The last few weeks in our house have been wonderfully hectic... Mother's Day, my sweet mama visiting, my birthday, dear friends in town, Memorial Day... and insane work. But my dear boys love me and treated me SO well for all the celebration days, and we got a wonderful bit of time at the Oregon coast with our friends who came in from out of town. It's been a glorious few weeks!
Anyway, my sweet husband got me a Cooking Light anthology for my birthday - Antoinette and I both love CL and a lot of our recipes, and inspirations start there. One of the very first recipes in the new book is for a Green Goddess Dip - I read it through and HAD to have it. Like had to eat it right away. I took most of this batch down to the beach and our group gobbled it up!
Green Goddess Dip - from Cooking Light
Makes plenty for 6 people; even better day 2.
2 cups watercress
6 oz Greek yogurt
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
5 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste
This is barely a recipe. All you do is put all of this good stuff in a food processor and blend until smooth-ish. It's not really cooking, but it is creating, especially if you tweak the flavors to suit your preferences (or what's left in your fridge, or what's growing in your herb garden.)
The original recipe calls for a lot more basil and no tarragon. I love the lemony spice of tarragon, and definitely wanted some of that zip in this.
The original also called for anchovy paste. I didn't have any, don't really like it, and wasn't going to buy it for one recipe. I think it overpowers with fishy flavor. It's just not for me. So out it goes.
This also called for some red pepper flakes, but we had two toddlers in our group and I wanted to make sure this would be nice for them, so I left it out and didn't miss it.
The last change I made was to swap the quantities of yogurt and mayo. Why not have more of the healthier yogurt? Done.
So that's it. Just blend it up and enjoy! It definitely improves with a little resting time. And the next day it was even better than the first. We ate this with veggies and crackers and it was a great, light snack.
A few things about this recipe...
I think this would be just as good without the mayo, and I'd feel a lot safer having this out at a BBQ having just used yogurt.
Also, watercress is a peppery, sturdy little green. If you want something else, baby spinach would also work, but the dip would be milder.
Things made this time last year...
Strawberry Mint Lemonade
Mango Guacamole and Homemade Salsa
Those of you who follow us on Facebook probably saw Antoinette's gorgeous baby girl today... WOW! What a sweet pea she is! Antoinette will be taking a bit of a break while she and her precious girl rest, recover and snuggle... when she needs a break from snuggling, I'm totally prepared to jump in and take one for the team (hint, hint!) In the mean time, I'll be posting recipes about once a week. More if I can.
Here's the last one in my Thanksgiving gear-up selection. I made a herb-rubbed turkey breast to go with the Sweet Potato Gratin and the Collard Greens Gratin with Prosciutto and Parmesan. I usually make my Thanksgiving turkey like this, and just the breast had great results too.
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Herb Rubbed Turkey and Apple Cider Gravy
Serves 4
Preheat oven to 325
1 bone-in turkey breast - about 3 pounds
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh sage leafs
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh time
1/4 cup softened butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper
In a food processor or blender (or Magic Bullet!) blend the softened butter, herbs, olive oil and salt and pepper until a thick paste is formed. Just like making pesto.
Using your hands, shove the herb paste beneath the turkey skin, and massage all over the top of the skin and exposed bone. Get all up in there. It's gross, but it works.
In a large baking dish, bake the breast at 325 degrees for about 1 hour, 45 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Baste once, and check the temperature at 1 hour 30 minutes. Move to a serving platter and tent with tin foil.
Apple Cider Gravy
Makes about 1 1/2 cups of gravy
Pan drippings
1/2 cup apple cider (or apple juice)
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon softened butter
Carefully remove some of the fat from the pan drippings, leaving all the good turkey juice, just take out some of the fat. I usually skim the top with a large spoon.
In a small dish, blend the softened butter and flour until a thick paste forms. Heat the pan drippings over low heat and stir in the flour/butter paste. Whisk until smooth and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.
(This is the same technique used in the Coq au Vin recipe, and it really makes a nice gravy.)
Serve hot over turkey breast and anything else delicious!
A few things about this recipe...
If you want to do a whole turkey with this herb rub, just double or triple the quantities depending on the size of your bird.
This paste is really adaptable - swap our the sage for rosemary. Add some garlic. Marjoram, awesome. Cilantro and lime? I might try that! It just makes a great herby rub.
Almost made this time last year, but a great party starter for Thanksgiving!
Spiced Nuts and Bourbon Cocktails
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