Festive Dips & Appetizers

Got a couple last-minute guests joining for Turkey Day? We sure did (that takes us up to twelve for tomorrow, for those of you who are counting, hee hee).

So, how do you materialize a couple more plates of food when the turkey is already two-days thawed? How about some festive snacks and appetizers to warm everyone up? Here are three easy, classic dips/spreads that I whipped up for tomorrow:

(better pics to come once they’re “plated” tomorrow)

Pecan Cheese Log

Ohhh cheese ball, you’re one of my favorite parts of the Holiday season. You and olibollen and wedding cookies/snowballs, mmmm …  ANYWAY, this is a pretty standard recipe for a cheese ball/log but I made two important changes:

1. I melt the cheeses together a bit so they will blend evenly. This isn’t necessary and makes it tad more tricky, but I like the smooth, blended result. For a super-simple recipe, you can, of course, just blend them without the heating and cooling steps.
2. These are typically made with a “ranch dressing” packet. There is no such thing outside the US. Hence, the powders and spices introduced to my cheese log.

[Prep & Cook: ~10min + 1hr cooling]

– 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese
– about 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
– 1 tsp garlic powder
– 1 tsp onion powder
– 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
– a dash of basil and parsley
– about 1/2 cup+ chopped pecans

1. Lightly melt together the two cheeses in a saucepan over gentle/low heat.
2. Stir in the garlic, onion, basil, parsley and Worcestershire sauce.
3. Remove from heat to a piece of aluminium foil and use foil to shape as desired (I find the log easiest to shape & eat).
4. Cool in the freezer for about 1/2hr to 1hr until log begins to re-solidify.
5. Roll in chopped pecans.  (re-wrap and refrigerate if storing)
6. Ready to eat!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

You can also serve this dip cold, but the heat is nice time of year and comes-off a bit more fancy. And like the cheese log above, this is a classic recipe with a Lipton’s onion/leek soup mix for which I substituted some powders and spices.

[Prep: 5min / Cook: 15min]

– 1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts
– 1 cup frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry-ish)
– 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese
– 1/4 cup mayonnaise
– 1/4 cup grated parmesean
– 1 or 2 cloves of garlic (abt 1-2 tsp garlic powder)
– dash each of basil, salt and pepper
– 1/4 – 1/2 cup shredded/sliced mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Chop the garlic & drain and chop the artichoke hearts.
2. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for the mozzarella.
3. Transfer to a casserole/baking dish and top with mozzarella.
4. Bake for about 15min until the cheese gets lovely and melted and bubbly.
5. Ready to eat!

Pumpkin Spiced Hummus

For those who actually dare to be healthy at Thanksgiving, this is a nice twist I found for a holiday hummus (also a great use for the left-over real pumpkin puree from my pie). To make this super easy (and because it was cost-equal) I used a couple pre-made containers of plain hummus. To make it all from scratch, make a hummus-base by putting a can of (drained) chickpeas, 1/2 cup tahini paste, 1/2 cup olive oil and a bit of garlic/garlic powder through a blender before adding the pumpkin and spices.

[Prep: 5min]

– about 1.5-2 cups of plain hummus
– 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp nutmeg
– a dash of chili/cayenne powder or paprika

1. In a large bowl, blend all ingredients together.
2. Chill in the refrigerator until use.
3. Ready to eat!

Adapted from Pumpkin Hummus on allrecipes.com