Dip idea needed for veggie tray

[pam claughton]

Every Thanksgiving, we gather in the oversized kitchen at my sister's mother-in-law's house, and sip champagne or prosecco and nibble on appetizers while the final cooking wraps up. We always have two very rich appetizers, stuffed mushrooms with a buttery bread filling, and brie, baked in puff pastry with apricot or raspberry jam. I said I'd bring a third dish, something light, and thought a veggie tray would be good, with some kind of an interesting dip.

Any suggestions? I could do the old standbys, a ranch or onion or leek sour cream thing, but wanted to see if anyone has something a bit more interesting?

Thanks!

Pam

[fifi]

One year I did a variation on the dip to more of a Southwest thing. I didn't measure and just tasted as I went while adding things to the sour cream. I remember ancho chile powder, ground cumin, diced pickled jalapeno, garlic, onion, I forget what else. The ancho made it a pretty color.

Actually, if the turkey frier is going, the whole thing usually gets dumped in there. Then our crowd will actually eat it.

[Gifted Gourmet]

When I serve crudites, I like this white bean and tarragon dip and this honey curry dip.

[NWKate]

Homemade hummus is always nice!

[Pam R]

one of my new favorites: roasted red peppers pureed with fresh garlic, basil, chevre and cream cheese, salt and pepper - splash of balsamic optional.

[divalasvegas]

I know it's old school, but how about Green Goddess dressing/dip?

Here's a recipe from the food network chefs:

Green Goddess Dressing

Or this one from Tyler Florence:

Tyler Florence's Green Goddess Dressing

To make them both thicker for a dip, I would probably lower the mayo and increase the sour cream.

[Basilgirl]

Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix, sour cream. Much more interesting than just onion or leek dip - I think it does have leeks, and also other veggies. Everyone I've served it to loves it, even a not-veg friendly 11-year-old boy.

[divalasvegas]

one of my new favorites: roasted red peppers pureed with fresh garlic, basil, chevre and cream cheese, salt and pepper - splash of balsamic optional.

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Hi Pam R this sounds so delicious. I've been looking for an easy red pepper dip. May I ask is this basically a "dump" recipe or is there a specific order to pureeing the ingredients? Also, have you tried a splash of sherry wine vinegar? Do you think it would work?

[Gifted Gourmet]

Thought that I had purchased pretty much everything for tomorrow and now this!! Off to buy more crudites! Thanks everyone for these great ideas!

[kitchenmage]

Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix, sour cream. Much more interesting than just onion or leek dip - I think it does have leeks, and also other veggies. Everyone I've served it to loves it, even a not-veg friendly 11-year-old boy.

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my standby is this made with half sour cream, half mayo and a bunch of fresh spinach chopped in the food processor. It must be fresh spinach, trust me.

[Pam R]

Hi Pam R this sounds so delicious.  I've been looking for an easy red pepper dip.  May I ask is this basically a "dump" recipe or is there a specific order to pureeing the ingredients?  Also, have you tried a splash of sherry wine vinegar?  Do you think it would work?

←

I like to puree the peppers, garlic and basil before adding the cheeses - but you could do it all at one time. I think you get a smoother puree doing those items first... but there's no reason why it wouldn't work if it was a little chunkier.

I'm never been able to find sherry wine vinegar that's kosher so I haven't tried it - but I think it would work well. Why not?

Now in RecipeGullet

Edited November 24, 2005 by Pam R (log)

[pam claughton]

Thanks everyone! Lots of great ideas...now the problem is how do I decide? They all sound good.

Pam

[pam claughton]

I ended up going with a hummus dip I've made before and forgot all about. It's a blend of roasted red pepper hummus, feta cheese, sour cream or greek yogurt, chopped artichokes, and you can also add cheddar or mozzarella (I didn't though this time). You mix it all, and microwave or bake until it all melts a bit, and stir to let the flavors blend. If you are serving it with the cheddar or mozz, it's best to heat before serving, so it gets all gooey. I'm just serving mine cold, and did the heating ahead, so the flavors would blend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pam

[CaliPoutine]

I've been making a carmelized onion dip. A whack of carmelized onions, mayo, cream cheese, some herbs and spices and a whirl in the cuiz.

yummy.

[Jason Perlow]

Spinach Dip. Its cooked spinach blended with sour cream and a knorr mix.

[divalasvegas]

Hi Pam R this sounds so delicious.  I've been looking for an easy red pepper dip.  May I ask is this basically a "dump" recipe or is there a specific order to pureeing the ingredients?  Also, have you tried a splash of sherry wine vinegar?  Do you think it would work?

←

I like to puree the peppers, garlic and basil before adding the cheeses - but you could do it all at one time. I think you get a smoother puree doing those items first... but there's no reason why it wouldn't work if it was a little chunkier.

I'm never been able to find sherry wine vinegar that's kosher so I haven't tried it - but I think it would work well. Why not?

Now in RecipeGullet

←

Thanks so much Pam R. I didn't do a relish tray for Thanksgiving. I just like having dips and raw vegetables around in general for munching.

Hope you and everyone else had a great Thanksgiving.

[SMW]

Too late for a Thanksgiving dip, but a dip I like, and in fact made for Thanksgiving, is half mayo, half sour cream or strained yogurt blended quickly in the food processer with pitted Kalamata olives and capers - enough to make the dip chunky. It ends up kind of complex tasting, a little sweet, sour and salty.

[MarketStEl]

Well, these may not be terribly original or inventive, but I like to make a homemade blue cheese dip--not dressing--at least once during the holidays.

I usually combine an 8-ounce package of softened cream cheese with the same amount of blue cheese, a half pint of sour cream and a teaspoon of onion powder, and mix them together with an immersion blender.

Or I might just whip up some chipotle mayonnaise. Maybe tossing some cream cheese in might make the consistency a little thicker.