party food

This is our friend Geeven.

No, not the little blondie on the motorcycle (which, by the way is as close as she’ll EVER get to driving one). The guy behind her. Geeven is one of our best pals. He’s cute. He’s funny. He’s got that bad-boy motorcycle thing goin’ on. And ladies, he’s single!

But that’s beside the point. The thing is, Geeven loves bacon. He thinks it should be considered a food group. He loves it so much, in fact, that every year his birthday is christened “Bacon Day.” Friends come from all over, make a bacon-related dish, and toast Geeven on another trip around the sun. This year the table was strewn with chocolate-covered bacon, bacon maple ice cream, chocolate bacon croissants, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, spicy bacon bloody mary’s, and even bacon water. I wouldn’t recommend the last one.

When it comes to bacon dishes, I’m a bit of a traditionalist. I don’t think bacon should be where it doesn’t belong (i.e. in water), and I don’t ever want to sacrifice flavor for creativity. Call me crazy. So I opted to create a savory bacon dip with a hint of blue cheese.

To make it, you’ll need bacon, garlic, blue cheese, sour cream and mayonnaise.

Begin by slicing the bacon…

…and mincing the garlic.

Fry the bacon together with the garlic until crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool completely.

Toss the sour cream, mayo, blue cheese and bacon pieces into the bowl of your food processor. Reserve a few blue cheese and bacon crumbles for topping the dip.

Blend until smooth. It may take a few minutes to get most of the bacon chunks pureed. I doubt you’ll need salt, but a few grinds of pepper can’t hurt. Season to taste, puree again, and stick in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

Serve topped with a few crumbles of cheese and bacon. I like to serve dips this way—it gives guests a hint as to what’s in the dip so it’s not just some mystery bowl of goo.

For Bacon Day I served it alongside hunks of crusty sourdough bread, but veggies or crackers would also do nicely.

It certainly wasn’t the most creative dish at the party, but I think I’ve established a new entertaining staple. It’s rich, yes, but you could make it lighter by using low-fat sour cream, low-fat mayo and turkey bacon (just don’t tell Geeven).

Happy birthday, Geeves. May this year be filled with fun, good cheer, and lots and lots of bacon.

-RDG

Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip printable pdf

Serve this savory dip alongside crusty bread, vegetables or crackers. It’s a must for your next party!

Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook Time: 10 minutes plus 1 hour of refrigeration. Yield: 1 1/2 cups of dip.

3-4 slices bacon
2 cloves garlic
8 oz sour cream
1/4 c mayonnaise (I like olive oil based mayo, but use whatever you prefer)
2 oz crumbled blue cheese
pepper to taste (salt too if you like, but I find it doesn’t need it)

1. Slice the bacon into 1/2″ pieces. Mince the garlic. Fry bacon with garlic over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool completely.

2. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, blue cheese and cooked bacon to the bowl of a food processor, reserving a few bacon and cheese crumbles for topping. Puree for 2-3 minutes, or until mostly smooth. Season with pepper (and/or salt) to taste. Refrigerate mixture for at least 1 hour before serving.

3. Serve chilled dip topped with reserved bacon and blue cheese crumbles.

and there was a party…

My baby girl turned one yesterday.

And she’s growing a curly mullet.

But that’s beside the point. The point is that we had a party, and a delicious one at that.

Since I had just feted husband a few weeks ago, I was party-pooped. So my dear Ma, being the gracious lady that she is, offered to host and put together a gorgeous table.

Oven roasted wings with a blue cheese remoulade, herbed parmesan cheese straws…

…a fruit tray that only my mother could make look pretty (if I had made it, it would more closely resemble something that the Chiquita banana lady would wear)…

…and a cheese platter with a fig spread that I could have eaten gallons of.

My contribution?

My favorite shredded cuban pork…

…served with lime, cilantro, sour cream, and…

…tiny, tiny tortillas. I cut them out of their parent tortillas using a doughnut cutter. They made the cutest dang mini-tacos I’ve ever seen.

But what about the little lady of the hour? What did she eat?

Celery. Lots and lots of celery.

She also tried a slice of Ma’s carrot cake…

…and then got pissed that we tried to make her wear a paper hat.

…and then really pissed that we tried to make her wear a purple hat. Do I look a little too delighted in the torture of my firstborn?

Yeah, probably. But for 40 hours of labor, she can afford me a little laugh.

She melted Grandma’s heart wearing the same sailor dress that I wore on my first birthday.

And I, once again, laughed.

It was a lovely party and a lovely day. Probably more fun for us than for Lucy.

That dynamic will change when she wants to go to Chuck-E-Cheese for her 6th birthday and we’re forced to chaperone. Then it will be her turn to laugh at me look like an idiot playing DDR.

Thank you to my wonderful daughter for keeping me laughing, even when it’s at her, and my lovely Ma for throwing such a fabulous first birthday.

Happy March!

-RDG