Dips and Veggies

Wow, a busy week and here we are in December--eek!! Hope everyone in the states had a great thanksgiving :) Before I forget, I wanted to share a few fabulous recipes that I've tried out...

The first is Ricki's Roasted Red Pepper & Apple Dip! I whipped up a batch for Elina's housewarming and was nervous that I overdid it on the red pepper flakes... I cut in some Nufatchel (1/3 less fat cream cheese), although it did seem to mellow in the fridge. The dip was great with crudites, on top of roasted veggies, and tossed with whole wheat pasta and steamed broccoli!

Roasted Red Pepper & Apple Dip over roasted carrots and parsnips

Inspired by a head of cauliflower in my fridge and this recipe over at Smitten Kitchen. I roasted the cauliflower florets in a little EVOO, salt and pepper until a little too crispy ;). For the topping, I sauteed 3T bread crumbs, 3T chopped almonds, 1T capers (with some of the brine), 2T golden raisins (plumped up in hot water) and chopped parsley and thyme in ~1/2T butter. What a delicious flavor combination, I'll definitely be making this again!!

Roasted Cauliflower w/Almonds, Raisins & Capers

I told my mom I'd whip up a dip for appetizers Thanksgiving day, and I found this bookmarked recipe for Caramelized Onion Dip over at Andrea's Recipes. I followed the recipe, using greek yogurt for the sour cream, and it seemed to be a hit! I mean, who doesn't love caramelized onions? (besides one of my Uncles and some fellow bloggers... that just means more for us!)

Caramelized Onion Dip w/crudites