Blue Cheese Dressing

Pop Quiz!

1. When planning a meal for company, what is the first item on the menu you focus on?

A. the main dish

B. the dessert

C. the salad

2. When entertaining for a crowd, what food item would you most likely purchase "store bought"?

A. already prepared main dish

B. bakery dessert

C. bagged salad and/or bottled salad dressing

3. If one of your invited guests offers to bring something last minute, what would you most likely suggest they bring?

A. the main dish

B. the dessert

C. the salad

There's really no right or wrong answer, but if you're at all like me, oftentimes the salad takes second fiddle to the rest of the spread!  In an effort to jazz up this first course, I've whipped up my own version of a blue cheese dressing Brad and I had at a restaurant recently.  We were both so impressed with the salad dressing, I actually asked the waitress if she could bring out another small dish of it to put on my steak.  When she came back to the table, I asked her for the recipe (never hurts to ask!).  While she couldn't share exact measurements, she did give me the gist of the ingredients list and stressed, "A good blue cheese dressing, starts with good blue cheese."

I wholeheartedly agree.  Blue cheese is like olive oil; you just have to purchase the best you can find.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
pinch garlic powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 ounces good quality blue cheese

Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk in a small bowl.  Add in vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and seasonings until well blended.  Crumble blue cheese and gently fold in.  Chill until ready to serve.

P.S. I know, piling on blue cheese dressing creates a bit of an oxymoron out of your supposedly healthy salad, but aren't all good salads that way???

Happy Weekend!

Homemade Dog Treats

Have you finished all your holiday shopping?  Let's take a look at the list...

Family members... check!

Friends... check!

Fido...

Don't forget your four-legged friend this holiday!  Why not stuff his stocking with some homemade treats?

My puppy Tucker is getting his a little early because today is his first birthday!



Tucker is a little "on the fence" about growing up.   He'll love these treats though because they have his favorite--cheese!

This recipe, which I adapted from bullwrinkle.com, is super easy and calls for ingredients you probably have on hand.

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup water, boiling
1/3 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chicken or beef instant bullion
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 egg, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 3/4 cup 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Grease cookie sheets with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl, combine oats, melted butter and boiling water; let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in cornmeal, sugar, bullion, milk, cheese, and egg.  Mix well.  Add 2 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a dough.

2. Knead in enough of the remaining flour so dough becomes smooth and is no longer sticky.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/2" thickness; cut with cookie cutters. 



Place treats 1" apart on a cookie sheet.



3. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely.  Store in an air-tight container.



Click here to print recipe.

This recipe makes about 3 dozen 3" dog treats, so your pup will have plenty to share with all of his friends.  Make it a "paw"ty y'all!  Gotta love man's best friend.

Love,
Erin