Caramelized Onion Bean Dip

A couple weeks ago when Joey asked how I wanted to celebrate my birthday weekend, the answer was simple. All I really wanted to do was watch the Gators play football and have a weekend filled with relaxing, exercising, and eating some great tailgating food.

For Joey, that meant me making his mom's cheesy beef dip. I'll admit that I had a hard time buying Velveeta at the store, but seeing his face light up when I served it for the game was priceless.

For me, tailgating food means lots and lots of raw veggies served with some type of hummus/bean dip and maybe something sweet on the side. So when I saw Jenna's recipe for White Bean Dip with Pita Chips, I got to making my shopping list.

When I actually arrived at the store, the red onions were calling my name. I figured anything and everything tastes better with caramelized onions, including bean dip. So my version is slightly varied from the original I was inspired by. The results were outstanding, with a sweet-savory flavor profile and smooth consistency. And it makes a lot of dip, so be prepared to have leftovers or enough to serve a group!

Caramelized Onion Bean Dip
Adapted from Jenna at Eat Live Run  


Ingredients
*1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
*2 tablespoons olive oil
*2 cloves garlic, chopped
*Juice from 1/2 lemon
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
*1/2 teaspoon paprika
*1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
*2 (15-ounce) cans white beans (cannellini beans), rinsed and drained

Instructions
*In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion to the skillet and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are softened and caramelized, stirring frequently.
*Add the garlic to the pan during the last three to four minutes of cooking. Remove from heat.
*Transfer the caramelized onion mixture to the bowl of a food processor. Add in the lemon juice, salt, black pepper, paprika, cumin and beans. Process until mixture is smooth, about three minutes, adding extra oil if necessary to reach desired consistency. Serve with fresh veggies or pita chips. To store, transfer to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Healthy Pumpkin Butter

Although it's only the middle of September, the pumpkin eating is in full-swing over here. Since last week when I first spotted it on the shelves of the grocery store, I've eaten five 15-ounce cans on my own. Some might call it excessive; I call it celebrating fall.

My favorite way to eat pumpkin is spread atop peanut butter toast. And although I would gladly eat it plain, I find most people prefer to have their pumpkin sweetened and spiced up a bit. Pumpkin butter over the commercial variety has always been a bit sweet for my liking and generally negates the healthy elements of pumpkin puree.

This Healthy Pumpkin Butter is the best of both worlds - slightly sweet and chock full of spice, it functions well as a spread, dip, stirred into oatmeal or when stirred together with vanilla yogurt and topped with granola.

Healthy Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients
*28-ounces pumpkin puree
*1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
*1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
*1 tablespoon honey
*1 tablespoon stevia or other natural sweetener

Instructions
*Combine all the above ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and cooked through. Be careful to stir frequently so as not to burn the pumpkin. Remove from heat and transfer to a sealed container. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Spinach-Basil Pesto

What a weekend! One of Joey's groomsmen drove down from Minneapolis to Des Moines for the weekend to spend time with us before the wedding. He travels quite a bit for work and is one hard guy to get a hold of so we were lucky to have a whole weekend with him. Most weekends when Joey and I are together, we tend to go to the same restaurants because we know what we love. But having a guest here this weekend we managed to try three new restaurants in one weekend!

Big thumbs up to Gusto Pizza and Drake Diner. Thumbs down to India Star: delicious Naan but terrible service and average grub aside from the bread. Moving on...

At the end of last week, I found myself with an unusually full fridge. Typically, my fridge looks a little bare, and a messy fridge full of leftovers that won't get eaten drive me crazy. However, I also hate letting food go to waste, so when I found a carton of fresh basil and a bag of spinach on its last leg in my fridge, making pesto was the only thing to do.


My earliest memories of pesto revolved around pricey clam shell containers of herbs in dubious amounts. However, along the way I realized that pesto is pretty much the most economical things you can make. Leftover herbs, leafy greens, nuts and cheese can easily be blended into a pesto paste that is incredibly versatile.

Spinach-Basil Pesto

Ingredients
*2 cups spinach
*1 cup fresh basil
*1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
*1/3 cup chopped walnuts
*1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
*2 cloves garlic
*Olive oil
*Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
*In the bowl of a food processor, combine spinach, basil, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, lemon juice and garlic cloves. Process with on-off turns, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary, until ingredients are starting to combine.
*With food processor running, drizzle olive oil until desired consistency is reached (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil).
*Serve tossed into pasta, spread onto bread, as a sandwich spread or dip for veggies.

Happy cooking!

Madison

Make-Your-Own Nut Butter

 Hi, my name is Madison and I love peanut butter. I also love ketchup, and it's a well-known fact in my extended family, since every time we eat either turkey or ham, I go searching through the fridge of the aunt and uncle's house I am at in search of ketchup to bring to the table.

Unfortunately, this is one duo that does not work well together. Though when J. returned from Europe in January, he did bring me back a chocolate bar that incorporated both. Let's just say I am not going to be trying to sell any of you on that combination any time soon.

But what I really intended to discuss was homemade nut butter. A trip to the peanut butter section of the grocery store will most likely yield some non-peanut butter impostors: soy nut butter, almond butter, mixed-nut butter. They are, of course, impostors in the most wonderful sort of way. Along with the delicious, unusual taste comes an equally unusual and not so delicious price tag. Does anyone really think it's a good idea to shell out $10 (yes, $10!) for a small jar of nut butter? Not this girl, especially when it's so easy to make yourself.

Over the past couple of weeks I've been playing with this recipe, using peanuts, almonds, and walnuts (pictured). I love the taste of walnuts, though if you aren't a walnut-lover to begin with I don't think walnut-butter is going to change your mind. The process is simple, really. And unlike the labor-of-love homemade pop tarts of last week, this nut butter recipe can be completed and consumed in under 12 minutes. Grind up the nuts in a food processor, add a little oil and salt, process some more, and then a little more until you are left with a creamy nut butter better than anything you might buy on the supermarket shelves, for a whole lot less.

Homemade Nut Butter

Ingredients:
*16 oz. (about 4 cups) toasted, unsalted nuts of your choice (I have tried this with almonds, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts and had success with all four, or you could use a combination)
*3 to 4 Tbsp. oil (I used light olive oil)
*1 1/2 tsp. salt (regular, table salt)

Instructions:
*In a food processor, process the nuts for 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture resembles fine crumbs and becomes slightly pasty.
*Add in the oil and salt. Continue to process for 3-5 minutes more, scraping down the sides frequently, until creamy and smooth, with just a slight texture remaining.
*Refrigerate until ready to use.

Happy Cooking!

Madison

Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread

I've had a few people ask me if I eat everything I put on my blog. The short answer is: no. With the endless parade of cookies, pies, cakes and desserts of all kind that find their way to Espresso and Cream, it would be an amazing feat if I were able to. Instead, most of my sweet treats get packed up and shipped off or taken with me to work. Thus far, none of my coworkers have complained.

I love making desserts, but it's the savory dishes I consume every day that I am most passionate about, though I post these recipes less frequently because they are somewhat second nature, rarely even involving a recipe. But when I realized how much I was using this spread, I thought it was time to whip out my measuring cups and really find out what I was putting in my Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread.

I find endlessly useful and super delicious. Sandwich spread? Check. Salad dressing? Check. Chip and veggie dip? Check and check. Like I said, it's so incredibly versatile. A little bit salty, creamy, and even a bit healthy (hello spinach!) it stores well when tightly covered in the refrigerator.


Spinach-Parmesan Multi-Purpose Spread
Ingredients:
*3/4 cup olive oil
*1 cup tightly-packed spinach
*2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
*2 Tbsp. dried Italian herb mixture
*1/4 c. sour cream
*3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:
*Add all the above ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
*Serve atop toast for a sandwich spread, as a dip for veggies, or in place of your favorite salad dressing.

Happy Cooking!

Madison