Spring is the time of year for us to come out of our snow caves and socialize. Cocktail parties and light appetizers are just the ticket. If you are the person making the appetizers, you want to be bringing something that is easy to make and not too time consuming. Hors d’oeuvres are small finger foods that often take the place of dinner. They can be fancy or simple. They can also be hot or cold. Since most people don’t own chafing dishes in which to keep food warm, most appetizers are cold.
The leftover cheese mix is great as a sandwich spread or cracker dip, but you also can use it for pasta.
A great appetizer is a Stuffed Cherry Tomato. Cut off the top and hollow them out and fill them with all kinds of things — they are delicious. One of my favorite fillings is a spinach cheese dip. It is easy to use some of the pre-made herb cheeses, but some are just a little stronger than I like and can overpower the tomato. There are ways to get around this. Use one of the pre-made cheeses and add a little plain goat or cream cheese to it or you can make your own herb cheese. It is a lot easier than you might think and will only take a few minutes.
Use equal amounts of goat and cream cheese, adding a little more goat cheese if you want a stronger flavor. Add garlic, herbs, salt and pepper to taste and blend it up in a food processor. You also can add roasted red pepper or sundried tomatoes, but go easy so they don’t overpower the cheese. Wilt and chop the spinach and squeeze out as much of the water and juice as possible before adding it to the cheese mix. I will wilt it with garlic and butter, salt and pepper, which means I’ll use a little less garlic in the cheese. As with most things, add the salt and pepper to the cheese mix after you have added all the other ingredients.
The leftover cheese mix is great as a sandwich spread or cracker dip, but you also can use it for pasta. Heat some white wine and add a little spinach cheese mix. Once the cheese starts to melt, add the warm pasta and stir. If the cheese sauce gets too hot, it might break or separate. If it starts to break, add a little cream and that should take care of it. Best-case scenario will be to warm it slowly and add it to warm pasta. Whether you are using it to stuff tomatoes, as a dip or as a pasta sauce, try making your own and enjoy.
Spinach Cheese Dip
8 oz. goat cheese
8 oz. cream cheese, or substitute another soft cheese for a different flavor
1 lb. spinach
3 to 5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch basil, chopped
½ bunch thyme leaves
1 stick of rosemary leaves, pulled off the stem, chopped fine
1 T butter
Salt & pepper to taste
Cherry tomatoes
Wilt the spinach in the butter with 1 clove of the chopped garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach as you can and fine chop it. Place all the cheese and half the other ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Be sure to fine chop the rosemary especially before using the processor so it comes out fine and not too big, which will give a chewy texture. Add more of the ingredients a little at a time to get the desired flavor.
Cut off the top of the cherry tomatoes and hollow them out. Fill them with the dip and serve.
