It rained all week (or was cloudy) and it was so nice to see the sun out again that we decided to invite a few friends over for afternoon cocktails. I threw some cheese that we had in the refrigerator on a platter, added some dried cranberries and almonds for good measure and picked up some red grapes at the store.
I also picked up some sour cream while I was at the store to make some type of dip for vegetables. I kept it simple - just baby carrots and celery. I didn't feel like blanching broccoli or messing around with any other vegetables. I wasn't sure what type of dip to make so I improvised. I went out to the garden and picked some spinach and herbs and got to work.
Parmesan Spinach Dip
10 oz spinach (handy that we had that in the garden)
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 t ground nutmeg
1 T fresh tarragon, chopped
15 basil leaves, torn
1T fresh oregano
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz sour cream
2T lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt/pepper
Heat frying pan, add about 2 T of olive oil - enough to cover bottom of pan. Add garlic and spinach. Toss spinach until wilted. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile mix remainder of ingredients in a bowl. When spinach is cool, squeeze out excess water. Chop spinach and add to dip.
Make sure that you tear the basil leaves. Otherwise they tend to get brown and look sort of yucky.
We also made a few cocktails. Those Coco-mint Mojito went down so easily. Last minute I also threw some dark ginger almond chocolate on the cheese platter. It went rather nicely with the cheese, nuts, and fruit.
I also picked up some sour cream while I was at the store to make some type of dip for vegetables. I kept it simple - just baby carrots and celery. I didn't feel like blanching broccoli or messing around with any other vegetables. I wasn't sure what type of dip to make so I improvised. I went out to the garden and picked some spinach and herbs and got to work.
Parmesan Spinach Dip
10 oz spinach (handy that we had that in the garden)
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 t ground nutmeg
1 T fresh tarragon, chopped
15 basil leaves, torn
1T fresh oregano
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
16 oz sour cream
2T lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt/pepper
Heat frying pan, add about 2 T of olive oil - enough to cover bottom of pan. Add garlic and spinach. Toss spinach until wilted. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat and let cool. Meanwhile mix remainder of ingredients in a bowl. When spinach is cool, squeeze out excess water. Chop spinach and add to dip.
Make sure that you tear the basil leaves. Otherwise they tend to get brown and look sort of yucky.
We also made a few cocktails. Those Coco-mint Mojito went down so easily. Last minute I also threw some dark ginger almond chocolate on the cheese platter. It went rather nicely with the cheese, nuts, and fruit.
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