very easy to make a large batch. All of the flavors blend together as it heats for several hours while you can work on other things before the party starts. We've started making our own pita chips to go with it which is a big money saver.

Ingredients:

2 10 oz packages frozen chopped spinach

2 cans of artichoke hearts (don't have to be the marinated kind... you will find these with the other canned vegetables)

1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 fresh red pepper, diced, OR a roasted red pepper diced
1 cup sour cream
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded Parmesan
1 cup shredded cheddar
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Thaw spinach, and squeeze the water out of it until it is as dry as possible.  Also, drain the artichokes and give them a rough dice.  Gather the diced onion and pepper, and garlic.

Combine all of the vegetables together into the bowl of the crock pot and mix well.  Then, add the sour cream, cream cheese, and mayonnaise and stir until well blended.  Finally, add one cup of Parmesan cheese, teaspoon of salt and some black pepper.  Mix and then even out the surface before putting the remaining cheese on top.  The colors are great for Christmas!

Lastly, put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.  Keep on warm while serving.  This can also be made in the oven.  Just put the dip in a casserole dish, cover and bake at 350 for about one hour or until bubbly.

Pita Chips:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Take your store bought pitas, and slice them into strips or triangles. Put them in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and mix until they are all coated.  Spread them out onto a baking sheet or stone and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden and crispy.  Check occasionally to see if you need to mix them up for even cooking.

Store in an air tight container or zip lock bag until ready to serve.