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!