Friday, September 4, 2009

Fall, Football, and Fabulous Dip

Fall is in the air!  Our temperatures finally dropped below 100 degrees this week and I actually pulled out a jacket when I dragged our three trashcans to the curb in the rain.  There’s nothing like the feel of cold rain and the smell of garbage first thing in the morning!

Anyway, on to another sad topic.  The encroaching Labor Day weekend forces me to say farewell to my friend, White Capri.  I’ve enjoyed wearing you this summer.  I hope you enjoy some quality time with White Sandals in the closet until next spring. 

On a better note, COLLEGE FOOTBALL STARTS THIS WEEKEND!  We will be dressing up our 4-yr-old daughter in her size 2T Tennessee Vols cheerleader outfit because we can never remember to buy a bigger size when we get out of BURNT orange territory and visit relatives in BRIGHT orange territory.  It’s bad enough that we have to endure the occasional “Hook ‘Em Horns!” (shudder) from Texas fans when we are CLEARLY wearing Tennessee paraphernalia.   In our minds, this simply reinforces everything we already felt about Univ. of Texas fans. (smile)

In honor of college football weekend, I am joining BooMama’s DipTacular event!  Because in the words of BooMama, “Where college football leads, dips will most always follow.”

DipTacular 

The other day, my mom and I were strolling through Central Market (our favorite place to browse), ooh-ing and aah-ing over all the delicious-looking dips.  It happened to be Hatch Chile Festival time, and they were featuring their Hatch Chile Pesto Dip.  We bought a small spoonful and devoured it when we got home with a few guacamole flavored chips.  It was THE MOST DELICIOUS DIP I have ever eaten.  Thankfully, Central Market made their recipe available for mere mortals to make at home, so here it is!  If Hatch Chiles are not available, poblano peppers make an excellent substitute. 

Poblano Pesto Dip

  • 4 poblano chili peppers
  • 3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 c. fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 c. olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 1 tsp. salt

Place peppers on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Broil 5” from heat about 5 minutes on each side or till blistered. Place peppers in zip-loc bag; seal and let stand 10 minutes to loosen skins.. Peel peppers; remove and discard seeds.

Process peppers and remaining ingredients in processor till smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Store in frig up to 1 week.

NOTE: Poblano peppers are dark green, tapered chile peppers, about 3” wide and 4 to 5 “ long.

1 comment:

Kim H. said...

Well, if you've hung around my blog any amount of time - you know how I feel about the burnt orange peeps... UGH! There is a BIG difference between the orange used at TN... and burnt orange. (which looks like something expelled from a baby, am I right?)

Can't you order her a new cheerleader outfit online? Surely there are a bazillion places out there selling that stuff... :-)