healthy dip idea: black bean hummus

Don't want to derail your new year's healthy habits during upcoming football gatherings? Or maybe you're hosting book club and are looking for a casual crowd-pleasing appetizer that you can quickly whip up between ice hockey chauffeuring and bedtime stories? In my case, I wanted a healthy, protein-packed after school snack that I could have on hand when the kids tumbled off the bus… but since then, this dip has graced Super Bowl spreads and mom's nights out! I recently shared it with shoppers at our local market, to rave reviews.

It requires just a few ingredients: black beans, tahini, garlic, jalapeño (optional), cilantro (you can substitute parsley if you're one who doesn't like cilantro), scallions and fresh lime juice.

Pop all of the ingredients into a food processor, and pulse to desired consistency. You can add water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, to thin the dip to desired consistency, then salt and pepper to desired taste. So easy!

Black Bean Hummus
(makes about 2 cups)

15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2-4 cloves garlic
1 jalapeño, seeded (optional)
2 limes, juiced
1 bunch of scallions, white parts only (about 1/4 cup)
2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame paste, usually found by nut butters)
water (to thin, optional)
salt & pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Will keep, in an air-tight container, for several days in the fridge. 

Serve with sliced veggies or pita chips… or both. This is a healthy, crowd-pleasing appetizer-- and nourishing after school snack. Hope your family enjoys it as much as I family does!  -Eila

fiddlehead ferns with lemon-horseradish yogurt dipping sauce

This CA girl can honestly say I'd never tried a fiddlehead fern until this week. Since they don't thrive where it's warm year-round, I had an idyllic childhood, but no fiddlehead ferns! Having lived in the Northeast for several years now, I've seen them pop up in the produce section just for a few weeks each spring, but I never had the confidence or know-how to prepare them. This week, I decided to give them a whirl. Most recipes call for blanching them and then sautéing, but I knew my 6-year-old would be somewhat suspect.... and serving things with a dip usually garners at least a taste of something new. So, I blanched them and then served them room temp with a yogurt dipping sauce. Delish. Click here for the fiddlehead and dip recipe I shared with our local, family-owned market.

easy entertaining + white bean-bacon dip with rosemary

This post is about an easy app.... but it's also about something else. A few months ago, my husband offhandedly announced that he was in charge of throwing the Y Guide "Squaw's Night" (aka: the annual couples gathering for his father-child group). Seriously? You volunteered?! I can't remember the last time we hosted a dinner party, let alone planned a large social gathering for people, some of whom I don't even know? Add in my nutrition coursework, a renovation project, lots of volunteer work, two kids, and the brewings of a business launch and.... "this is all you," I said. Now, for someone who likes to entertain, staying out of it was no easy feat. But, for the first time (probably ever), I did. And you know what? Everything went just fine. No, better than fine. 

Our house not being an option mid-renovation, he rented out a paddle hut, emailed everyone asking them to bring an appetizer and wine, and picked up a keg, plastic cups and paper goods... and that was it. No fretting about the menu. No renting a coat rack. No scurrying around before the guests arrived. No one noticed that the wine glasses were the size of Solo cups and the cocktail napkins were luncheon size (white no less, no pattern to coordinate with the theme... or maybe he was cleverer than I, seeing as how we all had to park in snow drifts after Nemo had blown through the night before?)...Anyway, the party was perfect, and not because of anything I did. Whenever the need to micromanage or over-plan arises, I must remember this soiree. 

So, I know I promised a bunch of you the appetizer recipe, after teasing you with a photo on the FB page. It's easy and everyone loved it, so I hope you do too... 

White Bean-Bacon-Rosemary Dip

(makes about 3 cups)

two 15 oz can cannelloni (white) beans, drained and rinsed

a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem

1 lemon, zested and juiced

6 pieces of bacon, cooked 

3-4 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt & pepper

In a Cuisinart, combine all ingredients and pulse until desired consistency. Serve with veggies, crackers or chips of your choice.

To assemble 36 phyllo cups of dip (pictured above and below):

about 2 cups of dip (save the rest for after school snacks...)

3 packages of Athenos phyllo cups (heated 5 minutes at 350 to crisp them up)

2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs, leaves removed

3-4 strips cooked bacon, rough chopped

Place a dollop of dip in each phyllo shell and top with a piece of bacon and a sprig of rosemary. 

my top two Superbowl recipes

I've gotten a couple of requests for my favorite Superbowl vittles. I've said it before, and I'll say it again-- for me it's all about the food, and the ads. So, you must have good food on game day. OK, so what would I whip up?

Chili - who doesn't love a steaming bowl of chili? Put out a toppings bar of shredded cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt, brown rice, chopped scallions, chopped onion, guacamole, corn relish (Whole Foods sells an excellent prepared one in the produce section), pickled jalapeños, hot sauce, and crumbled bacon and let people customize their bowl!

If I were asked to bring a dip along to a gathering, this Creamy Baked Goat Cheese and Salsa Dip would be my choice, served with carrot and celery spears and pita chips or tortilla chips.

Want to peek at my round-up from last year that includes a super simple baked brie (that everyone loves!) and more? Click here for lots more crowd-friendly Superbowl party ideas. Enjoy!!

a few of my favorite appetizers (just in time for your New Years gatherings!)

I'm still deciding what I am whipping up for the New Years party we're going to this year. The invitation told us to "wear sparkles" (check! and now my husband cannot roll his eyes that I packed a shimmery little number along with my ski clothes...you just never know when a party dress will come in handy, now do you?) and to bring "your favorite dish". Ah, the pressure is on. So, I've started thinking about some of my favorite appetizers that are crowd-pleasers-- but that will also allow me to ski all day, and come home with just a few minutes to spare...

In the winter-- particularly when it's all snowy outside-- really you cannot beat a baked brie. Everyone loves it, and it takes mere minutes to assemble. That pic above is last night's batch, which was precariously balanced on my lap in all of its' warm, gooey deliciousness, as we were heading to a friend's for afternoon skating and cocktails. It's simply: brie (or similar cheese, sliced horizontally) smothered in a tapenade (last night's was Artichoke-Almond), pop the other half of the brie on top, smother a little more tapenade on top of that, then into a 375 oven for the time it takes for you to change out of your ski clothes (or just spray some perfume, as the case may have been last night-- say 10 minutes, whoa that's a lot of perfume... anyway, until it's melted through. Serve warm with crackers or thinly sliced bread.   

For those who don't trust my description above and like the step-by-step photos, here you go. For New Canaan readers, Walter Stewart's Market is usually very well-stocked with Gracious Gourmet tapenades and spreads. These are kind of my go-to filling for any baked brie. My favorites are their Balsamic Four Onion spread, Fig Almond spread, and Spiced Sour Cherry ones, but this recipe will work with whichever one sounds good to you! And for those who are out here in Idaho, Atkinson's Market in Sun Valley carries a nice selection of tapenades and spreads in the front of the market over by the beer and wine. Convenient. 

Another decadent, warm, cheesy, casual appetizer is my Creamy Baked Salsa Dip. Mmmm. That's another good one. In fact, bookmark that one for any lazy, chilly weekend...

Alright, but we cannot live on melted cheese alone now can we?

For those who are still going casual, but have the black-eyed pea superstition gig swirling around their heads, I suggest whipping up a batch of this simple-- but totally decadent-- black-eyed pea dip.

Or, you can go a healthier route and make black-eyed pea hummus served in cucumber cups. I teach you how to make cucumber cups here.

I love cucumber cups. You can stuff them with anything, depending upon your audience, season and occasion. I've stuffed them with Edamame Hummus, Harissa-White Bean Dip (pictured above, a puree of white beans, harissa paste and lemon juice with salt & pepper to taste), a White Bean Bacon Dip (that I really must photograph and post for you all sooner rather than later) and Soy Chorizo Dip (pictured below, with the recipe here). Dress them up or down, these vessels always fly off the plate.

Depending upon where you live, you might be able to score endive this time of year. If so, these Parmesan-Walnut stuffed Endive Spears are impressive looking and crowd-pleasers (in addition to being a nice, healthy alternative to a cocktail party spread).

And then there's the ever-popular smoked salmon paired with capers, onions, fresh dill and cream cheese or creme fraiche. Friends brought these to our home on Christmas, and they made me swoon. I have also mashed the cream cheese + capers + finely chopped onion + fresh dill into a paste.... and put a dollop on a hearty (usually Hawaiian) potato chip, topped with a piece of smoked salmon. My friend, Ally, introduced me to that app years ago, and it's remained a go-to. The only caveat is it not being humid. If it's humid, the chips get soggy and no one likes a soggy chip.... Don't have to worry about that in Idaho in December.

And last but not least, my absolute go-to appetizer for prettiness, unique taste, and popularity: Feta-Fig Tartlets, which are featured several places, including my most recent contribution, to Fox News Magazine! As long as you can get your hands on some of the phyllo shells, you can whip these up (here's the recipe), or your own version with pesto, sun-dried tomatoes-- really, anything that sounds good to you!

This should give you a few ideas, if you're bringing something to a New Years gathering! I look forward to hearing what you whip up!!

2 (fabulous) uses of leftover yogurt dip

I have tucked the rest of the meatballs from last week into the freezer, along with the rest of the stash I am leaving for my parents as a thank you for a superb month in the mountains of Idaho. But, I still had a bunch of the yogurt dip on hand, and that won't freeze. Lucky for us, we enjoyed the last of it two ways today, both of which I highly recommend:

For brunch, I placed a dollop of the yogurt sauce on each person plate, then topped it with a poached egg (or two). It was creamy deliciousness spread on the accompanying rosemary bread.

Later in the day, I marinated chicken breasts in the rest of the yogurt dip + lemon juice + olive oil (everything into a big zip-loc for about 30 minutes), and grilled it for a quick and easy summer dinner. As you can see with the kids' plate above, I also made good use of the rest of the grilled veggies we'd had with the meatballs (adding them to a boxed Seeds of Change blend I found in the pantry out here)... tomorrow it'll be back to cooking, as I think I successfully used everything up on Sunday!

easy appetizer for the long weekend: creamy baked salsa dip

One of the perks of having a popular blog is that every so often I am offered special food items to try with my family. Most recently, I received a few jars of 365 brand salsas from Whole Foods.  Being asked if I would share these salsas with my family and let them know what I thought did not take much arm twisting since I am a frequent shopper at, and big fan of, Whole Foods Market.... and I love salsa. 

If I were only cooking for me, the hotter the salsa the better! (But let's be serious, when am I ever only cooking for me?!) Since I was making a dip to be shared with family and friends this Memorial Day weekend, I opted to use the mild 365 brand Roasted Chipotle in this super easy appetizer. You all know that I am all about short ingredient lists, and quick assembly... and if something can be made ahead so I can sit and enjoy my family and/or guests, even better! So, without further adieu, let me share this "oldie but goodie" dip from my recipe binders.   

Creamy Baked Salsa Dip

4 oz log goat cheese

8 oz brick cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese

16 oz jar salsa (I used 365 brand Roasted Chipotle variety)

1/4 cup raw pine nuts

tortilla chips, pita chips or your favorite cracker

Preheat oven to 350. Soften cheeses a bit, and blend together. Spread half of the cheese mixture in a baking dish. Smother with salsa. Dollop the remaining cheese mixture on top of the salsa. Sprinkle with pine nuts. Pop dish into oven and bake until heated through (about 10-15 minutes). Serve warm with your favorite tortilla chips, pita chips or crackers. 

spinach dip (on the fly)

In an effort to get the kid's dinner made before the school bus rumbled up yesterday, I roasted some chicken and potatoes/sweet potatoes, quickly sauteed some spinach with a little garlic, and chopped up a fresh batch of veggies to have on hand. My younger son came over to the range and peeked at the spinach. "I don't like the way spinach tastes in my mouth when it looks like that." {Yes, I've registered that same complaint in the past...normally cooked spinach goes into our frittatas, scrambled eggs, etc but tonight I was in a time pinch and was planning on offering up a simple sauteed spinach side.} The bus arrived with my older son, who announced, "something smells YUMMY!" when he came in, but then lost his enthusiasm when he saw the garlicky wilted greens. So, while coloring and homework ensued at the kitchen table, I quickly morphed the very unpopular spinach into... [ta da!] Bright Green Spinach Dip! And it was a hit.

So I had the spinach. A check of the snack drawer for nuts came up with slivered raw almonds, though any nut you like will do....

and some oil. I happened to have a little but of walnut oil left, but again, go with what you have, that your family likes. The oil is used to thin my dip, and give my kids some healthy fat. You could simply go with water, or broth of if you have some kicking around.

Add everything to the blender, and pulse. Hmmm, you'll see that mine was a little thick. The spinach whizzed itself smooth but the whole thing wasn't coming together, so, I added a splash of water, and

there you have it! But, I tasted it and it was a little, I guess "spinach-y" is the best way to describe it.

So, I checked our cheese supply and added a bit of Feta (but again, pick a cheese your family likes...).

This made quite a bit, so I was hoping it would be a hit...

The kids loved it! And 24 hours later, it's still bright green, so it holds up well. Here's the spur-of-the-moment "recipe" in case anyone else finds themselves needing to work some kitchen magic down the line:

Bright Green Spinach* Dip 

(*can be made with any sauteed veggie)

I am not giving you exact measurement, because this is a really flexible recipe. Simply add ingredients and taste along with way to get to the texture and taste you and your family will enjoy.

sauteed spinach (mine was with garlic and olive oil)
oil, water or broth (optional, to thin the dip)
nuts (I used slivered, raw almonds; use any nut you like)
cheese (I used Feta; Parmesan would also be good)
salt & pepper (optional), to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until desired consistency. Will store in an air-tight container for a few days in the fridge. Serve as a snack or side dish with chopped veggies, grilled chicken or fish, pita chips- really anything that your children like to dip! If your kids like this, then you might also want to bookmark or pin my Bright Green Pea Dip.

healthy black-eyed pea hummus

As mentioned in my earlier post of the decadent black-eyed pea dip, black-eyed peas are a new New Year's tradition in our home. And, given the versatility and simplicity of the two black-eyed pea recipes I whipped up, I think we'll continue to ring in the New Year with one or both of these delicious dips. Where the decadent one was loaded with dairy, fat and gooiness, this one could not be more fresh tasting and healthy. I simply used my go-to "formula" for any bean-based dip I whip up: rinsed and drained beans + base (usually olive oil) + acid (usually lemon juice) + additional flavoring (frozen or fresh herbs, lemon zest, hot sauce, etc...).

Black-Eyed Pea-Cilantro Hummus

(makes about 1 1/2 cups)

15 oz. can of black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

a few Tablespoons of olive oil*

juice of 1 lemon

3 cubes of frozen cilantro (+/- 1/2 cup fresh)**

2 cubes frozen garlic (+/- 2 cloves fresh)

handful of fresh herbs of your choice (optional)

water to thin the dip to desired consistency (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, using the blade attachment, and blend until blended and smooth. You may add a bit of water, if you would like, to thin the dip. I served this dip in cucumber cups, which made it a perfect, healthy contribution to our last-minute New Year's gathering. It would also be delicious served with whole wheat pita chips. Dip will store in an airtight container, in the fridge, for several days. 

* I love using flavored olive oils, and happened to have an Olave Lemon one on hand, but you create the same infused effect by using your favorite regular olive oil and adding some fresh lemon zest before blending.
** I always have a few trays of frozen herbs and garlic in my freezer. It makes adding flavor super simple. Dorot is my favorite brand, and I find it locally at our Trader Joe's. Here's a store locator, so you can find them by you too. You're welcome!!
And, last but not least... to learn how to make cucumber cups, you may click here. Enjoy!