So I’ll just say a couple quick things, then we’ll go about our business and pretend I never disappeared for several months. Writer’s Block is real, y’all. Writing can be hard, and so can finding the confidence to assume anybody actually wants to read your content. Procrastination, however, is super-easy and lots of fun! I got lazy, stuff happened, I went through a brief period of having lovely fingernails that made it hard to type, blah blah blah. That’s all I have to say about that.
I’m figuratively chaining my self to the computer right now, not to rise until I’ve actually posted a damn post. I even put the remote control out of reach, which is hard because it’s a small room and my arms are crazy long. No weekend day drinking, no 30 Rock binges, and no Binging with Babish binges until this is done. So I have to go easy today. Firstly because last night was Oktoberfest, so I’m still a little sleepy and sloshy from that, and I’ve been cooking/shopping all weekend and am kind of pooped. I found a recipe online for a white pizza dip that sounded good, but a bit unnecessary and fussy – heavy on fresh (expensive) herbs, and used a stupid quantity of cream cheese that would result in basically throwing out half a block. I simplified and pared it down a bit and it’s mighty tasty. (Opens beer. Now where did that come from?)
Here we have:
8 oz. Mozzarella
8 oz. Provolone
8 oz. Cream Cheese
2 oz. Parmesan (yes, spelled that way. The good stuff doesn’t melt as well.)
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes
4 Cloves Garlic
Fresh Basil (can’t compromise on this one)
Penzey’s Pizza Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
Soften cream cheese and grate your Mozzarella – the cheap grocery brand block is good enough; no need to waste some fancy fresh cheese for this. Since Provolone slices are way cheaper than buying a block, I just sliced it up thinly. Dump all the cheeses into a bowl and set aside. No wait! Set aside a couple pinches of parmesan. Sorry.
Halve the cherry tomatoes and place cut side down on a lightly oiled and foiled baking sheet. Roast at 400º until the skins start to puff/blacken/split.
That looks like of nice, doesn’t it?
Remove the skins – if they’re cooked correctly you can kind of just pinch them right off. If you’re a crazy person like me, you can stick them in a dehydrator for 12 hours and make tomato powder in a spice grinder, but most people probably will not do that. I will, however, include a beautiful picture from when I DID do that, and tried to grind it in a way-too-small mortar and pestle.
Return to your cheese bowl and add the tomatoes, basil (about 15-20 leaves chopped or chiffonaded, which is not a word), one tablespoon of Penzey’s Pizza Seasoning, a dash of salt, and your garlic cloves, which for this recipe are best smooshed with a garlic press. Mix it all up.
Most people don’t have Penzey’s handy, so you can substitute a mixture of dried oregano, ground fennel, basil, and a tiny bit of cayenne. Or whatever you like, really. The herbs aren’t the star here. Just have fun.
Lump your cheese mixture into an oven-safe baking dish and top with your reserved parmesan and a healthy grinding of black pepper. Bake at 350°for approximately 20 minutes, or until the top is starting to get golden and is bubbling merrily.
It’s… It’s good guys. Despite several of my best efforts, this is the best stretchy-cheese shot I could get without hiring an assistant. It’s hard to do one-handed with my increasingly food-covered camera in the other, especially when I keep pressing the off button instead of the take-a-picture button. It also required several bites. It’s cheesy and stretchy and oh-so garlicky. Served here with frozen pretzel bread (which was admittedly awesome), it would probably go better with crispy toasted baguette slices, but I didn’t plan 3 days ahead to make baguettes.
Serving size? I don’t know man, it’s over a pound and a half of cheese. You probably ought to serve this to a crowd. You can see the little ramekin I baked is less than half of it. It makes a LOT of dip. The bad news is that once it cools, it turns to garbage, but the good news is that you can reheat it once and it will be almost as good as the first time. For better or worse, I’m back guys!
illdothedisheslater 