weeknight gourmet

Category : Appetizers

Bridal Shower Recipes: Ranch Dip with Vegetables

As people were arriving at the shower, we served a simple veggie platter with this ranch dip.

The dip was easy to make and worked well with low-fat sour cream and mayo.  To reduce the amount of slicing and chopping we needed to do, we served with snow peas, cherry tomatoes, and baby carrots.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the dip and I was impressed with how much flavor the garlic, chives and parsley imparted to this sour cream and mayo-based dip.

Ranch Dip with Vegetables
Gourmet Magazine

  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
  • 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 carrots, cut into sticks
  • 6 celery ribs, cut into sticks
  • 1 seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped), cut into sticks
  • 1 small jicama, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into sticks
  • 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes (9 ounces)

Stir together sour cream, mayonnaise, parsley, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl until combined well.

Chill dip, covered, until slightly thickened, at least 1 hour (for flavors to develop). Serve dip with vegetables.

Perfect Barbecue Side Dishes: Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Peppers

We made this dish — a more sophisticated jalapeno popper — for the first time last night and it appeared to be a hit!

I made the cheese filling and stuffed the peppers before our guests arrived and just kept the stuffed peppers in the fridge.  I used Cubanelle and Poblano peppers but I am sure the filling will be delicious with any type of pepper.

Tim tells me it was a challenge to keep the tops on the peppers as they were grilling and the cheese oozes a bit but I think the mess was worth the flavor!

I will definitely be making this dish again this summer.


Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Peppers

Food & Wine

  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (8 ounces)
  • 1 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 4 Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers
  • 4 baby bell peppers
  • 4 small poblano chiles
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for rubbing

In a medium bowl, blend the ricotta with the cream cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season with salt and pepper.

Light a grill or heat a grill pan. Using a small, sharp knife, remove the stems from the peppers and reserve. Cut around inside the peppers to detach the membranes and remove the seeds. Using a butter knife, fill the peppers with the cheese mixture and reattach the tops. Rub the peppers with olive oil.

Grill the peppers over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until blistered all over and the cheese filling is piping hot, about 7 minutes.

Transfer the peppers to plates and serve.

Make Ahead: The cheese-filled peppers can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before grilling.

Quick & easy hors d'oeuvres

Last night we hosted a dinner party for friends from business school.  I was excited to have people over but was a little limited on time.  Wanting to put out more than just your standard cheese plate for hors d’oeuvres, I turned to Mark Bittman.  In December 2007, he published an article entitled “101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less”.   The article provides great quick, easy, and interesting appetizer ideas and is organized into several categories — bread & crackers, bruschetta, on toothpicks, on skewers, finger foods, little sandwich triangles, and things that might require a fork.

I made a couple of “toothpick” appetizers.  I bought some good quality chorizo and simply sliced it and cooked it in a frying pan.  The chorizo was a hit — it was almost all gone before all of our guests arrived.

I also made caprese salad on a stick.  I put a grape tomato, a bocconcini (a small nugget of fresh mozzarella), and basil leaf on a toothpick, sprinkled with salt, and drizzled with olive oil.

After reading through the 101 appetizers ideas again yesterday, I am excited to try many more of these easy but elegant recipes.

Today's Dining Section

It’s Wednesday!  Time to see what goodies The New York Times has in store for me.  I was pleased to see that my two favorites – Mark Bittman and Melissa Clark – both had articles today.

Mark Bittman’s Parmesan Cream Crackers look deliciously simple and only require 5 ingredients.  Impress your guests with homemade crackers!

The Mustardy Braised Rabbit with Carrots by Melissa Clark is certainly not a weeknight meal.  But there is nothing I like more than braising meat on snowy Saturday night at our house in the Berkshires.  While I have never cooked rabbit, I became very comfortable with game after preparing wild boar in my cooking class in Florence.  And, our trip last year to Stockholm opened my taste buds up to a whole new world of game — elk, reindeer, and venison.

I always enjoy Melissa Clark’s recipes, but this one caught my eye in particular because it is an adaptation of a Daniel Boulud recipe.  Eating at Daniel remains one of my top ten dining experiences.  I am eager to see if I can bring a little bit of the elegant dining experience I had at Daniel into my home.