Orgasmic - BBQ Chicken Dip

Do you have guests coming over in a few hours to watch the Super Bowl and need more grub?  Here's a totally orgasmic hot dip that will have your guests running their own touchdowns.

All you need to do is run to the store and grab a few items.  Whip them up together and you've got this amazing dip!  I literally cannot stop eating it nor could the rest of my crew.  It obviously won't last until game time.

I did opt to try and make it low-cal.  Why, I honestly don't know!  Although even using Fage 0% Greek Yogurt, Light Ranch Dressing and Cream cheese it's still incredible.  I even used the Fat Free Shredded Cheddar because that's what my family insists on all the time.  I DO NOT recommend using that.  Go for at least the 2% if not full fat.  I mean let's face it - with all the other junk you'll be eating today, just enjoy yourself and watch your intake tomorrow.

Orgasmic BBQ Chicken Dip

serves 10

2 cups shredded Rotisserie chicken

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup BBQ Sauce (I used Original KC Masterpiece)

1/4 cup Ranch Dressing

1/4 cup sour cream (I used Fage 0% Greek Yogurt)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 green onion, sliced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F degrees

Combine all ingredients except 1/2 cup cheddar and onion in a bowl.

Sprinkle remaining cheese and sliced green onions on top.

Bake 25-30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite chips or however you prefer.  Honestly, I could put this on a bun and eat it as a sandwich - it's that good!

I hope your favorite team wins the game today!

Blood Orange Sangria

Have you ever tried a blood orange? Their skin is thick and orange with variegated deep red tones.  To cut into them, the flesh is a deep raspberry color with flavor a combination of an orange, raspberry and strawberry, without the usual acidity of a typical orange.  Blood oranges are delicious and guess what?  They're in season right now, through the month of March.

I've seen quite a few blog posts lately with blood oranges as the main ingredient, but when I came across Jessica's post for Blood Orange Sangria, I knew I had to try it.

For the most part I don't enjoy sangria, primarily because most are made with red wine.   The tannins in red wine gives me a headache and stuffy nose.  However, white wine doesn't have the same affect on me, and Jessica's sangria is made with white wine.

After reviewing her recipe I decided to make a few edits to suit my taste.  Jessica's called for brandy and club soda, I chose to use Framboise a raspberry flavored liqueur, with lemon lime soda and simple syrup.  What can I say - sangria is an alcoholic punch, so I prefer mine to be sweet.  Not too sweet, but just right!

Since this past weekend was relatively mild in the Midwest and my family was coming for Sunday night dinner, I thought I'd whip up the Blood Orange Sangria.  I made it on Saturday with plenty of time to infuse, and be ready to drink Sunday evening.  Everyone  thought it was delicious!

Below is my Blood Orange Sangria version with the link to Jessica's version - if you prefer your sangria not as sweet.

Blood Orange Sangria

Yield: serves 4-6
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

6 blood oranges
2 (750 ML) bottles of Pinot Grigio
1 cup lemon lime soda
1 cup simple syrup
1/2 cup Framboise (raspberry liqueur)
12 ounces of strawberries, sliced
1 pint of raspberries
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup sugar, for glass rimming

Directions:

Zest one blood orange and combine with sugar in a small bowl. Rub sugar and zest together with your fingers or a fork until fragrant.

Juice four blood oranges, discarding any seeds or pith. Slice remaining blood oranges into 1/4 inch slices.

In a large pitcher, combine wine, Framboise, blood orange juice, apples, strawberries, raspberries and sliced blood oranges. Stir well to combine. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Just before serving add lemon lime soda and simple syrup.  Stir well to combine.

Place the orange sugar on a plate, then run a lemon, lime or orange slice around rim of each glass. Dip each glass in orange/sugar, coating well.

To Serve:

Fill glasses with sangria, being sure to include some fruit into each glass . Garnish with a Blood Orange Slice.


Simple Syrup:

Combine 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil then simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved.  Set aside until simple syrup gets to room temperature.

Valentine Sandwich Cookies

All week I've been trying to conjure up some ideas for valentine treats.  Last month I made Chocolate Raspberry Balsamic Truffles a decadent dessert for your Valentine or anytime.  I've made Raspberry Napoleans, Heart Shaped Pancakes, Fondue, Chocolate Raspberry Wonton Hearts, basically everything from breakfast to dessert.  You can view all my Valentine's Day dishes here.  Plus don't forget my Chocolate Cups - fill with anything your heart desires from mousse to ice cream to candy.

I decided to try some basic cookie recipes and jazz them up a bit.  After all, homemade gifts from the heart always mean so much.  In fact, these recipes even your children can make.

My family adores chocolate chip cookies, so why not shape them into hearts and sandwich them with your favorite buttercream frosting, and if you like, tint it pink or red for valentines day.  If you prefer, leave it white and roll in red sugar crystals to add even more pizzazz. I chose to color mine pink.  These were scrumptious!

I also love Whoopie Pies and a favorite are my Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.  They're so moist and delicious you don't need to sandwich them with anything.  I decided to make a Chocolate Whoopie Pie cookie, a recipe I found online at King Arthur Flour.  After searching for many recipes this one sounded perfect!  However, much to my disappointment it was dry, bland and barely sweet.  So if you like that type of cookie you'll like this recipe.  I feel like if I had added melted chocolate instead of cocoa powder and an additional egg it would have been great.  That said, now I'll need to go back and see if that works better.

The icing I chose to stuff my Chocolate Whoopie pie with was yummy.  I made a simple Cream Cheese Frosting that I've made many times before but added fresh strawberries to the batter that I macerated first with a teaspoon of sugar, pureed, then strained before adding to my cream cheese mixture.  That was delicious.  

Since I love Chocolate Covered Strawberries I figured this would be perfect.  It would have been, had the cookies not been so dry and bland.  I went over the recipe several times to see if I left something out but I did not, and I always slightly under cook my batter since I prefer very moist and soft cookies - so that wasn't the problem.  Although they were very pretty, the cookie needs some doctoring - maybe even the addition of some yogurt to the batter.  More testing is needed.

Below I've shared my Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting and Buttercream Frosting for you to sandwich in between your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe or any cookie.
 Bake your cookies as always and as soon as they come out of the oven shape with your valentine cookie cutter.  You could also bake them in a sheet pan and cut them once out of the oven.  However, I believe you'll yield more cookies if you drop them individually on a sheet tray.

Vanilla Buttercream Frostingmakes 3 cups of frosting

1 lb. confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter softened (soften on countertop rather than microwave for best results)
3/4 cups solid vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoons lemon or almond extract
1/8 cup milk (any milk is fine)
pinch of salt to cut the sweetness (dissolve your salt in the liquid before adding, if preferred)
red gel paste

Cream butter, shortening and extracts until creamy and smooth.  Add confectioners’ sugar and milk. Mix thoroughly on medium speed for approximately 8 min. until creamy and smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally during the mixing process. Add red gel paste and blend until it reaches the desired color.

 (One cup of frosting frosts about 12 cupcakes.)

Note: If you are serving this on a hot summer’s day, you may want to omit the amount of butter listed, and replace with all shortening.  Using all shortening will allow the icing to hold up all day without melting.

Below is my strawberry cream cheese frosting and here's the link for the King Arthur Chocolate Whoopie Pie cookies if you'd like to attempt them.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

will frost approximately 12 cookies

10 large strawberries, quartered
1 teaspoon sugar

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Combine strawberries with sugar and allow to macerate for 2 hours.  Puree in food processor, then strain, reserving liquid and discarding the seeds. Set aside.

Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a bowl mix butter until smooth.  Add cream cheese and beat until well combined.  Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat until smooth.  Fold in strawberry puree, tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired color and flavor.  If icing gets runny add additional confectioners' sugar.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour before applying to cookies or cake.  (I added this frosting to an icing bag fitted with a Wilton 2D star tip).

My schedule has been crazy and I'd hoped to get this out early today with another post on Wednesday.  With any luck I'll get one last recipe in for Valentine's Day.  If not, I hope you check my past Valentine's Day recipes - you're sure to find something you will like.