The Dip

So a couple of weeks ago I mentioned I helped cater a dinner, and I wanted to follow up with some of the recipes. Little did I realize how consumed I would be by Christmas preparations, leaving me no time to blog! Today I was mourning the lack of time I've had for blogging (and other non-essential things, like folding the laundry), and I decided I could spare five minutes to post a little message about dips.

I made two dips, really, for the dinner, but the first I already told you about...the green onion mayonnaise for the crab cakes, which would be fantastic with potato chips (as my sister recommended) or anything else under the sun.

The other dip, which I served with the vegetables, was also very nice, and I could have eaten the entire container myself had I not made it for someone else. It was fairly quick to make, other than the roasting part, and it's a really good dish to get out of the way early in the day or even the day or two before. In any case, enjoy your holidays if I don't get another post up before Christmas!


Roasted Red Pepper Dip

1 red bell pepper
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1 8-oz. pkg. light cream cheese, room temperature (you could just do 2 light packages; I wasn't sure at the time if the dip could handle that but it is plenty firm to allow for the looser light cream cheese)
2 sprigs thyme
1 small shallot, minced
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper, a generous amount

Roast the red bell pepper. The method I used (since I don't have a gas stove right now) is as follows: set the bell pepper on a rack a few inches from the broiler. Broil, turning a few times, until the skin is blackened most of the way around. Remove from the oven and place in a bowl, then cover with a towel. Let rest for 15 minutes, then remove all of the outer skin. Cut up the pepper to remove the inner membranes and stem, and rinse to remove all the seeds. Chill.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients, including salt and pepper to taste. Blend thoroughly and remove to a dish. Chill and serve.

Just a note: when I first made this, the shallot tasted fairly strong, but after resting and chilling in the refrigerator, it mellowed out and blended well with the other ingredients.