Warm Blue Cheese Dip Recipe

Warm Blue Cheese Dip Recipe
Bacon and garlic give this crowd-pleaser an extra kick.
By Klaus Fritsch
From Morton's The Cookbook


Serves 8 to 10

You Will Need
Ingredients
8 slices hickory-smoked bacon, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz. crumbled blue cheese
2 tbs. chopped fresh chives
2 tbs. chopped almonds
Crackers, trimmed fresh vegetables, or sliced baguette, for serving

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In nonstick skillet, cook bacon over medium-high heat about 8 minutes or until nearly crisp. Drain bacon and wipe skillet dry.

3. Return bacon to pan, add garlic, and cook over medium heat until bacon is crisp, about 3 minutes. Make sure garlic doesn’t burn. Drain on paper towels.

4. Using paddle attachment of electric mixer, beat cream cheese in bowl until smooth. Add cream; beat well to mix. Fold in bacon, garlic, blue cheese, and chives.

5. Transfer to 2-cup baking dish; top evenly with almonds. Bake about 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with crackers, baguette slices, or vegetables.

Skordalia Dip

Skordalia
This is a recipe for skordalia, which is a Greek garlic-potato dip. Skordo is Greek for garlic.
DIRECTIONS
Place 2 medium baking potatoes (12 ounces total) in a saucepan with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook the potatoes until very soft, about 10 minutes.

Drain the potatoes well in a colander. Return the potatoes to the pot over low heat for 2 minutes to dry them. Shake the pot so that they dry evenly and don’t stick.

Mince 6 to 8 cloves of garlic and place in a mixing bowl with a little salt and pepper. Mash the garlic to a paste with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the potatoes and mash with a potato masher or put them through a ricer.

This dip should be highly seasoned. You may increase or reduce the salt and lemon juice to taste.

Using a wooden spoon, beat in 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and enough chicken or vegetable stock (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make a light, creamy puree.

Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. Serve with pita chips.

Note: For the best results, do not use a food processor. Pureeing in the food processor will make the dip gummy.

This recipe yields 2 cups dip. There are 71 calories to a quarter cup serving. This version saves calories by replacing part of the traditional olive oil with chicken or vegetable stock