Tag Archives: sour cream

Pickle Dip

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by in Appetizers, Easy, Entertaining, Sauces

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Here we go,  a typical “pregnant lady” craving…Pickles. No, not with ice cream or anything bizarre, but transferred into a creamy dip to go with some salty chips. We’ve made this a few times and it’s always a winner, pregnant or not. For me, this rules over any onion dip I have ever tasted. And no one ever trash talks pickle breath, at least from my experience…

Pickle Dip

Recipe
Pickle Dip
Adapted from Smells Like Home
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup chopped dill pickles (any pickles you like will work, and in a pinch you can use relish)
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce (such as tabasco or sriracha, optional)
  • Pickle juice
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp (or more) fresh dill, chopped
  • chips, crackers, or veggies, for serving

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce together. Add a couple tablespoons of pickle juice if the dip is too thick and continue to add a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add some fresh dill. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Serve with chips, crackers, veggies, whatever you like!

Brown Sugar Wings with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Chicken, Easy, Main Dish, Sauces, Uncategorized, Weeknight Meals

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Brown sugar wings with roasted red pepper dipping sauce

Up until now, I’ve only ordered wings from a bar. That’s just what people do. You don’t make wings at home…you eat them in a bar, with lots of beer. Maybe with a gallon of bleu cheese dressing (kidding!). Some carrots and celery too, as an afterthought.

Little wingy’s ready to go into the oven.

But, AS USUAL, homemade is better, and way more satisfying. I was worried these wouldn’t go over well with Jordan since they weren’t super spicy and buffalo-y, but Baked Brown Sugar Wings prevailed.

He did, however, add sriracha to his wings after they came out of the oven. It was surprisingly the most amazing flavor combination. Somehow, all of the spices complimented each other so well. The sriracha didn’t taste nearly as spicy as it usually does. Next time, we will be adding sriracha to the wing coating.

And the sauce! Oh, the sauce. Honestly, it would taste good on anything. Crackers, baguette, veggies, sandwiches…YUM! It tasted great on the wings as well. I didn’t reach for ranch or bleu cheese once.

Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce …adapted from Damn Delicious

Yields 3-4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

  • FOR THE WINGS:
  • 2 pounds chicken wings
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic OR 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • FOR THE SAUCE:
  • 1/3 cup roasted red pepper, chopped (I used the roasted red pepper from a jar)
  • 2 ounces goat cheese
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream (I used fat free sour cream)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil (I just sprayed my cooking sheet with pam, things still worked out).

In a large bowl, combine the wings, olive oil, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper.

Place the wings onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, using metal tongs to turn at halftime.

To make the dipping sauce, combine the roasted red pepper, goat cheese, sour cream and salt in the bowl of a food processor until emulsified.

Serve wings immediately with dipping sauce.

Blackberry Pie Bars.

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

Posted by in Baking, Bloggerific, Breakfast, Desserts, Entertaining, Events

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Wild Blackberry season…I have so many memories associated with you. Sometimes it seems like Summer hasn’t officially started until the Blackberries are ripe…that is how you know it has finally gotten warm enough in the Northwest. At the same time, you get the feeling that summer will soon come to an end, as usually the blackberries don’t get juicy and ripe until mid-August.  But then again, summer usually begins in July and ends in August ’round these parts…

Luckily, I found one of the best possible ways to use freshly picked blackberries – these insanely good Blackberry Pie Bars. I made these last Friday night at about 9PM, exhausted from the work week, half asleep…but I was determined to bring them to a party the next day. Thank God I soldiered on.

These are easy enough to make while half asleep, but they taste like something out of a homey bakery you randomly found on the side of the road. I can’t wait to make these again and again…Or at least every summer when Blackberry season rolls around.

I will always have a feeling associated with blackberry picking, an emotion you can’t quite put your finger on, maybe because it’s a mix of many things. Many stories, childhood memories, brambly bushes…but these bars will implant a very clear feeling: deliciousness.

Blackberry picking, 2010.

Recipe
Blackberry Pie Bars
From Joy the Baker

Crust and Topping

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
  • zest of two lemons

Blackberry Filling

  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 2  (16-ounce) packages frozen blackberries, defrosted and drained

(You can also use 6 cups of fresh blackberries, or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen blackberries and 3 cups of fresh blackberries)

To make the crust and topping-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9 x 13-inch backing pan with butter or cooking spray and set aside.  Zest two lemons.  Measure out the sugar onto a clean work surface.  Rub the lemon zest into the sugar with a bench scraper or the back of a spoon.  Rubbing the zest into the sugar will release oils from the zest and create a lemon scented sugar.

Combine lemon sugar, flour, salt and butter in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment.  Beat the ingredients on medium speed until the mixture looks dry and crumbly.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crust mixture to use as the topping.  Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Bake the crust for 12 to 15 minutes until it is golden brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes while you make the filling.

To make the filling-

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl.  Add the sugar, sour cream, flour and salt.  Gently fold in the blackberries.  Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust.  You may have to distribute the blackberries evenly around.

Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture evenly over the filling.  Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly browned.  Cool for 1 hour before slicing.

**If you’re using frozen berries, be sure to defrost and drain the excess liquid.  Place the frozen berries on a plate in the refrigerator overnight.  They’re defrosted and ready for bar baking!