She Does it Again: Garlic-Onion Cheese Spread

When my sister assigned me to bring hors d'oeuvres to my niece’s 1st birthday party, I contacted my friend Christina to see if she had any new recipes I could try. She definitely came through and gave me a wonderful assortment to choose from. One of her recommendations was a cheese spread that she described as simple but delicious. I looked over the ingredients and found it to be an interesting combination – bacon, apricot, and garlic all in one dip? Christina has a very trustworthy palate and added this recipe to my list (praying that it would turn out somewhat yellow for the “Brown Bear” theme).

The recipe calls for bacon, and I substituted with soy bacon (aka “Fakin’”). This was a huge hit! The party guests loved it, and no one could quite pin-point all of the ingredients! Another winner from Christina, and one that will be added to my hors d'oeuvre repertoire.

Garlic-Onion Cheese Spread
Ingredients
2 packages cream cheese, softened
2-3 Tablespoons apricot preserves
3 green onions, chopped
3 Tablespoons cooked bacon (or soy bacon), crumbled
½ to 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
Dash freshly ground black pepper
Serve with assorted crackers

Directions
In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and preserves until blended. Stir in onions, back, garlic, and pepper. Refrigerate until serving. Serve with crackers.

Recipe Sharing: Summer Orzo Salad

I’ve been sharing recipes through this blog for a couple months now, and I’m also excited that readers have started sharing recipes with me! My friend Christina emailed me with several of her favorite recipes last week. As I read through them, I grew really excited because they all incorporated so many ingredients that I enjoy cooking with. It was hard to decide which one to begin with, even with the recommendations she narrowed down for starters.

Her Summer Orzo Salad caught my eye because I already had all (but one) of the ingredients in my pantry or refrigerator. At first glance, the salad sounds sweet with the juice and fruit, however the mustard, salt, and garlic add a savory element to it. The one ingredient I lacked was the raisins, so I substituted dried cranberries instead, which tasted great and added a hint of fall to an otherwise summery salad. I also only needed 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

The was absolutely delicious and very easy to make! I can’t wait to make this salad again to share with other people!

Summer Orzo Salad
Ingredients
1 lb. box orzo pasta
1/3 cup orange juice
½ cup dry apricots, chopped
½ cup golden raisins (or dried cranberries)
Zest from 1 lemon
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
1 tsp whole grain mustard
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (4 oz.) package goat cheese, crumbled
½ cup basil, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup pinenuts, toasted

Directions
Cook pasta al dente, drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool at room temperature. While pasta is cooling, combine orange juice, apricots, raisins, lemon zest, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Fruit will plump and soften slightly. Toss Fruit mixture with cooled pasta, cheese, basil, olive oil, and pine nuts. Chill for at least one hour before serving.