Pickle Dip

I have a confession. I felt REALLY guilty about making a three ingredient recipe for Secret Recipe Club.  Half a dozen others were printed from my assigned blog:  Melissa's Cuisine.  Stuffed shells, "payday" bars, roasted cinnamon almonds, stuffed cabbage casserole, pumpkin donut muffins and homemade cheezits.  But, the pickle dip kept calling my name.  I dragged my heels.  Bought the chicken to make the stuffed shells.  Had the ingredients for everything else other than the stuffed cabbage casserole.  But, I wanted the pickle dip.  Every time I picked up the stack of recipes I pulled it out and drooled over it. 

Then, I got a call from the folks who provide my CRM software.  That's client relationship manager software.  Would I please come to the T3 Technology Conference in Miami and be a panelist on a panel of advisors talking about their CRM software.  I hate flying.  And, I am still buried at the office.  But, I love Redtail.  And, the only appointments I had scheduled for that day were wholesalers.  Easy enough to reschedule those.  Ok, fine. I'd go. 

Now, I was under the gun to get ready for the week since Tuesday had most of my prep time.  No time to really cook.  You're getting the drift here, aren't you - lol.  Secret Recipe Club would just have to wait til I got back from Miami.

Tuesday morning I was up at 3 am and on a flight at 5:10 am.  I slept most of the way to Charlotte.  Changed planes in Charlotte and planned on sleeping the rest of the way to Miami.  But , my seatmate was a delightful fellow named Pat.  He and his wife (two rows up and also on the aisle) were on their way to a two week cruise.  They live in Kennebunkport, Maine.  I can't tell you when I've so enjoyed chatting with a stranger on a flight. 

Hike to the taxi stand at the airport.  It felt like two miles.  I forgot the shoulder strap for the bag so my arms were on fire.  Finally, in line.  Ah, at the front of the line.  The attendant asked where I was going and I said the Hilton on Biscayne Blvd.  The fellow behind me said he was going the same place.  Fine, we'd share a cab.  Turns out he's an Aussie who's moved to Atlanta.  He founded a company working with investor behavior.  Fascinating guy to talk with. 

Dave from Redtail had gotten my name badge and my room key so I was able to head into the conference and start soaking up info.  I learned an amazing amount.  Finally, 4:00 hit and it was time for my panel.  I had a great time showing everyone how the software works.  The best part is that I'm pretty much a technological idiot and I can very successfully use this software. 

Between my panel and dinner I had an hour to sit in my room and enjoy the view. 

Yup, I enjoyed that view :-)

Dinner, much to my chagrin, was burgers and beer.  I'd really wanted Miami food.  But more than that I wanted to spend some time relaxing with the crew.  We were joined by a couple of journalists, the guys from my financial planning software company and a few others.  All in all a wonderful time.

Then, I was up again at 4:00 am.  Ugh.  The trip back to Indy was great.  The Miami to Charlotte leg my seatmate was a fellow from Miami who loves Scully's Tavern as much as we do.  Then, Charlotte to Indy I sat next to a fellow who'd been in the Junior Achievement class I taught in ummm, the late 80's.  That  was a fun thing to find out!

We got to the office and my arse was dragging.  I made it through taping the radio show and crashed.  That meant working late.  We got home at 7:00.  Just at the time my Hoosiers started playing basketball.  Dinner was either going to be really easy or it was going to be a pizza delivered!

Now, you really see the story don't you?

So, here we are.  Out of time and energy.  We had things to do Thursday thru Sunday.  It was now or never for the Secret Recipe Club and Melissas Cuisine.  Since we all post together on the third Monday of the month and since I've so thoroughly enjoyed browsing Melissa's blog, I felt compelled to make the pickle dip. Ok, quit laughing already.  It's true.  I finally had my excuse!  Pickle dip it was :-)

Connie says, "What is THAT???"   Pickle dip.  "Really?  Pickle dip?"   Yup.  Just try it, please.  Now, you hear the sounds of munching.  And, munching.  And, munching.  The pickle dip was pretty much devoured.  We high fived.  We'd found a GREAT new recipe.  And, it is SO easy.  Trust me on this one, friends.  You want to make pickle dip. 

Now, Melissa, I have once again all the ingredients for the shells.  They're back on the menu.  And, I really want to make those "payday" bars.  And, I still have a stack of recipes from your blog printed out and on my desk.  But, it's the pickle dip I'll remember you by!  Here's how to go read Melissa's original post:  Pickle Dip.  And, yes, I'll be back to try more great recipes from Melissa :-)

Pickle Dip

Ingredients:

8 oz block cream cheese
1 c chopped pickles (I used Klaussen's hearty garlic dill but am guessing ANY kind of pickle would be fabulous here)
1 T pickle juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

Whip the cream cheese.  Blend in the pickle juice and Worcestershire.  Whip again.  Blend in the chopped pickles.  Serve with crackers or chips or pretzel chips.  Now, here's the little change we made - I topped the final version with a bit of Emeril's Essence. That pretty much took it over the top!

Dinner from the Garden

Normally this time of year we have a bumper crop of everything from the garden.  Not so much this year.  A lot of Indiana is in an exceptional drought.  That's the worst type.  Until the last week or so rainshowers had pretty much hit all around us but very few had actually hit our home.  Our herbs have mostly gone to seed and the vegetables (with the exception of peppers and cucumbers) just haven't grown.  Finally, we went out to the garden and got enough for dinner!  Well, at least for the salad course!

I remember the year we had an absolute bumper crop of eggplant.  I made all kinds of new and fun dishes.  This year, we've had two eggplants from eight plants.  The first was almost decent sized.  The second as about the size of Connie's fist.

The Southwestern Grill by Michael McLaughlin had recently joined my collection of cookbooks.  There was an eggplant dip that I really wanted to try.  But, I couldn't find the cookbook.  All over the kitchen and family room I searched.  Not to be found.  Ah, ha moment.  I'd taken it to bed to read.  Yup.  It was sitting on the floor next to the bed.  Whew. 

What did we think?  This was incredibly easy to make.  And, we totally loved the flavor.  The recipe calls for using the dip with corn chips.  I can see it being used mixed in with mashed potatoes.  Or a good dollop on top of a lovely southwestern rubbed pork tenderloin. 

Now, for the second, little eggplant, I got creative on my own.  We had a couple of burrata that we needed to use up.  I'd never seen them in Indy and had found them at Trader Joe's.  One of my favorite eggplant salad combos is fried eggplant and tomatoes with shredded mozzarella.  What if I replaced the shredded mozzarella with the burrata and added some good homemade pesto?  Well, let me tell you, that worked.  I wish I had another eggplant in the garden and I'd be making that again NOW.

Grilled Eggplant Dip wtih Sweet and Smoky Flavors

Ingredients:

3 T pine nuts, toasted and set aside
2 - 1/1/2 lb eggplants, trimmed and cut into 1/2" slices (do not peel)
3 T olive oil (divided)
chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3 T balsamic vinegar
3 T minced canned chipotle chilies en adobo
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t salt
1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped (optional) 

Directions:

Toss the eggplant with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.  You can either grill the slices or roast them.    The eggplant should be very well done. 

Coarsely chop the eggplant and put it in the bowl of the food processor with all the othe ingredients other than the pine nuts and cilantro.  Pulse a few times making sure the mixture is still a bit coarse. Top with the pine nuts and cilantro.  (Obviously from the photos I skipped both.)  Serve at room temperature with corn chips.

adapted from Southwestern Grill


Eggplant and Burrata Salad

Ingredients:

One small eggplant, sliced into four slices
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c panko
1/2 c finely grated gruyere, parmesan or romano
1 large tomato, sliced into 1/2" slices
2 buratta
1/4 c freshly made pesto

Directions:

Don't peel the eggplant.  Dip the slices into the egg then into a mixture of the panko and cheese.  Fry in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until the eggplant is brown and crunchy.  Remove from the heat and put on two salad plates.  Nest the slices. 

Top with tomato slices.  Depending on the size of the tomato, you'll need either one or two per salad. 

Top the tomatoes with a burrata.  Drizzle pesto over.