If you were to be able to leap into that photo and grab just a bite of this cake you’d have something ethereal. So very tender. So very lemony, and almond-y at the same time. Almost melts in your mouth.

At post from Carolyn. I needed something for two group things I was attending. Needed a dessert to take to one of my book groups, then needed another one for a morning book group too that met at my home at 9:30 am the following day. Totally different people, so it was okay that I served this cake both times. So I doubled the recipe and made this. The recipe comes from Flo Braker. I don’t own her cookbook, but must have found this one online somewhere. I stuck to the recipe except for one tiny thing – I used almond extract instead of vanilla; otherwise, this is Flo’s recipe.

When you make this, just know from the get-go that you won’t have a cake in hand (so to speak) for several hours, as it needs cooling time and resting or firming-up time. It’s an extremely tender cake. So tender that it’s quite a feat to get it off of the cooling racks (use double spatulas). But it’s so very worth it. You can make this a day or two ahead, even. I’m going to add that note in my recipe below – it keeps beautifully.

The making of this batter is DIFFERENT. Once you read the instructions, you’ll understand why. First, and foremost, you need a tube of almond paste. I don’t know about you, but I’ve purchased it on occasion, and then forgot about it on my pantry shelf, and it turned hard as a rock. It’s unusable in that condition. So make sure you have fresh almond paste, that’s still soft to the touch.

The first instructions that are different is how you manipulate the almond paste. My experience didn’t quite match Flo’s instructions, but it all worked out eventually. You mix the almond paste (I broke it up into pieces and added it to the bowl of my stand mixer), and you’re supposed to mix it until it’s turned into little pea-sizes. Well, no, mine didn’t do that, it congealed into one big piece and climbed it’s way up the blade of the mixer. Twice I tried to make it malleable – it was soft, but it would not break up no matter what I did. So finally I added in a little bit of sugar. That seemed to get it more on the right track. So gradually I added the sugar until it did break up well enough. It’s important you do this right as once you begin adding other ingredients you do not want any little globs (tiny as they might be) of almond paste. So take your time in that portion of making this.

Next you add in butter (very softened). As you watch it, it incorporates the butter – you add it one tablespoon at a time, and it’s important you do that so it aerates. That part should take 3-4 minutes. I guess the batter could “break” if you don’t do it right. Toward the end I was concerned, but it held. Next were eggs, and those were to be added a tablespoon at a time too. Very time consuming, but you don’t want to make a mistake this far into the process. The last part was adding in the dry ingredients (a very little amount of cake flour, baking powder and salt). I did that by hand. In the photo you can see the batter – I tasted it (yes, I know, raw eggs and all) because I wanted to make sure there weren’t any little bits of almond paste (there weren’t).

Into a bread pan it goes, using an offset spatula to level the batter. Bakes for about 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove, cool completely and serve. Now my loaf (two, I made, remember) had a little sink in the middle. I’m not sure why that happened, but it made no difference in the long run as you turn the loaf over (upside down). On the pieces in the center of the cake, I cut those in half so it wasn’t at all noticeable.

What’s GOOD: the very soft, tender crumb and the over-the-top lemon and almond flavor. A keeper.

What’s NOT: only that you need almond paste on hand (or make your own).

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So easy to make with puff pastry dough, fresh fruit and some frangipane.

A post from Carolyn. I’ve been on a tear lately with frangipane. I made some recently for a rhubarb galette (don’t think I’ve posted that recipe yet), then decided to make it again using a different recipe for my book review group meeting at my home. I was expecting about 12-13 people, but at the last minute only 6 of us showed up (not sure if was the book, or just other circumstances). I sent everyone home with one of these plus some of the lemon almond tea cake (haven’t posted that one yet, either).

It was years ago when I was attending a cooking class near me and the hostesses served something similar to these as we all arrived for the class. They were quite easy to make, so I input the recipe in my files, but never had gotten around to making them. With fresh summer fruit in season, I decided to try these. But I decided to use some apricot halves (canned) and some fresh blackberries instead. And in lieu of the cream cheese filling (from the original recipe) that was going to be underneath the fruit, I made the frangipane.

If you’re not familiar with frangipane, it’s pronounced fran-jeh-payn.  Wikipedia says frangipane:

. . .is a sweet almond-flavored custard used in a variety of ways including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 cookbook is franchipane with the earliest modern spelling coming from a 1732 confectioners’ dictionary. Originally designated as a custard tart flavored by almonds or pistachios it came later to designate a filling that could be used in a variety of confections and baked goods.

You might know it from the center filling of a bear claw. Certainly that was my earliest knowledge of an almond filling. I remember stopping at a bakery in Europe (France, I think) one morning and we bought a little slice of a tart – sure enough, frangipane. Yummy is all I can say.

So these little numbers require puff pastry. Pepperidge Farms brand is probably the most widely available. My grocery carries a store-label also, but I opted for the Pepperidge Farms. There’s also one called Dufour, I think it is. Also very good, probably better than the Pepperidge. The unopened packages defrosted in the refrigerator for more than a day. If you decide to try these, be sure to look at the expiration date on the puff pastry box. Do not used any that are “old.” And be sure to give them the full 24+ hours to defrost fully.

The pastry sheets are lightly floured, but you need a bit more flour on your work surface to keep them from sticking as  you roll it out further, to about a 11″ or 12″ square. Then cut that square into quarters, so about 5 1/2″ squares. One box will make eight pastries.

Meanwhile you’ll have made the frangipane – some butter and sugar, some almond meal (flour), an egg and a little bit of regular flour, PLUS a jot of almond extract. Perhaps if you used freshly ground almonds the frangipane would have a significant almond flavor, but I wanted it stronger, so I used almond extract instead of vanilla.

Then you scoop a bit of the frangipane pastry cream in the center, position the fruit on top (they kind of look like sunny-side up eggs, huh?), then roll in the pastry edges and crimp them (similar to the edge of a pie crust). Onto a baking sheet they go. They got a brush of an egg wash and some sprinkled Turbinado sugar on top. They take about 30 minutes to bake, to get that lovely golden brown.

What’s GOOD: everything about these was good. Delicious. Loved the frangipane filling, loved the flaky pastry, ate one. Gave the rest away. Why did I give them away, you ask? Because I’d eat them all! And I had about 10 of them left.

What’s NOT: only that you’ve got to buy the puff pastry a couple of days ahead so it has time to completely defrost in the refrigerator. There are instructions for defrosting in the microwave, but I wouldn’t do it.

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Oh, so lovely. Tart, sweet. Another Ina winner.

A post from Carolyn. I’m on a roll here, so many recipes to post. These lovely thirst-quenching cocktails were made by my friend Dianne. She invited my granddaughter Taylor and me to dinner awhile ago. And made these delicious drinks for us to sip on as we talked awhile before she served dinner. She also made some great Brussels sprouts that I’ll post, and a strawberry pie that I loved. I’ll get to them eventually. As I said, so many recipes to post.

If you own a lemon tree (check), have some Pellegrino (check) or club soda on hand, plus a bottle of Grey Goose (check), have Limoncello in the cupboard (check) and some simple syrup (last check) you can make these in a jiffy. Dianne added all the ingredients to a large pitcher and poured it into those tall thin highball glasses above (I think she mentioned they belong to her mother – how fun!). My mother had some similar glasses with silver rims and etched leaves on the side, only used for special occasions.

The glass rims were dipped in an equal mixture of salt and sugar, and do be extra careful when you pour the cocktail that you don’t take off some of that lovely sugar/salt rim. So fun.

What’s GOOD: another Ina winning recipe. So easy to make and pretty to serve.

What’s NOT: nothing at all.

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So simple and easy to make at the last minute. Love serving anything on that tomato plate I bought in Cortona, Italy about 10 years ago, which I wedged carefully into my suitcase to bring home.

A post from Carolyn.  A week or so ago I’d bought a container of burrata cheese, with no particular plans for it. As it sat in the frig for several days, I decided one day at lunchtime that I should make a salad with part of it.

Here at left is the salad I made for lunch. I knew I wouldn’t eat all of the burrata (it was 8 ounces) but it looked so pretty on the plate. For myself I added one Roma tomato, one egg, quartered, and I opened a package of the vacuum-sealed cooked beets (from Trader Joe’s). Then I went out into my garden and cut some fresh basil, which I sliced up and sprinkled on top, then I drizzled some lemon white balsamic vinegar and EVOO on top. Finally, I added freshly ground black pepper and Maldon flake salt.

Oh my. It was SO delicious. It was so good, in fact, that I made it as a side salad (the picture at top) for dinner. I cut up the half of the burrata that was remaining, added avocado to the plate too (didn’t use the egg as we were already having a protein for dinner) and drizzled again with the same dressing. For dinner I also gathered some mint and added it to the basil.

There at right you can see the same lunch plate with the oozy burrata after I’d cut into it. Oh so good.

For dinner I’d made a ground beef casserole and it was just ho-hum, so I won’t be posting that recipe. But this salad was a hit – with me, of course, with granddaughter Taylor and with my friend Judy who came to share it with us.

What’s GOOD: everything about this was sensational. So seasonally good, the fresh oozy, gooey cheese, the tomatoes, even the beets.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever.

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Another recipe from the wine tasting event last month. So good.

A post from Carolyn. So there’s a little story to go along with this recipe. If you’ll recall, the wine tasting event (a fundraiser for my PEO chapter) at my house was kind of a Spanish wine and tapas affair. Not strictly, but mostly. First we had a Spanish sangria made with a cava rose wine. I have yet to post that recipe . . . and Lois made these wonderful appetizer meatballs, among other Spanish tidbits we served.

Just so you know, there’s a difference between Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo. The Spanish variety is more like cured sausage – it IS a cured, dry sausage. I’d found the recipe online and gave the recipe to Lois. I’d cautioned her to make sure she bought Spanish chorizo which would require cutting the sausage into tiny little (dry) cubes and incorporating them into the meatball mixture. I recommended Lois go to Whole Foods, as I knew they (usually) have Spanish chorizo. She went to the specialty meat counter and pointed to the chorizo in the case and asked the butcher if it was Spanish chorizo. My guess is the butcher was Hispanic, and thought she was asking if it was “Mexican” chorizo, although she said “Spanish.” Semantics. Perhaps he didn’t know there was a difference. So she bought Mexican chorizo (which is a raw meat product) and made these wonderful meatballs.

Meaning that these meatballs weren’t authentically Spanish, but a Mexican version. I didn’t know how they’d turn out . . . but I can categorically say they were fantastic. Everyone loved them. So did I! It’s not as if the recipe was wrong, or bad, just that we didn’t cleave to the original. We all laughed about it. The blog where the recipe originated is written by a young couple who live in Spain and all their recipes are authentic (and in English).

There are two parts to the recipe – the meatballs (ground pork and chorizo) and a tomato based sauce (with smoked paprika) that is spooned over the top of the hot, cooked meatballs. If these were served in a tapas bar in Spain, they’d probably be warm, not piping hot. They might even be at room temp (not a good thing bacteria-wise). We served them hot (picture at top) with toothpicks.

If you wanted to make these into a meal, serve with a side veg, and some Spanish rice version of some kind. And maybe a green salad.

What’s GOOD: these were really delicious. Not authentically Spanish, but very tasty. Very much worth making.

What’s NOT: only that you should seek out good quality chorizo. NOT the kind from your local grocery store as it’s usually very fatty and you don’t really know what’s in it.

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Simply the best kind of refreshing first course for summertime. If you haven’t got good, ripe tomatoes or watermelon yet, save this to make in a month or two.

A post from Carolyn. So, a couple of weeks ago I hosted a small fund-raising event at my home. It’s the third time or fourth time we’ve had a wine tasting fund-raiser on my patio. I think we skipped a year, 2020, when we were all housebound from Covid lockdowns. About 10 of my dear PEO sisters bid on attending the event this year. The money all goes to philanthropies to help young women get an education; and we who host pay for the food or activities and the bid money goes to the philanthropies.

I had two co-hostesses, Linda and Lois, and they made most of the food. I made sangria (recipe coming up) and I also made another batch of the tres leches cake I posted a few weeks ago. The one made with pineapple, coconut milk, rum, etc. I made some asparagus appetizers, then we had some Spanish meatballs, and also a baguette slice appetizer. All those recipes coming up soon.

The weather was okay – maybe we should be happy it wasn’t blisteringly hot as that would have been miserable. It was about 70, and we sat outside the whole time. I’d figured out the menu some months ago and decided to go with a Spanish wine and tapas theme. After having the sangria (from Spanish rose cava), we moved on to an appetizer, then we served this lovely gazpacho. I love gazpacho. I found a great website just chock full of tapas recipes, called Spanish Sabores. Most of the recipes came from that website, however all of them had a few modifications so I feel quite comfortable posting them. If you’re ever wanting to do a tapas night, do go to that website for ideas. The couple who post are just the cutest!

So, this recipe. I told Lois to buy really good tomatoes, and to find a ripe watermelon. That’s not always easy, and this was in May, so it’s possible neither would be great, but I sent Lois to my favorite independent grocery store where I can rely, always, on their good produce. She talked to the produce guy and he helped her pick out the best. When in doubt, buy Roma tomatoes as they generally have good flavor year-around.

The gazpacho is so easy to make – whiz up most of the ingredients in a blender, put it through a fine-mesh sieve (or not, if you want more texture) and then add the watermelon and mint, then taste for seasoning. After Lois made it, I tasted it and decided it needed a tiny bit more salt, a bit of sugar (because I could taste the bitterness of the green bell pepper) and then I added some balsamic vinegar. A tetch. Really just a tetch. Oh, perfection. In this soup, you really can taste the tomatoes, the watermelon, the bell pepper. The other ingredients just add layers of flavor.

What’s GOOD: so fresh, and refreshing. Easy to make. Do taste it at the end to add salt, maybe, or a bit of sugar, or the balsamic vinegar (very little). You can make it ahead, too.

What’s NOT: only that you need to seek out and find really ripe (tasty) produce to go into it. Don’t compromise on that or the soup won’t be great.

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With great interest I read an article in Food & Wine magazine. About Kewpie brand Japanese mayonnaise, and why it’s an integral part of making this egg salad sandwich. And no, that’s not a lettuce leaf peeping out on the left, it’s the green measuring cup I used for the mayo. LOL.

A post from Carolyn. I have way too many recipes waiting to post – I must have 7-8 waiting to be written up and now this one. Ever since I handed over my gavel in PEO to a new president, I’ve had a lot more time on my hands. Good time. Time to read, to wind down the pile of magazines I have sitting in my family room, and time to cook. So, as I leafed through an issue of the magazine I stopped at this one, about a particular style of egg salad, from a 7-Eleven stores in Japan. The writer was on a mission of sorts – he’d spent some years in Japan and frequented a nearby store and often bought sandwiches there. He didn’t realize how much he loved them until he wasn’t living in Japan anymore. So he set about trying to recreate the sandwich.

I’m such a sucker for those kinds of stories, they just pull me in. I do love egg salad sandwiches and rarely eat them (since I try not to eat bread). I had some soft potato bread in the freezer. No, I didn’t have any of the specialty Japanese milk bread (although I have a local bakery that makes it and I love it), but the potato bread would suffice. But first, I had to find the Kewpie mayo. I could have taken a drive to a local Asian market about 7-8 miles away, but with the price of gasoline these days I opted to get it on amazon.

What’s different about this mayo? Well, having taken a little tiny taste of it, I’d say it’s a bit more acidic – maybe vinegar or more lemon juice. Since I WILL be making this egg salad mixture again in the future, I have some more Kewpie mayo to use. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup, so this little bottle will keep me stocked for several iterations. This recipe supposedly makes enough for ONE sandwich. Gee whiz. Five eggs (well, yolks plus half the whites) in one sandwich? I think it makes enough for two, and since I’ll be making them in half-sandwich portions from now on, I might make 2/3 of a recipe next time, so with three eggs. Or heck, make the full recipe and you’ll have enough for a couple of leftover servings.

Start off with some hard boiled eggs. I do mine in the instant pot, as I’ve mentioned here before, the 2-10-2 method (2 minutes on high pressure, 10 to cool down inside the Instant Pot, then 2 minutes in an ice bath). Keeping the eggs moist when you store them is also a key to success, to keep that membrane inside sort of wet – makes for easier peeling. I keep mine in a refrigerator container with a paper towel inside that stays very damp. Anyway, separate the eggs. All the yolks go in a bowl. The whites, well, you’ll only use half of them. And they need to be chopped up VERY fine. Mine weren’t done near finely enough, as you can see with the egg salad kind of seeping out of the sandwich up top.

Then to the yolks you add the mayo, salt, pepper and a little bit of sugar. Yes, sugar. It’s an important ingredient – the author said he knew his copycat recipe wasn’t quite right until someone suggested he add some sugar. That did it – he felt this recipe was spot on. One of the tricks to this is letting it rest in the frig for an hour. I didn’t have time to do that, and I think the mixture needs that resting time to firm up. Mine was too loose. After firming up you add in two teaspoons of heavy cream. Yes, really. Then the bread is spread with a thin film of butter, and the egg salad added. Close the sandwich carefully and also very gently slice with a serrated knife, cutting the sandwich in half. I’m just saying this sandwich for one, will serve two.

What’s GOOD: loved every mouthful of this sandwich, even though it oozed. It has a very smooth texture, nothing to distract you (like pickle relish or celery or onion, or even celery seed that I might ordinarily add). I LOVED this. And yes, I’ll be making it again. I might even try it when I next make deviled eggs. Do seek out the Kewpie mayo, though.

What’s NOT: only that you do need Kewpie mayo to make it authentically. And a nice, soft (not sweet) bread. Ideally the Japanese milk bread. Next time I will go buy some of the milk bread.

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Have you learned to trust Ina Garten’s recipes?

A post from Carolyn. If you haven’t, you should trust Ina’s recipes. I’ve not ever thought of making a grand statement about Ina’s recipes, but here goes: I’ve never made an Ina Garten recipe that hasn’t been spot-on. She’s a genius in the kitchen. And almost never are her recipes difficult or laborious. Some are expensive since she uses nothing but the best ingredients like pounds of fresh crab right off the boat, or beef tenderloin, or imported cheeses. But many of her recipes are simple. Easy. And many use ordinary ingredients.

So speaking of lemon bars here . . . have you ever eaten some that were not quite up to snuff? I sure have. And I’ve made them too, and not been happy with the results. I mean – they were okay, but not exceptional. These – this recipe – goes into the exceptional category. Just the right amount of sweet to tart, and just the right amount of lemon filling to the sugary topping. And the right amount of crust too.

One time, years ago, I was making a recipe for an appetizer. Don’t even remember what it was, but it was a loosey-goosey kind of recipe – a little this and a little of that. Oh, I remember, it’s on my blog already, they’re called Ginger Picks. It required a little square of ham, a fresh piece of pear and a little nub of crystallized ginger. In making them, I needed to taste it to see if the flavors worked. They did, but I figured out that you needed a piece of ham in a just-so size, a piece of pear in a just-so size, and a piece of crystallized ginger in a just-right size. In order to be perfect, each needed to be a very particular size, otherwise it didn’t work. Hence the same with these lemon bars. They need to have each part – crust – filling – topping be just right.

What’s GOOD: that they’re perfect. Just the right amount of tart to sweet, filling to crust, all in one bite. Make these.

What’s NOT: really, nothing at all. Ina Garten is a wizard.

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Oh my, oh my. Do I love popovers. 

A post from Carolyn. I wish there was an ode, or a poem to the gloriousness of popovers. Alas, I didn’t find any, and I’m not going to write one! You know, of course, that the batter that makes popovers is nearly identical to what’s used to make Yorkshire pudding. A eggy, thin batter (eggs, flour, salt, milk and butter – that’s all that’s in them). Yorkshire pudding traditionally is made in the pan after a big beef roast is removed from the oven to rest, most of the drippings are poured off, then the batter is poured in and it’s baked for 30-40 minutes. A wedge or square of it would be served alongside a big hunk of juicy beef roast.

Years and years ago (we’re talking the late 60s), when I was about 25-26 my then husband and my parents (who were visiting from San Diego) and I drove to British Columbia (I was living in Washington at the time) to visit my dad’s cousins who hailed from a tiny farming community there. I think they raised wheat or soy beans, but don’t quote me. They lived in a very old farmhouse, and Sunday dinner was served at about 2pm. The ladies of the house had been bustling in the kitchen for hours (not enough room for more than 2 people) and finally dinner was served at the huge dining table. Yorkshire pudding was portioned out beside the slice of roast, along with big roasted potatoes (probably also cooked in the pan with the roast). Beyond that I have no recollection of what we ate. Probably a vegetable and dessert. But it was the Yorkshire pudding that captivated me. I wanted to know all about it. They’d mixed it up by hand earlier in a big crockery bowl and let the mixture rest at room temp before it was poured into the large roasting pan of beef drippings (grease). Beyond that I knew nothing.

Years later, after I moved to Orange County, CA in the 70s (where I still live) when my mother visited, she and I used to go shopping at a department store, Bullock’s, and they served popovers with the lunch entrees in their restaurant. Loved them. You know and have heard about that Proust-ian moment when you bite into something and it transports you back in time, when memories of the past flood through your brain. With Proust it was madeleines, that lovely little soft French cookie. I was taken back to that day when I’d had Yorkshire pudding. Then I began researching it as best I could. No internet in those days. I bought a popover pan (see above, although the one I had then was not nonstick). I don’t think nonstick existed back then. Over the years I had difficulty with that pan and eventually gave it away because it just was not reliable about the popovers sticking, even though I buttered them well. I didn’t replace it. I THINK my mistake was putting it in the dishwasher. I’ve read since that popover pans should not be put in the dishwasher – even this new nonstick one. Probably because the strong/harsh detergent will eventually damage the nonstick surface. Lesson learned.

More years went by, and then I went on this last trip and had popovers at Kaynes in Nashville. They were absolutely sensational. Again, I was transported – this time not to the Yorkshire pudding days – but to friends my DH and I made in England, and Pamela had made a roast beef and she made popovers. When I got back home from this trip to Nashville, though, I went online to amazon and bought la new Bellemain nonstick popover pan. And since then I’ve been on a mission to make popovers that make me happy. There are lots of nonstick popover pans on amazon – the Bellemain one merely had lots more good reviews. Just don’t ever put it in the dishwasher.

With my new popover pan in hand, my first recipe iteration was from America’s Test Kitchen. It was the traditional 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of melted butter. I made them, and they were okay. Certainly acceptable, but not up to the eggy, rich popover I had at Kaynes. I began researching more recipes and wanting them to be more eggy (so more eggs in ratio). And wanted a richer taste, so I assumed maybe a little more melted butter would be a good addition. My second iteration hit the mark – maybe not quite as rich as Kaynes’, but it’s close. In researching this blog post I came across yet another recipe, purported to be from Cook’s Illustrated that uses even less flour, and a lower oven temp, so I think I’ll need to give that one a try too. I also have a recipe for chocolate popovers – obviously it’s a dessert! I’ll make those one of these days.

This recipe, from King Arthur Flour uses more eggs, less milk and flour, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter. You’re to use warm milk and eggs that have warmed to room temp (or let set in hot water for 10 minutes before cracking them open). They suggest mixing in a bowl with a whisk, but I used the blender, and then just let the batter sit with the lid on, for an hour. This gives time for the batter to lose bubbles that have formed in the mixing. Some recipes insist popover batter needs to rest at room temp for an hour. This particular one did not, but I didn’t think it would hurt. I halved the recipe below as my popover pan has six wells.

RECOMENDATIONS: There are any number of recommendations from seasoned cooks and chefs about making popovers. Warm milk, warmed eggs, let the batter sit for an hour, hydrate the flour (needed), heat the popover pan in the hot oven before pouring in the batter, and cardinal of all, NEVER open the oven door during the baking, or they’ll deflate. Also if your oven is smaller, place the popovers on the lowest shelf possible, leave some space, then slide a cookie sheet on a higher shelf (helps to prevent over-browning).

When you make them, prepare only as many as you think you’ll eat. Although you can eat them warmed up (microwave 10 seconds, turn them over and microwave another 4-6 seconds), they’re just not the same. Reheating in the oven will over-heat/bake that lovely eggy interior.

This recipe calls for  using a muffin tin, but I used the popover pan using the same instructions.

What’s GOOD: that they’re so tender, very eggy and golden, gloriously brown on the outside. So easy to pop out of the pan if you have a nonstick popover pan. And remember what I did in Nashville? Julian recommended we have some cheese (he ordered a cheese platter for the table) with little torn pieces of warm popover. Oh my. So good.

What’s NOT: nothing, really – they’re not that hard to make, even for people who think they are. Mix by hand or in the blender. Either one works well.

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A really delicious dip to serve about 8-10-12 or so. Similar to many recipes out there, but there are a couple of things different about this one.

A post from Carolyn. If you go online and hunt for seven layer dip, you’ll find hundreds of recipes. Literally hundreds. It’s certainly popular and well deserved, since it’s so delicious. Haven’t we all made seven layer dip for decades? I sure have. There are a few things that are different about this one – the bean layer requires some cooking (and mashing) with some good flavorings added in, and there’s a corn layer to this one.

I started with a recipe on the ‘net, and changed it by adding the kind of canned corn that contains peppers (Fiesta, Mexicorn type) instead of either fresh corn or ordinary canned corn. I also added more ground cumin. The first layer in the 9×9 pan was the beans (see photo at left) – black beans in this case, and they’re drained well, then added to some of the green onions and garlic sautéed with some EVOO. Some cumin is added too. The beans are mashed (either with a fork or a potato masher) and some water is added – they need to be spreadable (i.e., not too dry). Finally, they’re smeared into the dish.

Then a layer (not much) of sour cream is added. There’s some shredded cheddar cheese, the guacamole you’ve made, some more cheese, the can of corn, then lastly you add the freshly made salsa. I used fresh Roma tomatoes, which were nicely ripe. I didn’t peel them, but they were chopped finely and I removed the center part with most of the seeds. Lime juice gives accent to the salsa and guacamole, ground cumin adds piquancy to both the beans and the guacamole, and garlic is added to the beans and guac. The salsa should be drained (of liquid that generates from the tomatoes) before it’s spread on the top.

I made this 24 hours ahead, letting those flavors meld a bit, then served it with a lot of crispy tortilla chips. I buy a brand of tortilla chips that are actually freshly fried (Las Golondrinos) available at a few of my local stores. If you can, seek out a place that makes home made chips – they’re so much better! Just before serving I sprinkled a bit of salt on the top of the tomatoes – use your own judgment after tasting it.

What’s GOOD: all those good, fresh flavors – the beans, cheese, guac, corn and salsa. Altogether delish. There is no heat to this dip – you could add some chili powder if you prefer. Loved that I could make it ahead.

What’s NOT: nothing at all, except you need to start a few hours ahead.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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