Pizza Dip

 A few years ago, there was another great blogging group called the Secret Recipe Club.   In that group, we were assigned a blog to find and make a recipe from.    I found this recipe for a Pizza Dip and, sadly, have only made it a couple of times since, but I think it's well worth a repeat. 

 Especially since the Super Bowl is coming up, and a good dip is always a welcome addition. 😉 I'm not hosting Tapas once a month anymore, but have been known to go to a Super Bowl party, and you know you can't go empty-handed.  Even though I just watch it for the commercials. 

The theme this week for the Sunday Funday bloggers is Pizza.  

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures is our hostess, she suggested: 

Let's make pizza!

Share your favorite homemade pizza or a twist on pizza using classic pizza ingredients in another dish!

I decided it was time to remake this Pizza Dip.   It's a little bit much for a single person, so I cut it way down and enjoyed it as my dinner one night.    And one of the best parts of this is that you can make it ahead of time, as in the day before, put a cover over it, and bake it the day of.   

The first time I made it, I served it with some Naan.   This time round, I ate and enjoyed it with some Ciabatta bread I'd made.  

Now that I've got that out of the way.   I also had a bit of a happy accident with the dip.    I didn't have any small dishes that I could put in the oven, so I pulled out a small fry pan, all of 6 inches wide, and put my dip in it, then placed it into my little toaster oven to bake.  AND YUM!!!!  The cheese on the bottom of the dip, came out lovely and crusty and I'm now very happy with doing it this way.    In other words, I'll probably bake it in a cast iron pan the next time I make it. 

I was having some issues with my phone, well, with a couple of apps (Norton and TikTok, I'm looking at you),  that had decided to Hijack my phone, and didn't get any pictures as I was mixing this up.  However, after I applied some judicious 'thumping' to the phone, it finally decided that maybe it could behave, at least for a bit.  I'll be stopping in at my provider soon to have them fix the issue, if they can.  

I had some chopped peppers, onions and mushrooms in the freezer, so I pulled them out, mixed them in with some pepperoni

and topped the cream cheese mixture with it, and then dumped, added lots of cheese to the top and baked it.  I don't measure cheese, usually, just eyeball it and dump.  😜

And there was just enough there for my dinner.  

I'm not super fond of pizza, but I have to say that the balance of flavors here was pretty darn tasty.   

My late husband would have loved it, one of his favorite meals was pizza.  And I'm not sure but, I think that if you don't enjoy it on some bread, it may actually qualify as a Keto meal, ie: Pizza.  

Pizza Dip

Yield: 8-10

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking adapted from many recipes

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 35 Min

This is a great dip for Super Bowl, or anytime you need to bring a dip to share.

Ingredients

• 8oz. package low fat cream cheese
• 6oz. container 0 % fat Greek Yoghurt
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup prepared pizza sauce
• 1 cup shredded Italian style Cheese mix
• 1/2 cup chopped vegetables and/or cooked meats (I used a combo of Mushrooms, Green Pepper, and Black Olives, and some sliced Pepperoni)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and Italian seasoning using an electric mixer.
3. Top the cream cheese mixture with pizza sauce and spread evenly to cover.
4. Sprinkle Cheese evenly over both sides.
5. Sprinkle vegetables on one side and meats and veggies if using a divided dish. I used a combo of  Mushrooms, onions and Peppers for the veggies, and some sliced pepperoni for the meat side. I added an additional 1/2 cup of so of cheese over the veggies and meat.
6. Bake 20 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted.

All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking, © 2011-2026, with all rights reserved thereof.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @sidsseapalmcooking on Instagram and hashtag it #Sidsseapalmcooking

  

Take a gander at what some of the other bloggers made.  

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Cheeseburger Pizza 
• Sneha's Recipe: Keto Cottage Cheese Pizza 
• Food Lust People Love: Leftover Pizza Pizza Salad 
• Sids Sea Palm Cooking: Pizza Dip 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Potato and Rosemary Pizza 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Puff Pastry Pizza Pockets 
•  Amy's Cooking Adventures: Roasted Garlic Alfredo Pizza 
• Culinary Cam: The Elusive, Enjoyable Gluten-Free Pizza 
• Sizzling Tastebuds: Turkish Pide

Retro: Celery, Apricot and Pecan Pinwheels

I love retro recipes.  And remember with fondness the little pinwheel sandwiches that were always served at gatherings when I was younger.  There were always several kinds served.  There were usually ones with Maraschino Cherries, I've told you about them before, as well as several different kinds.  

I remember thinking how fancy these little pinwheels were and how I wished that more people would make and serve them, and guess what, I'm one of those more people now.

I've been playing with several versions lately, varying the fillings and having fun in the kitchen.
This one was a big hit when I made it a couple of weeks ago.  And personally, I thought they tasted wonderful.  And they will be a repeat.
And kids love these as well, mainly because you cut the crusts off of the bread. 

Then get out your trusty rolling pin, and in this case my fondant rolling pin worked really well and roll out the bread until it's thin.

Then take some of the filling, spread it out on the rolled piece of bread

Roll it up

set aside while you finish wrapping them up.

After they come out of the fridge, you can trim the ends off so that they look neater.

 And don't forget to decorate the plate a little.

Yield: Serves 8Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Celery, Apricot and Pecan Pinwheels

prep time: 10 MINScook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 10 mins

These are a little retro, but so good and easy to make and serve in a hurry.

ingredients:

6-8 slices fresh white bread, crusts trimmed off

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup finely diced pecans

6 dried apricot halves, diced fine

1-2 tablespoons fresh heavy cream

1/2 tsp. Fresh rosemary, chopped fine (or to taste)

instructions:

Mix the cream cheese with one tablespoon of heavy cream, then add the celery, pecans and apricots.  If the mixture is still very stiff, then add the additional tablespoon of cream.  Taste, then add the rosemary and mix in well.  If needed, add some additional rosemary, but be aware that it can hi-jack the flavors very easily.

Slice the crusts off of the bread and save for making bread crumbs or stuffing. 

Take each slice of bread and using a rolling pin, roll it out, until it's thin.  Divide the filling into 6 or 8 portions if needed.  Spread the filling in a layer over top of bread and roll it up, horizontally (the wider part). If you roll it up lengthwise, you don't get the pinwheel effect.  Wrap each roll in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for at least one hour.  Take out of the fridge, and cut the ends off, to even them off, then cut them into coins.  Each slice of bread will make about 4-5 pinwheels depending on how thick you cut them. I like them just under 1/2 inch thick.   Bite size in other words. 

Serve on a pretty platter and stand back.   Those ends you cut off, they're for you to sample.  Or do as I did, share them with the dog. 

Created using The Recipes Generator

My cookbook Hygge - Danish Food and Recipes would be a great gift for any foodies in your life. Available as a Kindle e book or in paperback. Autographed copies are also available at the Danish Windmill in Elk Horn, Iowa or on their website.
All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2018, with all rights reserved thereof.

Deluxe Carrot Cake

I reached out to my SIL the other day, well, we talk almost every day anyways, but she's a cake decorator and makes the most incredible cakes.
She decorates them beautifully, in fact she and her daughter are quite a team, but Stephanie also bakes the cakes from scratch.  Check it out here. 

She rarely makes a cake from a mix, and some time ago she was telling me, well, she was gushing over this carrot cake she'd made for someone, and how good the cake was and how easy to make and well, I tucked that little nugget of information away in my brain, and thought I wanted to make this sometime.
I did last week.

I've been making and donating cakes to the local Legion, every couple of weeks, and they raffle them off and raise money for local needs.  I made a Chocolate Cake a couple of times, a Buttermilk Cake and the last time a Cherry Cherry Cake.

I figure this is a win win situation, more so on my part cause I get to bake and decorate a cake, and I don't have a whole cake sitting around my house, saying "just a taste, that's all, just cut a sliver" cause that sliver turns into a slice and then, the scale goes "I can't believe you ate that" , and my pants say "not again", and well, we have some interesting conversations in my house.

At any rate, I got this recipe, made it, and then I got to taste it, and OMG, I think I found the perfect carrot cake recipe.
I'm not messing around with anything else. 
And if you noticed the 'toweling' around the pans, I'll tell you all about that in another post.   I'm still experimenting with it. 
Grated Carrots and Craisins - Steff said to use the large holes on the grater so I did.

 The batter in the pans.  And you want to rap the pans, sharply on the counter a few times to get the bubbles out.   But look at those lovely bits of carrot in there.

 The cake just after taking it from the oven.   It was resting.  Please don't skimp on the greasing of the pans, these cakes stuck.  And I even had a helper to get them out.  That little tab at the side, is attached to a little blade which scoots under the cake to loosen it.  Next time I'm placing a sheet of greased parchment paper in the bottom, I think it would be a lot easier to get the pans to release the cakes.  Threatening them did not work.

 After being released and resting for awhile.

 I made a simple cream cheese frosting for the top, and let it drape over the sides a little.  (and put a thin layer of buttercream frosting in the middle of the two layers)

Then I had fun decorating it with some 'carrots'.   
If you can't have fun with the food, what's the point of playing?

And I did get to taste some.  The person who won it, very generously shared it out.  giggle
Look at those carrots.
This is a moist, dense, rich cake, perfect for those special occasions.
Or just because. 

yield: 8-12 servings (a 2 layer cake)Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from a recipe by Stephanie McOmie)print recipe

Deluxe Carrot Cake

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 45 mins

This moist, dense cake is the ultimate Carrot Cake. Rich, flavorful, and delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/4 cup oil
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots (large grate)
• 1/2-1 cup Craisins (optional)
• 1/2-1 cup Chopped Walnuts (Optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 or 9 inch cake pans, making sure that they are well greased. Or place a greased parchment paper on the bottom of the pans, and then grease and flour the sides. Peel and grate carrots, using the large side of the grater. Measure out three cups, set aside. Mix all the wet ingredients together with a beater or with a stand mixer. Sift all the dry ingredients together and then add to the wet, mixing well. Once the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together, add the grated carrots at the end along with the Craisins and Walnuts if using them. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans. Rap the pans sharply on the counter a couple or three times to eliminate the air bubbles in the cakes. (This helps them bake more evenly.) Bake the cakes for 30-40 minutes, using a toothpick to check for done-ness after 30 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooking rack for ten minutes to cool a little, then remove from pans. Frost with a cream cheese frosting when completely cooled. Decorate as you wish.

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Cherry Cherry Cake

I love to bake cakes, but don't make them for myself very often.  However, I've found an outlet and some willing recipients for my cakes.

I've been baking and bringing cakes to the Legion every other week for a couple of months now and they seem to like them.

Last week I made what I'm calling a Cherry Cherry Cake.

I had some Maraschino Cherries in the pantry and wanted something fun to make with them.  So, I delved into my old cookbooks, and found a recipe for Golden Glow cake in a Pillsbury recipe pamphlet that was published back in the 50's.

I added some cherries to the batter and made a cream cheese cherry filling between the layers.

 Filling with Maraschino Cherries, laid on top.  There was a layer of cherries here. I just got carried away and didn't get a picture before I put the top on.

I also had adventures.

I hadn't made enough frosting, so hurried up and made some more and then found the first batch of frosting was too, ummm, light and it slid off of the cake, when I tried to put the second batch of frosting on.
So I scraped it off, 

and then decided that since the outer edges of the cake were too thin and a little over done, I would fix it.  I took a small plate, and cut off all the thin edges, and put them aside for sampling later on. (and you can see holes in the cake, that's because I forgot to tap the cake pans, sharply, on the counter after I'd poured the batter in)

I then frosted it with some buttercream, to which I'd added some of the Maraschino Cherry juice.

And then I had fun, piping and decorating and sampling the edges I'd cut off.

After which it was time to pay the piper and clean up.  sigh, my least favorite part.  But the cake was safely in the fridge at this point.
At least it was, right after I took this picture with my phone.

I was pleased with the final result.

yield: A two layer cakeAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from Pillsbury's Golden Glow recipe booklet)print recipe

Cherry Cherry Cake

prep time: 5 MINScook time: 30 MINStotal time: 35 mins

This is an old fashioned cake, and is a little heavier than cake mix cakes, but the flavor is wonderful.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups Cake Flour (make your own by sifting together 2 cups flour with 1/4 cup corn or potato starch)
• 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon salt (cut to 1/2 teaspoon if using salted butter or omit entirely)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 jar drained and chopped Maraschino Cherries (reserve juice for frosting)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. 
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. 
3. Add the butter and 3/4 cups milk. Beat together for 2 minutes until batter is well blended. 
4. Then add the 2 tablespoons of milk, the eggs and the vanilla. Beat an additional 2 minutes.
5. Add the drained and chopped Maraschino Cherries.
6.  Pour into the two cake pans. Tap the pans sharply on the counter a couple of times, this helps to ensure an even crumb without holes and helps the cakes bake more evenly. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

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Valentine's Day ideas

I know it's only a couple of days til Valentine's Day and if you're like me, you're going OMG, it's that time already?
I have a couple of quick and easy ideas for you. 

How about some Cherry Pie Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies?   They're easy to make and would fit right in with Valentine's Day.

Or if you're planning a special dinner and want a little appetizer first, these Mini Pistachio and Craisin Cheese Balls are perfect.

And these Cherry and Cream Cheese Pinwheels are always fun for a retro canape.   I included them in with my 3 Ingredient Valentines Day post last year.

You can also go all out and make a lovely Prime Rib, part one and part two. 

And for Dessert, well, gee, how about my Three Way Chocolate Cake? 
If you need more sweetness...

Smoked Salmon Spread

I love smoked fish, well, pretty much fish in general.   There are a couple kinds I don't care for, but on the whole, I find that I get along with most of it.    I don't know if it's the Danish in me coming out, but one of the joys of living on the coast is being able to get seafood, fresh from the boat, seafood, pretty much any time I care to.

However, I also do like my preserved fish as well.   Which includes smoked fish.     A local grocery store had a special on some smoked fish in a packet, Chicken of the Sea.  So I grabbed a couple of packages and stuck them in the pantry, thinking I would be able to use them, sometime.    I usually keep a few packages of cream cheese in the fridge as well.   They come in handy all the time.  So between the salmon, cream cheese and some sour cream I had the major ingredients.   And of course I'd already found Ina Garten's recipe for Smoked Salmon Spread online so I was set.   She has such great recipes, easy and flavourful.

  I spread it on a nice rye crisp cracker and garnished it with a sprig of basil from the plant I have growing in my kitchen.

***Did you know you can nip off a shoot of basil and root it in a shot glass or some other small glass and then plant it for an indoor plant.  That way you can have fresh basil year round.   I've been doing this since I accidentally saved and rooted one a while back.   I'd nipped off some shoots and placed them in a plastic shot glass filled with water, well, I only need a couple of shoots so left the last one in the water thinking I would use it in a day or so.    I didn't need it after all, but I didn't want to throw it out since it was still looking good.  Well, a week later, the basil is still alive and there are roots coming out.  I'm not one to waste anything so I hurried up and planted it.   I now have all kinds of baby basil's growing and I'm starting to gift them to friends.

   

yield: 6 + servingsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (adapted from Ina Gartens)print recipe

Smoked Salmon Spread

prep time: 30 MINScook time: total time: 30 mins

This Smoked Salmon Spread is wonderful on crackers, and keeping the ingredients on hand means you're ready for any occasion.

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz. package of Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream (can also use Creme Fraiche)
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced Dill (can also use dried Dill)
• 1 teaspoon Horseradish (I use Inglehoffers Creamed Horseradish)
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt (Optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 4 oz. Smoked Salmon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place the cream cheese and sour cream in your mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together until smooth. Then add the lemon juice, horseradish, salt, pepper and dill. Mix together. Add the Smoked Salmon and mix. Chill for at least an hour or two and serve with some crudites or do as I did, make some lovely Crostini and serve it that way. It does need that time to rest and mingle the flavours together.

All recipes and their respective images are either original or adapted and credited, and are all the sole property of Sid's Sea Palm Cooking © 2011-2017, with all rights reserved thereof.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Suncoast Tea Bread and Crisps (Raincoast lookalikes)

 If you've ever had a Raincoast Crisp, you'll know what I mean when I say they are kind of addictive, and expensive. I used to indulge myself in a box or two from time to time, and every time I plunked down the money, I would cringe.

But...

Once I started eating them, I had to keep eating until the box was gone, and then, sigh I would have to search for them again, from store to store to store.

And if you think it's easy to find them when you live on the opposite coast from where they're made, you have another think coming.   

I got tired of that and decided to google the recipe.

You wouldn't believe how many recipes are out there.  And I want to acknowledge the blogs I read for inspiration. Most of the following blogs also cited Dinner with Julie
So I looked at Oh So Very Pretty's recipe.  And then I looked at Berry Nourished's recipe  and then there was the Wandering Fig's recipe. 

And...

Guess what, these crisps are almost WOOHOO!!! exactly like I remember them.  
But I did tweak the recipe a teensy little bit.
And along the way I discovered that you can eat these two ways.

Yup.

Don't feel like doing the twice bake thing?  You don't have to.  Just slice the little teeny loaves after you've baked them, just like you were making the crisps, and then serve them with a touch of butter or cream cheese and call them a tea cake.

And trust me on this, really, trust me, these are sooo good.

Recipe:  Suncoast Tea Bread and Crisps  Bake at 350 deg.  30-35 minutes
Makes 5 mini loaves and each mini loaf can be cut into about 18 very thin slices.

2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 cups Buttermilk
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Honey
1 cup Dried Cranberries or Golden Raisins
1 cup Walnuts or Pecans (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but nuts are good for you anyway)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seeds
1 tablespoon chopped Fresh Rosemary (opt.)

Mix the flour, ground flax seed, sesame seeds, sugar, salt and baking soda together, add the dried fruit, mix, then add the nuts.   Add the honey and buttermilk and mix together lightly, just until moistened.  Kinda like muffins.
Pour or spoon batter into 5 mini loaf pans, liberally sprayed with non stick spray.    I use my ice cream scoop, as that can portion out the batter easily.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cakes start pulling away from the sides a little.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and continue to cool.  
Serve thinly sliced with a piece of nice cheese or cream cheese or butter.  These make a lovely addition to the 'Tea Table'.
If making crisps from them, then slice the loaves as thinly as you can.  About 1/4 inch thick or less.  I found that freezing them, then slicing with one of my sharpest serrated knives was the only way to go on this.
Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Spread the thinly sliced pieces of tea bread out on an un-greased or parchment papered baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.  You're aiming for a nice crispy cracker.
Cool and eat, if you can wait that long.  Personally, I can't and have been known to burn my tongue.
These are super with some lovely cheese on top.  I've had it with some smoked gouda, and cream cheese, and just eaten them plain.
Never mind how many I ate, I'm not telling.

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links, which means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using any links to Amazon.  If you are uneasy purchasing an item through the links, you can go directly to Amazon to purchase the item. **

Shared on Miz Helens's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday