Over the Holidays we spent time with both sets of parents and siblings (we see them all often due to them watching our son while we are at work anyway, so the gathering wasn't something major) and for my parents we had a Christmas Eve dinner. My amazing sister Tiff did most of the cooking, but my other sister, Beth, and I also wanted to contribute. While talking to my mom when she was still in the nursing home she had mentioned wanting to try a cranberry dip as I had mentioned trying to make one after seeing a cranberry pecan cheeseball (that I still need to try to create). I decided to go in a slightly different direction to bring a little spice to dinner. I didn't get to take a pretty picture of this dip as it was dug into fast, and went even faster. At one point my sister was even eating it with a spoon instead of with the crackers I bought! Unfortunately in Virginia we have been unable to find cranberries to make it again, but I am going to look to order some online and will also definitely be making it again next season!
INGREDIENTS
1 block cream cheese ( I usually use Neufchatel, but went for regular so the creaminess would balance the dip)
16 oz fresh cranberries
1 lemon
1/8 cup of cilantro
2 jalapenos, seeded and membranes removed
2 tsp ground cumin
4 green onions (include whites)
DIRECTIONS
Wash and chop cranberries. A hand chopper would work best, but as mine broke and I didn't want to risk mashing them too much in a blender I roughly chopped them all by hand with a sharp knife. Chop up the cilantro, onions and jalapenos into small pieces. Place all into a bowl, add in cumin and the juice of 1 lemon, plus the zest of half. Mix well and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Pour cranberry mixture over block of cream cheese and serve with crackers, rolls or even salami and veggies if you are adventurous!
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