Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Happy New Year

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth; the holidays and the aftermath have kept me away and left this blog to lay here and languish.

We did have some munchies Christmas Day before the big meal. I saw this olive dip recipe on 30 Minute Meals. This is a must if you're an olive lover which I am in a big way. The luscious crackers are from Dawn's Vanilla Sugar blog. They are a must try too.




Olive Dip -

1 cup large olives with pimiento
1 clove garlic
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese
celery and carrots, cut into sticks

Place olives in food processor and grate in garlic, add cream cheese and ricotta cheese. Pulse the cheese and olives into a fairly smooth spread. Transfer to a serving bowl.

Savory Italian Crackers -

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Parmesan, grated
1 stick salted butter, cold & cut into chunks
½ to 1 ts Rosemary (depending on taste preference)
3 sun-dried tomatoes (on oil)
2 dashes of cayenne (optional)
1/2 ts salt
a dash or two of half & half or cream (if needed)

In a food processor combine flour, cheese, butter, rosemary cayenne, salt, and sun-dried tomatoes.Pulsate a few times until the dough forms dough-likeness, take it out of the food processor and place it on your kitchen counter or cutting board.Shape the dough into a log and place it on a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Use a really sharp knife, slice the dough into ½ inch thick slices. These are supposed to look rustic, so no need to shape them into some sort of uniformity.

Bake the cookies for 10 - 12 minutes, until lightly golden brown. They do cook fast, keep an eye on first batch until you see how fast they do brown because the bottoms brown a lot faster than the tops.

Let them cool a bit before eating. As they cool they will harden a bit.

Note: If dough batter is very dry and hard to form into a log, add a dash or two of half & half and it will come together perfectly. If you do add in the half & half please make sure to add in as little as possible as it only takes a tiny amount; add too much and you can ruin the dough.


Deviled Eggs - Boil 1 dozen eggs. Peel boiled eggs, cut eggs in half lengthwise, place yolk in a bowl and set white aside. Mash egg yolks with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 tablespoons of mayo, 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard and 1 teaspoon dill pickle relish. Fold mixture with fork until thoroughly blended. Add a touch more mayo if needed. Spoon mixture into egg white and garnish with paprika. Great retro appetizer!






Before the carnage!



Ok, this is the real reason I haven't been posting much. I have turned into a video game junkie!




After Santa's visit...







Happy New Year!



31 comments:

Steph said...

Happy new year Katherine! I'm going to need a wii fit after the holidays or maybe actual exercise, but it's always more fun when it's a game!

gigi said...

Man, Santa was good to yall! How fun to have family interactive games. Get up and shake your booty! Your Christmas table was lovely and I just bet the food was out of this world.

My friend just loves olives, I can't wait to pass this recipe on to her. She's gonna love it. Good to hear from you and Happy New Year!

Pam said...

The olive dip and crackers look and sound delicious and so do the eggs.

It looks like you had a great Christmas - Guitar Hero can be quite addicting. Happy New Year!

Ralonda said...

Looks like y'all had a fun Christmas too! But beware... Guitar Hero is addicting!
Your daughters are lovely!
Happy New Year!

Greg C said...

Ok try this on for size. Instead of adding relish, add the chopped up olives and a tbs of tobasco sauce. That's my secret recipe so don't tell anyone. I love anything with olives in it.

Reeni said...

I need a wii so bad, the exercise one!!! We have about ten pounds of olives from Christmas, your dip looks very tasty for using some of them up. Happy New Year!!

Laurie said...

Thanks for sharing your Christmas photos! My family is gaga over the Wii Guitar Hero too.

I adore olives and this dip looks great. I've been meaning to try Dawn's crackers since I saw the recipe, but you beat me to it.

I think I'll try it for our New Year's Eve family game night.

Maria said...

Happy New Year to you too! I really want to make those crackers! Great photos! Looks like everyone had a great time! I am glad!

vanillasugarblog said...

Aren't those crackers tasty little critters? I ate way too many of them. I would eat much more with that dip.
I would love to try that Guitar Hero

pam said...

Happy New Year! I want a Wii fit!

NKP said...

Happy New Year to you!
Looks like you guys had lots of good food and lots of good fun.
I love olive dip, salt fiend that I am.

Tiffany said...

Happy new year Katherine! I am definetly going to have to try that dip. I love olives! Oh how I wish that I was visiting your "neighboorhood". We usually spend Thanksgiving tucked away in a cabin in Wears Valley and didn't get to this year and now I am wanting to visit so bad.

Anonymous said...

I KNOW I would love this Olive Dip. I copied it and will give it a try. It sounds like something that even a Lazy cook like me could/would do. Yum!

I enjoyed your Christmas photos. Your girls are so cute, and I'd bet there's never a dull moment in your house. LOL Have you bowled yet on the Wi game? That's my favorite!!

Marjie said...

Love your pictures of the homegirlz! And the crackers look wonderful. But I do have to say that I simply adore deviled eggs. Something so simple can't be beat!

Paula said...

Looks like you all were on Santa's good list! I love your olive dip; it will be great tomorrow night for New Years Eve. Those crackers are just lovely, as is your table setting! Mmmm ... I want deviled eggs, now, too! Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

Glad y'all had a good Christmas! The crackers and olives do look good! I'm an olive lover too. Have a happy New Year; looking forward to seeing everyone soon.

SusanD said...

It looks like you had a marvelous Christmas. Your table setting was beautiful and inviting. I'm sure the food was fabulous. -- Thanks for all the recipies. I'm an olive lover too and will give that dip a try. Blessings. Susan

Andrea said...

Have a wonderful New Year. I'm hoping to get a Wii next year...they look like so much fun! :)

Darius T. Williams said...

Great pics! Really!

Happy New Year to you too!!!

-Darius
www.everydaycookin.com

The Blonde Duck said...

I like the Wii boxing. Esp. when I play against my sister. (evil grin.)

Jenny said...

No need to feel bad about not blogging, I think we've all neglected our blogs lately! I love your new look here, it's lovely! Happy New Year to you and your family!

Mrs. G. said...

I don't blame you for the light posting--what with all the food and new toys!

I believe I speak for all your readers when I say that we need some video of you rocking out.

tavolini said...

honestly--I dare say that I could live off appetizers indefinitely. Especially the olive dip. I bet it goes well with beer.

Have you seen the movie, "Mermaids"? Its not an award winner...but the fact that they only eat appetizers and Cher is in it makes it worth a gander.

Happy New Year!

Debbie said...

Happy New Year to you too! Great pictures. Looks like you had a great holiday. Guitar Hero is pretty popular here too!!!

Aggie said...

Too funny...we have become a rock band here too! I got my husband the World Tour for Christmas and we've been really enjoying it!!

The dip and crackers look wonderful...great recipes!

Happy New Year to you and your family!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Katherine,
I tried the Olive Dip on New Years Eve. Thanks so much for the recipe! I served it the easy way, with packaged snack crackers rather than veggies or homemade crackers. Did I mention I'm a lazy cook?!

Happy New Years!!

Peter M said...

Happy New Year Katherine...the dip sounds lovely but I want to see you some AC/DC!!

April said...

I love anything with olives in it! This looks so good!

Happy New Year!

La Bella Cooks said...

Happiest new year to you as well. Ah, how I love my wii and wii fit. The kids have such a blast with it all. Best wishes to you and your family. I love the olive dip recipe, I definitely need to try that one!

priscilla joy said...

Happy New Year late Katherine! I'd love a Wii, and your girls are so cute!

Hudson said...

Your family is beautiful and it sounds like Santa was good to everyone.