[color=red]Artichoke Hearts and Grated Parmasan Dip[/color]
Ingredients:
1 can (12 - 16 oz) quartered artichoke hearts in water, drain and chop
1 can (4 oz) of diced green chilis, drained (I just buy fresh chilis and chop them up finely… this will add spice to the recipe so use more or less to your own taste)
3/4 (three-quarter) cup of mayonaise
1 cup grated Parmasan cheese (get real cheese and grate it yourself)
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients well
Sprinkle with cayenne pepper or paprika
Serve hot (place in oven for 10 minutes) or cold from the ice box (refrigerator).
Tigerman - that looks good. Do you serve it as a spread? If it is a dip, what do you dip into it? Also, is there anything to substitute for that much mayonaise?
It seems you could omit the mayonaise and put all the other ingredients in a blender with some olive oil and cut down on the fat to make a good spread for toasted french bread.
You can make a pretty good dip with natural yoghurt. Add whatever you want. It’s one of those foodstuffs, like scrambled eggs, and icecream, that you can add pretty much anything to and it will taste good.
Some ideas to get started:
Some ketchup. Stir that into the yoghurt (make sure you make a nice swirly pattern) and you’ve got an instant, healthy version of marie rose sauce.
Grated cucumber, crushed garlic, maybe a little fresh mint, fresh parsley, fresh dill or dill seedl, or cumin seed, roasted and ground.
Any chopped herbs.
I prefer nice sour live natural yoghurt, but a Greek-style yoghurt could be an interesting alternative. And if you really can’t get unsweetened live yoghurt then you could make up some kefir. See this post and the ones on the following page;
[forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … 428#122428](Yoghurt, yogurt -- buying, making
If you’re using it for a dip then Sandman’s idea of straining it through cheesecloth or muslin to thicken it up would be a good idea.
A ripe Haas avocado (usually available from Costco)
Some very finely chopped onion or shallot
A very finely chopped tomato
Juice of a lime (lemon will do)
Big handful of chopped cilantro
As much good hot sauce as you like (or a couple of very finely chopped chillies, or both)
salt & freshly ground black pepper
[color=red]Simple fresh salsa [/color]
Some nice red tomatoes, de-seeded & finely chopped (cut toms in half and squeeze out the seeds or dig them out with your fingers)
A finely chopped onion (I like to use a Bermuda onion – a bit sweeter – but normal ones are fine)
Juice of a lime (lemon will do)
Big handful of chopped cilantro
A clove or two of chopped garlic
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Some finely chopped chillies or some good hot sauce, or both
Some toasted ground cumin seeds if desired
[quote=“Richardm”]I really miss the jalepeno bean dip and the big fritos.[/quote]I have found ‘ROSARITAS’ refried beans in a store in Tainan.
If you add a chopped up chilie (I use a fresh red chile), a very finely minced clove of garlic and some lime juice to it then heat until nicely warm, it is pretty good. A dash of cinamon is worth trying also.
As far as the big Fritos - They are here on the island; but very very hard to find. One store in Tainan gets them very infrequently. Its the same place I found the ROSARITAS Refried Beans.
[quote=“sandman”][color=red]Simple fresh salsa [/color]
Some nice red tomatoes, de-seeded & finely chopped (cut toms in half and squeeze out the seeds or dig them out with your fingers)
Juice of a lime (lemon will do)
Big handful of chopped cilantro
A clove or two of chopped garlic
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Some finely chopped chillies or some good hot sauce, or both
Some toasted ground cumin seeds if desired
Mix it all together[/quote]
You don’t put onion in your salsa? I have had some types of salsas used as sauces that didn’t have onion, but your recipe looks like a dipping salsa.
Onion after a day or two can begin to overpower the rest of the ingredients - especially the onions in Taiwan as I’ve found they tend to be a bit stronger flavored.
I’ve only had it as a dip… but, I see no reason it would not work as a spread, also. I have always dipped a good quality, lightly salted wheat cracker in it.
[quote=“elektronisk”]Also, is there anything to substitute for that much mayonaise?
It seems you could omit the mayonaise and put all the other ingredients in a blender with some olive oil and cut down on the fat to make a good spread for toasted french bread.[/quote]
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup fresh button mushrooms - finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
100ml of dry red wine
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
black pepper to taste
In a fry pan, melt butter over med. heat, add mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms are browned (10-15 min.), stirring often. Mix in wine. Remove from heat, set aside.
In a bowl, beat cream cheese and parsley until blended, and then add mushroom mixture. Blend. (Use a food processor if you want the consistency of pate)
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, allowing the flavors to blend together. (This dip will keep refrigerated for 2 to 3 weeks.)
Present with an assortment of lightly blanched and raw vegetables
I know the fommer isn’t quite a dip, but it works well as one and has always been a huge hit at parties, great if you’re entertaining a vegetarian.
Just a small suggestion if you’re making salsa. When I make mine, I combine all my ingredients- tomatoes, onions, green peppers, garlic, basil, cilantro, olive oil, salt, pepper, hot sauce, sugar, sometimes even celery and carrots if they’re around- in a saucepan and simmer it away for about a half hour to 45 minutes. The juice from the tomatoes comes out great and the other veggies blend together and soften up. After it’s cooked, I let it cool then I throw in a pile of both raw onions and green peppers to give the salsa that overall crunch. You don’t have to add more of these veggies, just set some aside before putting them into the pan. I find cooking then adding the raw veggies really makes a big difference in the taste.
