Appetizers and Dips

Roasted Garlic On Brie

A wheel of brie cheese showing white rind with pale yellow soft cheese interior

INGREDIENTS:
4 Heads of Fresh Garlic
3 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 round wheels of Brie Cheese
2 Baguettes, cut into 3/4" slices and toasted

PROCEDURE:
Slice tips off 4 whole bulbs of garlic; place in baker and drizzle with olive oil. Cover and roast for about 1 hour at 325 degrees. Slice top rind off Brie and bake at 325 for 5 -10 minutes or until bubbling. Squeeze roasted garlic from skin, as shown below, and spread on Brie and garnish with chopped herbs. Serve with toasted baguette rounds or crackers.

 
To release the cloves from a head of roasted garlic, just squeeze
to pop them out while warm.

Crab Dip

Originally, this recipe came from a Week at the Dreibelbis' house (Hi Julie and Bill!).  Through the years it has proven tried and true and remains largely the same, except for the substitution of our local fresh crab for the frozen supermarket king crab meat which we couldn't find down here.   Occasionally, I even resort to canned crab meat when the seafood supermarket is closed, and as long as you use white lump, it is still great tasting.  So use what you can find, the best you can find, and prepare to reel in the compliments!

INGREDIENTS: Pop these straight into a small soufflé or baking dish to mix and bake

1 large package Cream Cheese (you can soften it to make mixing easier with 30 seconds in the microwave)
1 small Onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Butter, melted

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven 'til bubbly and when the top is starting to brown.
Serve with crackers, potato chips, wheat thins.  Prepare more than you think you will need.  The leftovers (yeah, sure) refrigerate nicely for the next day only.

Baked Nacho Crab Dip

INGREDIENTS:

1 round large loaf of bread (something dark like pumpernickel, or rye is best)
1 can Campbell's Condensed Nacho Cheese Soup/Dip
1 cup Cooked Crab Meat, flaked (or substitute white lump canned crabmeat)
1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese (8 oz.), softened
2 Tablespoons sliced green onion (I add more to taste)

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

Bread: 

Slice off top; Pull out center to make 3/4 inch thick shell; cut top and center leftovers into one-inch cubes for dipping; set aside.  Place bread on a cookie sheet.

Cook Dip:

In a 2-quart saucepan, combine soup, cream cheese, crab, and onions. Heat through, stirring constantly.

Pour soup mixture into bread shell; cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake:

Bake 20 minutes or until bread is warmed.   Remove foil; Top with garnish of cooked Crumbled Bacon or Sliced Black Olives or Canned Onion Rings, or any combination of above.

Serve with Bread Cubes, Crackers, Taco Chips, or Fritos.

Makes 2-1/2 cups.

The Best Chicken Liver Pate`

This was the first pate` that ever crossed my lips, not being all that fond of liver in any form, you understand.   It still tastes the best to me, although I don't use it as a classic pate` on my Wellingtons but rather for a nice appetizer with crackers, molded into the shape of a hen on a nest.  Try it, even if you don't like liver too!  I used to do this chopping all by hand, but do yourself a favor and use the food processor.  Oh, I should mention that even though we always called this pate', it really isn't the classic type...in reality, it is just what is called "chopped chicken livers"...as in, "what am I? Chopped liver?".

1 pound chicken livers (you get them in the meat department, fresh)
1/3 cup celery, chopped VERY fine
1/3 cup onion, chopped VERY fine
1 hard boiled egg, chopped VERY fine
1/3 cup (or a little more) butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Melt butter in a hot frypan, adding chicken livers and sautéing them until done, about 8 minutes.  take out just the livers, placing them first on paper towels to drain and then into the food processor and chop 'til fine.  (crumbly, not soupy -  use the pulser) Then put the chopped onion and celery into the butter left from the livers (and flavored by them), adding more butter if needed. Sauté them for about 2 minutes until they are limp and transparent.   Add the salt and pepper.  Combined the chopped livers, the sautéed vegetables, and the minced egg in a bowl, and add about a tablespoon of mayonnaise to the mixture, or enough so that the mix holds together well on a spoon.  refrigerate for several hours so that flavors blend and it becomes easy to shape. Take about 1/3 of the mixture and form it into an oval with a dent in the center to look like a nest, then shape about 2/3 of what remains into another plumper oval, extending the back side up into a little point (the tail).  Finally, using the remainder make a head and neck elongating the head into a point for the beak and attach to the body.  You can use a peppercorn or pimento to make eyes, or make little flowers from cut egg slices to arrange around the nest, or sprinkle the nest with chopped chives.  Place crackers around the base of the mold and serve.