Mediterranean Layer Dip

What are you doing for Super Bowl?  I know I’ve mentioned I love going to Super Bowl parties.  The parties combine some of my favorite things: socializing, eating, watching football and talking about food (talking about food might be unique to my group of friends, I don’t know).  We were invited to two different Super Bowl parties this year.  We are heading over to Joanne and Todd’s so, I’m not going to compete in Tammy and Tom’s pizza cook-off this year.  I am excited to hear what Sandy and Brian come up with, since they usually win.

I’m not competing in a food competition, but I know we will be eating well!  Joanne and Todd are great hosts, so no one goes home hungry, and I’m excited to bring Mediterranean Layer Dip with me to share.

I made Mediterranean Layer Dip to enjoy while watching the Pro Bowl last weekend.  I have to admit that the Pro Bowl, though meaningless, is a fun to watch.  The players are having such a good time, and their joy in being there is a blast to see.  This layer dip was great to nosh on while we watched the game.

I have a soft, comfortable spot in my heart for traditional layer dip.  I love the salty chips and the creamy dip, so when I saw this creative take on layer dip in Bean by Bean a Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon, I had to try it.  I’m glad I did.  The flavors are fresh and lively, and the combination is unique.  I made the hummus from scratch, but you can easily use store bought hummus for this layer dip.  I do have to admit the homemade hummus really shines in this layer dip, and is so easy, I have to ask myself why I don’t make hummus from scratch all the time.  Les and the kids liked the layer dip too.  We ate about half of it Sunday, and we were all happy to polish it off Monday before dinner.

Mediterranean Layer dip tastes lighter than traditional layer dip, so it is perfect to serve when there are plenty of other heavier appetizers around.  If you are looking for something light and unique to bring to your Super Bowl party, try Mediterranean Layer Dip.

Mediterranean Layer Dip

Adapted from Bean by Bean a Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon

Printable Recipe

1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped

6 to 8 radishes, tops and tails removed, well washed and chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

¼ teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lemon

2 bunches green onions, white and light green portions only, chopped

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 Tablespoons chopped dill

2 ½ cups hummus (recipe follows)

½ cup feta cheese, crumbled

1 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cup kalamata olives, chopped

Pita chips

In a medium colander with a bowl underneath, stir together the cucumber, radishes, jalapeno, lemon juice and salt.  Let the cucumber mixture drain for at least 20 minutes.

In a small bowl, stir together the green onions, parsley, and dill.  Set aside.

Spread the hummus on the bottom of a glass pie plate.  Sprinkled drained cucumber mixture over the hummus, and add the green onion mixture on top of the cucumber mixture.  Add the feta cheese, and top with the sour cream.  Sprinkle the sour cream with the tomatoes and the kalamata olives.  Serve immediately with pita chips.

Hummus

Adapted from Bean by Bean a Cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon

2 15-ounce cans reduced sodium garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained, liquid reserved

3 tablespoons tahini

2 Tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered

Juice of 1 to 2 lemons, or more to taste

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

Combine the garbanzo beans, 2 tablespoons of the reserved bean liquid, tahini, olive oil, garlic and the juice of one lemon in the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until very smooth.  Add more bean liquid and lemon juice until the hummus is the consistency of sour cream or a little thinner.  Taste and add salt and pepper.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let the flavors combine.

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

In celebration of my 3-year blog anniversary, I am sharing a cake recipe with you.  I’m not much of a cake lover (you know, cake with thick frosting and flowers), so I haven’t spent much time perfecting my cake making techniques.  Though, while I was flipping through cake recipes for inspiration the layer cakes intrigued me.  I have to admit layer cakes have intrigued me since I saw Pollyanna eat a 3-layer mile-high slice of cake at the town fair (Do you remember that scene in the movie with Hayley Mills?).  I’m still searching for a layer cake to love like the one Pollyanna ate.  The Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cake from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes looked like a layer cake I could love, but her description of the frosting as, “…tricky to apply, requiring the patience of a craftsperson.” frankly, scared me.

The cover recipe of Southern Living’s September issue has called to me for months.  Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt cake is right up my alley.  I like more homey rustic cakes, and this cake is amazing!  I wanted to eat the praline frosting straight out of the saucepan, and if I wasn't worried about how much frosting the recipe made, I would have eaten more.  From the look of the cake in Southern Living, it had at least a double recipe of frosting.  Next time I will triple the frosting, so I can eat more out of the saucepan, and still have frosting dripping all the way down the sides of the cake.

I wanted to have a beautiful layer cake to celebrate my blog’s anniversary, and though Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake isn’t beautiful, it is a homey, moist spice cake that tastes like fall, but is perfect in January too.  I hope I’m invited to dinner somewhere soon.  I’ll bring dessert!

Apple-Cream Cheese Bundt Cake

Adapted from Southern Living

Printable Recipe
Cream Cheese Filling
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Apple Cake Batter
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
3 large eggs lightly beaten
¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples

Praline Frosting
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ butter
3 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Prepare the Cream Cheese Filling:  Beat the cream cheese, butter and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until blended and smooth.  Add egg, flour and vanilla, and beat just until blended. Set aside.

Prepare the Apple Cake Batter: Preheat the oven to 350F°.   Bake pecans in a shallow pan until toasted, about 8 to 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, mix together flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg, and allspice.  Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla.  Stir just until all ingredients are moistened.  Stir in the apples and pecans.

Grease and flour a 14-cup Bundt pan.  Spoon half the batter into the pan.  Make a trough in the apple cake batter, and spoon the cream cheese mixture into the trough.  Swirl the filling through the apple cake batter using a paring knife.  Spoon the remaining apple cake batter over the cream cheese filling.  Bake at 350F° for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack until cooled completely (about 2 hours).

Prepare the Frosting:  Bring ½ cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup butter and 3 Tablespoons milk to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk constantly.  Boil mixture of 1 minute.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth.  Stir the mixture gently for 3 to 5 minutes, or until frosting begins to cool and thickens slightly.  Pour frosting immediately over cooled cake.
 

Game Day Chili Con Carne

I laughed when I realized I inadvertently chose a red bowl with a red and gold napkin for the picture of my Chili Con Carne.  When I chose the bowl, I knew the 49ers (red and gold) were in the playoffs, but I didn’t think they would go very far.  I couldn’t believe the 49ers won their nail-biting game last week!  And, I can’t believe they will be playing this weekend for a place in the Super Bowl!  The 49ers haven’t been in the playoffs for nine years, and they haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1994.  You have to understand, when I moved to northern California, the 49ers were in the middle of a winning streak earning playoff spots in 14 of the 17 years between 1986 and 2002.  Don’t tell anyone, but I believe in the sports motto of, “If you can't be with the team you love, love the team your with.”  And it was easy to do when I moved to a place with a winning team!  But, the last few years have been hard on die hard 49er fans.

Me?  I chose to ignore the fact my team wasn’t winning by immersing myself in planning and executing the perfect Super Bowl party food.  I was, also, happy not to have to cheer against my team in order to win the football pool.  You know, “Come on 49ers! Just take a safety, and I could win 100 bucks!”  It just seems wrong to cheer that way.  I’m better off concentrating on the food.

I have brought countless snacks and appetizers to Super Bowl parties in the last 10 years.  And, last year my chili even won second place in a chili cook off!  I don’t know what I’ll make this year, but if we are invited to another chili cook-off, this recipe for Chili Con Carne might win 1^st place!  This chili is spicy and meaty, and I really like what the fresh poblano and jalapeno do to the flavor.

I’m not sure how the 49ers will do in their game on Sunday, but I know I’ll be in the kitchen with the food, trying not to hope for a safety in order to win the football pool!

Chili Con Carne

Adapted from Fine Cooking’s One Pot Meals

Printable Recipe

2 pounds beef chuck, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into ½ inch cubes

2 Tablespoons canola oil, separated

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 medium poblano chile, seeded and chopped

1 large jalapeno chile, seeded and diced

3 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 Tablespoon ground ancho chile

1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground chipolte chile

1 ½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

Kosher salt

1 14½ ounce can petite diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice, separated

2 15 ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Toppings

Shredded cheddar cheese

Cubed avocado

Diced red onion

Chopped fresh cilantro

Season the cubed meat with ¼ teaspoon of salt.  Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add half the meat, and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes total.  Remove the meat to a plate.  Repeat with another two teaspoons of oil and the other half of the meat.  Transfer the second batch of meat to the plate, and set aside.  Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the Dutch oven, and add the onion, poblano and jalapeno, and cook until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the ancho chile, cumin, coriander, chipolte chile, and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Return the beef to the Dutch oven with any juices, and add 2½ cups of water, the tomatoes and their juices, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 1½ hours.  Uncover and continue cooking for another 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.  Stir in the beans, and raise the heat to medium high.  Cook until the beans are heated through, about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and season to taste with salt.

Top with cheddar cheese, avocado, red onion and cilantro, and serve.