Family Chow Hall

Here’s a simple yet scrumptious dip that will be perfect for taking to your New Year’s Eve events…

My son suggested this one after having something similar at CHILI’S. Since I’ve never had it there, I had nothing to go on except that it must have spinach and artichokes.

Our family usually has nothing but munchies on Christmas — purchased appetizers, cheese dip, chips, candy, etc. (This tradition helps me stay available as the designated battery-hunter, instruction-reader, and box-opener.) One of the munchies this Christmas was this Spinach Artichoke Dip, which was served with a variety of chips and crackers.

Party Spinach Artichoke Dip

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
fresh spinach, about half of a bag
OR frozen spinach, 10 oz.
salt and pepper to taste

There are two possible ways to prepare this — I have a small crock pot for serving dips and cheese sauces. This was perfect for this warm dip.

Cube the cream cheese. If you have a small crock pot, put it in there. If not, let it come to room temperature in a mixing bowl, then cream it with your mixer.

Add the mayonnaise.

Drain MOST of the liquid from the artichoke hearts and place them in a food chopper and give them a few pulses so there are no large chunks. Add this to the cream cheese/mayonnaise combination.

If using fresh spinach, chop and then saute until wilted with just a drip of olive oil. If using frozen spinach, thaw it and squeeze as much liquid out as is humanly possible. Add the spinach to the rest of the ingredients.

Dash your salt and pepper in.

Next, if using the crock-pot method, wait until it warms up and stir occasionally. If using an oven, mix it all up, then place in a small greased casserole dish. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes.

Serve with any of these possibilities: bread sticks, pita chips, bagel chips, crackers, corn chips, fresh bread…

Who loves to experiment in the kitchen? I suppose some people really don’t, but I do! The main thing that holds me back from constantly experimenting is that I hate throwing food away and I’m not crazy about serving nasty experiments-gone-wrong, either.

This is one idea that I had which I thought would take a few tries, but I really wanted to make it, so I dug in a few days before Thanksgiving, hoping I would get it right so we could munch on this on Turkey Day. It’s funny, isn’t it, how you imagine one scenario, but the complete opposite happens? Instead of having to try, try, try again to get the result I wanted, this newly-invented recipe turned out great the first time and was completely gone before Thanksgiving! Everyone in the family who tried it loved it and we ended up sort of fighting over it. (We couldn’t convince the littlest ones in the family to taste it and I have to admit we didn’t try very hard.)

Instead of going out and buying one of those “cheesy” plastic-wrapped and nut-covered cheese balls for the holiday season, try making your own… I bet you could even come up with a new flavor or two to suit your own tastes. I’m thinking of making a few for neighbors and friends.

So, here it is, faithful readers…. The Bacon Jalapeno Cheese Ball:

8 oz. Velveeta
1/3 c. water
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2-4 jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic
2 t. olive oil, butter, or any kind of oil
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
5 bacon strips

To start, fry up the bacon and let it cool and drain, then crumble it. You can even put it in your food chopper or just have a willing helper cut it up into small pieces with a kitchen shears.

Next, seed the peppers — cut the tops off and remove the inside pith and seeds. Chop them extra-tiny or throw them in the food chopper along with the garlic cloves. These you should saute in the oil in a small skillet. As they cook and soften, add the red pepper flakes.

I did not add any salt or other seasonings to this. Some of you may want to add cumin, chili powder, or other flavors. I decided to keep it simple. I will also mention that I did NOT add SALT, since the Velveeta is already plenty salty and the bacon, too.

So, once the peppers are softened and the bacon is crumbled, you can start on the cheese portion; Place the Velveeta, cut into chunks, and the water in a microwavable, large bowl with high sides (we’re going to be using the mixer in a minute.) Microwave this for a minute at a time, turning and stirring — until the cheese is rather soft. Use an electric mixer to whip this up. It should turn into a smooth, slightly runny cheese sauce, much like nacho cheese. You may have to microwave longer if the chunks won’t smooth out.

Finally, add everything together — dump the jalapenos and the bacon in, mix them in, then add the cheddar cheese. This may seem too soft to make into a cheese ball, that’s OK. Wrap this in some plastic wrap and refrigerate. After a couple hours of chilling, you should be able to mold it into a ball or log for serving.

Serve with your favorite crackers or pita chips. ENJOY!

Here’s something quick, easy, and delicious that I threw on the grill last night.

We love grilled food, but occasionally I feel like we consume too much meat. I grew up in one of those meat-and-potatoes families. When there’s no meat on the table, I feel like something is missing. The main event, you know?

But really, I try to convince myself, meat is not necessary at every meal. I’d be much better off with two portions of vegetables and no meat at all, at least some of the time.

So, having bought a few portabella mushrooms on sale, I grilled these babies last night and they were so good - just as good as most steaks.

In case you are unfamiliar with mushrooms, a portabella is one of the huge mushrooms the size of a dessert plate. They have a firm texture and a meaty flavor. This is how I prepared them:

Provolone Smothered Mushrooms
serves 4

4 Portabella Caps
4 T. olive oil
2 T. malt vinegar
4 T. steak sauce
1 t. minced garlic
salt and pepper
Provolone cheese
parsley for garnish

Make a marinade with the oil, vinegar, steak sauce, and seasonings. Mix this together in a large bowl and add the mushrooms. To get the marinade all over the mushrooms, I used a turkey baster.

After at least a couple of hours in the marinade, heat the grill to high. Place the portabellas, gill side up, on the rack and turn the heat down to medium. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes. Watch out - the olive oil can cause flare-ups when it drips down into the fire!

Flip the ’shrooms and let ‘em cook another 5-7 minutes. You should be able to tell when they start to get tender. Turn them gill side up again and put a slice of cheese (or two if you really like cheese) on top. Sprinkle with the parsley. Let the cheese melt and you are finished!

Enjoy!

P.S. Throw a couple of hot dogs on for the kids - most kids don’t like mushrooms.