Tag Archives: yogurt

Spinach Artichoke Dip

3 Nov

The other day I went to Olive Garden and I wanted to order an appetizer sooooo badly.  But I knew that…

1) I would not be able to eat a salad, soup, entrée and an appetizer in one sitting

2) the appetizers in these restaurants are not necessarily the healthiest ones.

So now that my sister has given birth and many friends and family are visiting her to see the new baby, Titi Madelyn is taking care of the kitchen.  People in this house are not-vegetarian, but they have been the last few days because I will cook, but only things I am able to eat too.

The weekend is when people are mostly visiting and I am making dips left and right to at least have something for people to nibble on while they visit.  Last Sunday it was my Veggie Dip – something I can make without even thinking, if I have all the ingredients.  Last night I made my Tomato Basil Bruschetta mix. 

Today…  my version of a Spinach Artichoke Dip.  I do not count calories…  that’s not my thing.  I am not really sure if it’s a “healthier” version of what they serve at Olive Garden.  But at least I do know all the ingredients it went into making it.  Super easy too… great to make ahead and just pop in the oven when guests and visitors arrive.

 

SPINACH ARTICHOKE DIP

1 package frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 package of frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup plain yogurt
¾ cup eggless mayonnaise
About ¼ cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
 
  1. In a large bowl combine all ingredients.  Mix well.
  2. Transfer to an oven safe dish and bake at 375F for about 30 minutes.

 

Serve warm with tortilla chips, crackers or toasted bread.

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Watercress Salad with Creamy Horseradish Dressing

29 Dec

My dad always loved to buy watercress when we would go to the Plaza del Mercado in Río Piedras.  We would go almost every Sunday, right after mass.  I hated and loved going to the Plaza, all at the same time.  I hated the smells around where we would park our car… the smell of rotten produce.  But I also loved we would get a lot of fruits that I loved, like Platanitos Manzanos, my favorite type of banana BY FAR.

I guess my dad loved to take us there because my grandfather was a farmer.  My Cuban grandfather was a potato farmer and my dad looked up to him a lot, being the oldest son and the heir apparent to the family business.  However all that changed when a certain rebel named Fidel decided to take over the country my father’s side of the family loved so much.

As part of the Sunday morning ritual at the Plaza del Mercado, we would search for the freshest salad greens – lettuces, tomatoes, carrots, “viandas” and among them was the watercress, which we call “berro” in Spanish.  When I was little I did not like the taste very much, finding it a bit bitter.  That’s why my mom always mixed it up with regular lettuce to cut down on the bitterness.  But now, my palate has certainly changed and now I crave bitter greens all on their own, like arugula.

In Spanish there’s a saying, that may lose somewhat in translation, which says “What you inherit, you don’t need to steal” (El que lo hereda, no lo hurta.)  So in true Cuban farmer fashion and true to my family heritage, now I love to go to Farmers Markets, not only in PR, but I particularly love them when I travel abroad – here I am in NYC, Guadalajara, and even searched many street markets in Paris… – but I also love to taste those bitter flavors of watercress which take me directly to my childhood and to those Sunday mornings after mass…  Gracias papi.

 

WATERCRESS SALAD WITH CREAMY HORSERADISH DRESSING

1 tbs eggless mayonnaise
2 tbs plain yogurt
2 tbs prepared horseradish – try to find a brand without eggs
A drizzle of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to Taste
A handful of watercress – well washed, because they can contain small insects
2-4 sun-dried tomatoes – cut into slivers (optional, but highly recommended)

 

  1. Mix the first 5 ingredients in a measuring cup.                            
  2. Place watercress and sun-dried tomatoes in a salad bowl and drizzle the dressing on top.  Toss to coat.

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French Onion Dip

16 Dec

I had not shared this recipe with you before because I did not have pretty pictures for it…  However, this dip is such a hit with my friends that I just need to share it with you for the holidays.

I make this as the typical dip for parties… my friends continue to ask for it.  And it’s seasonless – you can certainly do this for any Birthday party, summer get-together, Holiday Party, Baby Shower, etc.  And not only that… I have used it also as a base for other recipes, like my HashBrown Spinach Casserole.  Why use condensed soups to cook, if you can easily do it from scratch.  This is not that much difficult than opening any can of soup…

 

FRENCH ONION DIP

1 ½ yellow onions, sliced thin
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs white wine vinegar
8oz of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup of plain yogurt
4oz of sour cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
  1. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, cook the onions with the butter and olive oil.  Toss the onions a bit to make sure they’re all coated with the butter/olive oil mixture.  After about 5 minutes, when the onions have softened a bit, add the salt and pepper.  Cook somewhat covered for about 30 – 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, avoiding the onions from scorching.
  2. When the onions have a light brown color, add the vinegar.  Scrape the bottom of the pan until it is mostly “clean” from the brown bits that will form.  Set aside the onions to cool down before continuing assembling the dip.
  3. In a medium bowl, add the softened cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt and the cooked and cooled onions.  Season dip with salt and pepper and blend using an electric hand mixer.
  4. Put in the fridge for a few hours before serving to make sure the flavors mix well together.  Before serving, take the dip about 30 minutes beforehand to allow losing some of the cold form the fridge and making the dip creamier and easier to spread.

I love to eat this with a good, rippled potato that will not break when scooping out your dip… oh la la!!

You can also try it as an ingredient in this Spinach Hashbrown Cassserole dish.

 

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Passion-Fruit Yogurt

6 Dec

I like yogurt… but I no longer buy fruit-flavored yogurts because most of them are made with gelatin.  Only a few brands out there make fruit-flavored yogurts without gelatin.  We can talk about those brands later on…

So for years now, I mostly buy plain or vanilla-flavored yogurt.  I have grown to love eating the yogurt plain like that.  I love it in creamy dips, smoothies or just with a drizzle of honey or agave nectar.  But every once in a while, I like a fruit-flavored yogurt… that’s how I started making these…

Usually fruit-flavored yogurts come already mixed or with the fruit at the bottom. My version has the fruit on top…

 

PASSION-FRUIT YOGURT

½ cup of plain or vanilla yogurt
The pulp of 1 passion fruit
1 tbs agave nectar or honey
  1. Just mix the ingredients in a small demitasse… mix together well and enjoy.

The seeds of the passion fruit will give a nice crunch to the treat.  I enjoy this as a breakfast, as a treat, as a dessert.

Don’t the seeds look awesome on top of the yogurt???

Passion-Fruit Yogurt on Foodista

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Incredible India… Lassi

19 Nov

I have mentioned lassis to you before… I shared with you my version of a mango lassi earlier.  But after having lassis in India during my past trip there, I realized my version of lassi is not that authentic.

Lassi is a yogurt-based drink very typical to India.  It is made out of plain yogurt churned with some fruit, typically mango, but I learned that it can be done with other fruits too.  But the fruit is minimal, because all the lassis I had during this trip are white and do not take on the color of the fruit being mixed in.

Lassis are typically drunk as an appetizer before a meal…   I drank them also during the meal to help cool of my taste buds of all the spicy Indian food.  I even had it as an afternoon snack… when everyone at the hotel bar was ordering drinks after taking in the sights of the Taj Mahal, I ordered myself a lassi.  The server laughed but found it endearing and as a sign of us embracing of Indian culture.  He also thought I was Indian…

I learned there are 2 versions of lassi – salted or sweet.  I only knew the sweet versions, which was preferred by everyone I asked.  I got to try the salted version during our 1st breakfast in Agra.  Nothing special, just imagine a liquid yogurt sprinkled with salt.  It only helped me to cool down the spiciness of the dosas and chutneys I had that morning… other than that, I will continue ordering sweet lassi.

 

Also, lassis are made with a churner, like the one you see below, instead of a blender, like I do…  I guess that was why the lassis would take a little while every time I ordered them.

So, for a more authentic version of lassi… you can still follow my recipe, just add a tiny bit of fruit, to maintain the white color of the yogurt.  and you can add some pistachios on top… to resemble the one I had at the ITC Agra Hotel… super chic indeed.

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