Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Vidalia Onion Dip

My sister-in-law, Michelle has great recipes for all things Vidalia onions.  This recipe is really simple, easy and has 3 ingredients!  What could be better than that?  Let me show you..... the version I made is 3 ingredients, plus two more that give it a bit more flavor.
It is a take on the basic Hot Artichoke dip but replaces the artichokes with Vidalia Onions. 

1 cup Vidalia onion, chopped
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (preferrably, not the Kraft stuff in the green can, but a nice grated parmesan)
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
a couple drops of hot sauce, I used Chalula

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, use enough mayo to moisten up the dip and hold it together, but not enough to make it really goopy. 
Spread into an oven safe dip crock or oven safe bowl and bake at 350 until golden brown and bubbly.  (about 15 minutes). 
Serve with pita crackers or cocktail rye bread.

Creamy Gazpacho

We saw this on America's Test Kitchen a week or two ago and thought it looked delicious, so we gave it a try.  Let me tell you, it's amazing.  Our guests thought so too!

3 pounds (about 6 medium) ripe tomatoes , cored

1 small cucumber , peeled, halved, and seeded
1 medium green bell pepper , halved, cored and seeded
1 small red onion , peeled and halved
2 medium garlic cloves , peeled and quartered
1 small serrano chile , stemmed and halved lengthwise
Kosher salt 
1 slice high-quality white sandwich bread , crust removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil , plus extra for serving
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar , plus extra for serving 
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley , chives, or basil leaves
Ground black pepper

Roughly chop 2 pounds of tomatoes, half of cucumber, half of bell pepper, and half of onion and place in large bowl. Add garlic, chile, and 1½ teaspoons salt; toss until well combined. Set aside.

Cut remaining tomatoes, cucumber, and pepper into ¼-inch dice; place vegetables in medium bowl. Mince remaining onion and add to diced vegetables. Toss with ½ teaspoon salt and transfer to fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Set aside 1 hour.
Transfer drained diced vegetables to medium bowl and set aside. Add bread pieces to exuded liquid (there should be about ¼ cup) and soak 1 minute. Add soaked bread and any remaining liquid to roughly chopped vegetables and toss thoroughly to combine.
Transfer half of vegetable-bread mixture to blender and process 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup oil and continue to blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain soup through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, using back of ladle or rubber spatula to press soup through strainer. Repeat with remaining vegetable-bread mixture and 1/4 cup olive oil.
Stir vinegar, minced herb, and half of diced vegetables into soup and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours to chill completely and develop flavors. Serve, passing remaining diced vegetables, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and black pepper separately.

**note, while this recipes does have a lot of chopping, etc involved, we did find that the precise dice that ATK is notorious for is key in the vegetables that get stirred in and that are used for a garnish.  We used flat leaf parsley for the herb. 

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Pomegranate, Avocado and Zucchini Salsa!

Pomegranate, Avocado and Zucchini Salsa
2 Zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1 avocado, halved, pitted and cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1-2 tbsp feta cheese (or more if you like it)
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice

Preheat oven to 425.  Toss zucchini in olive oil, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and a few grinds of fresh black pepper.  Spread onto a baking sheet and roast in oven until tender and golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Let cool.
Transfer zucchini to a bowl, add onion, avocado, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, lime juice, a sprinkle of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper.  Gently stir to combine. 
Refrigerate 30 minutes.  Can be made up to 2 hours in advance. 

Serve with pita chips, tortilla scoops, or with fish tacos.  It's delicious!