Olympic Treats: Veggie Rings and Dip Recipes

7 February 2014

 

Friday night ceremonies. Do you have one, too? Like many households, we take a little tradition from one side of the family and combine it with a little something else from the other of the family — mix in our likes and dislikes — and voila: a ceremony is created which in our house we loosely call: (Kid-style  Friday Night Apéritif (here.)

This week, the opening Olympic ceremonies and our Friday night are well synchronized.  I was inspired this morning and realized that we could easily have an impromptu Olympic salute tonight:  sliced vegetables into rings, make our favorite dips and we’d have a great, flexible, Olympic treat tonight. Everything can be made ahead of time. Happy Friday — and now: on your mark,  get set, go!

To make this Olympic Style Snack, slice veggies in rounds to make rings and prepare these 2 favorite dips (or other house favorites that we share below, too.) 

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Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Dip

4 red bell peppers
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups crumbled feta cheese


Char peppers directly over flame or under broiler until blackened on all sides. Place peppers in a paper bag 10 minutes that is closed tight. Remove peppers after 10 minutes and they should easily peel, Once peeled, seed and quarter peppers. Puree peppers, oil, garlic, and cheese in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper. Chill at least 3 hours.
Vegetable Dip:2 cups baby arugula
1 stalk celery, cut into thirds
1 small carrot, cut into thirds
4 scallions, cut into thirds
1 small clove garlic, optional
1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh basil or parsley (dill works, too)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 ounces cream cheese
2 cups vegetable chips, finely crushed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Cayenne Pepper and/or Red pepper flakes, to taste (We like heat, so add to taste)Combine the arugula, celery, carrot, scallions, garlic and basil and/or parsley, in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Add the sour cream, yogurt and cream cheese and pulse to combine. Add the crushed chips and pulse a few more times until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and chill 30 minutes or up to 8 hours. Serve with vegetables.
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