There are as many different deviled egg recipes as there are stars in the sky. Our version uses both horseradish and Old Bay to amp up the flavours. A winner in our neighbourhood Deviled Egg-off…great at any gathering any time of the year!
18 hard-boiled large eggs 1/4 cup Hellman’s mayonnaise 2 to 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not horseradish sauce) 1 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed 1 teaspoon dill pickle cubes 2 tablespoons prepared (yellow) mustard 1/4 teaspoon finely ground pepper Old Bay Seasoning
Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a bowl; set whites aside.
Either mash the yolks manually or using a hand mixer on low. Add mayonnaise, horseradish, dill, dill pickle cubes, mustard, and pepper; mix until well combined. Mixture should be thick. Using two spoons, return yolk mixture to reserved egg white halves. Dust eggs with Old Bay Seasoning. Keep chilled until time to serve.
This dip always goes over well (you can adjust the spiciness/heat by how much of the buffalo wing/hot sauce you choose to use) at parties. Pair with chips/pita wedges and a good chilled white wine. (Recipe doubled and modified from Dinner At The Zoo Food Blog). This recipe works great for those of us who prefer ranch instead of blue cheese.
3 cups cooked chicken shredded 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce or hot sauce such as Frank’s® (You can adjust this up, for more heat; down, for less) 1 package dry ranch dressing mix 1 cup sour cream 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 6 green onions, diced cooking spray
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together the chicken, cream cheese, buffalo wing/hot sauce, ranch mix and sour cream, until combined. If using a mixer, be sure not to break up all the chicken, or you’ll have a paste for a dip. Coat an 12 inch skillet or chafing dish with cooking spray. Spread the chicken mixture into the skillet. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned around the edges and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with diced green onions.
You can use rotisserie chicken, or bake off boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) and shred by hand.
The ultimate easy dip — served cold with corn chips, crackers, crostini or pita wedges. You can lighten up the calories by using reduced fat cream cheese and reduced fat sour cream, but don’t go for the fat-free. The texture will be way off and you probably won’t enjoy it.
1 8 ounce block cream cheese, softened 1 1/2 cups sour cream 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese (go for a thicker shred than the feather – it makes the dip have a better “mouth feel”) 1 packet powdered ranch dressing mix 8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled 5 or 6 sliced green onions Optional garnishes: additional cooked crumbled bacon, sliced green onions
Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until completely smooth (1-2 minutes). Add the sour cream and beat for 1 more minute until thoroughly combined with the cream cheese. Stir in the cheese, ranch mix, bacon and green onions until well combined. Serve chilled, topped with additional bacon and green onions if desired.
Hot Virginia Dip (Courtesy of the Virginia Hospitality Cookbook and the Junior League of Hampton Roads)
Original recipe:
1 cup pecans, chopped
2 tbsp butter (Unsalted)
16 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp milk
5 oz dried beef, minced
1 tbsp garlic salt
1 cup sour cream
4 tbsp onion, minced
Recipe as created above:
4 eight-ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened
16 oz cream cheese
10 oz dried beef, diced
4 tbsp milk
2 medium onions, diced
2 tbsp garlic salt
3 cups of pecan halves
1 stick unsalted butter
Either way you make the dish, the process is the same – I just needed to make it in much larger quantities.
In a large mixing bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, diced dried beef, garlic salt, diced onion, and milk and using a stand (or hand) mixer, beat to combine thoroughly (this is most easily done if your mixer has a paddle type attachment.
Melt butter in a large saute pan. Add pecans and toss to coat. Continue to cook until just scorched (the original recipe just says to saute). This does not add a burnt flavour or taste, but does add a je ne sais quoi flavour to the topping.
The original recipe makes enough for a 1 1/2 qt baking dish; the larger recipe makes enough for a 3 qt baking dish.
Turn out the cream cheese mixture into the appropriately sized baking dish; cover with sauteed pecans. Place in a 350 oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with bread sticks, crackers, Wheat Thins or Triscuits.
(N.B. – This dip does reheat well, but is one of the very few things The Wannabe Gourmet has found that does not have a pleasing taste if served cold. A chafing dish (solid fuel, alcohol based, or even electric) works wonders, and for smaller amounts (1 1/2 quart), I’ve found that even the chafing dishes that are heated by votive candles alone will keep the dip at a sufficiently heated temperature for all to enjoy — it goes QUICKLY.)
Fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella. Slice tomatoes and mozzarella 1/4″ thick, layer in alternate layers on a serving dish. Chiffonade basil (cut into thin strips) and scatter over. True caprese only has olive oil as a dressing. I recommend a nice balsamic to be drizzled over as well, and some cracked black pepper. Serve as an appetizer for lunch or dinner.
1 lb ground pork
1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger (or 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 small onion, minced
1 package won ton wrappers
1 egg, beaten in a small bowl with 2 tbsp water
In a large skillet or wok, add the pork and brown over medium heat, drain, and add ginger, garlic, onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil, cooking until onion is soft, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
Take a won ton wrapper and place it on your work surface so that it forms a diamond. Take your egg wash and with a small pastry brush, lightly brush the two lower edges that form a “V”. Place 1 tsp of the filling in the middle of the wrapper and fold the wrapper over, pressing the edges to seal. Dab the left corner of the filled wrapper with egg wash and fold the right corner over the left, pressing together to seal. It will take on the appearance of an ornate “hat”, the classic won ton look:
Repeat until all won ton wrappers have been filled. Note: you will have far more filling than you do wrappers, but the filling freezes well.
Once all won tons have been made, either transfer to a freezer and allow to solidly freeze and then store for up to 3 months, or…
Bring a quart of your favourite stock to a boil and toss in 12-16 won ton and allow to heat through. (4-6 won ton make a serving). Or…
Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray and sauté until brown on a couple sides. Serve with soy/ginger/scallion dipping sauce. Or…
Bring 1/4 – 1/2 c vegetable oil to 350F in a skillet. Carefully drop 5-8 won ton at a time into oil (being careful, as it will spatter!), and cooking for 2 minutes before turning over and allowing to brown on the other side. Serve with duck sauce.
You can make sweet won ton by using jam as a filling, you can make them vegetarian by using soy crumbles, or rice and ginger, or you could even use a cream cheese, garlic, ginger, and scallion mixture to make a cheesy won ton. Let your imagination run wild!
