Company is coming and I've got no veggie dip!

We had an impromptu party a few days ago and I had no party food for my guests. I was able to rustle up a couple of dishes by rumaging through the fridge...

First was a dish I, regrettably, didn't take a picture of. I took some frozen puff pastry and thawed it in the microwave. Then I rolled it out to about 10 X 8 inches. I placed 1/2 a block of cream cheese in the center and topped with some chopped pecans and a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar. I then brought the corners of the puff pastry together on top to make a little flowery knot and baked it at 425 for about 35 minutes. And it received great reviews from those that tried it. Yum yum yum. I think this would go very well with apple slices... but we didn't have any so we just dug in and ate it by itself :)

The other dish I made was some veggie sticks from the vegetables I had in the fridge. Wash & slice... easy-peasy. But we had no dip. I found an old bottle of ranch dressing well past its best by date but didn't think food poisoning would be an enjoyable result of the party. So I raided my fridge and cupboards for anything I thought might make a good dip.....


My potential ingredients included buttermilk, dijon mustard, mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, plain yogurt, lemon juice, dill, salt & pepper, and brown sugar. What a strange group of ingredients. What delights can I make?

I started with an equal amount of mayo and yogurt and whisked them together. I then added a splash of buttermilk, just because I wanted to say that I used it for something other than cornbread :)

Those three ingredients made up the creamy base. Then it needed some flavor. I added dill, salt & pepper, cayenne, and brown sugar. It still needed a little something so I threw in about 1/2 teaspoon of dijon mustard. I skipped the lemon juice. After whisking it all together I have to say it was an excellent dip. The dijon and cayenne added some heat (almost too much... go easy on that cayenne) but the dill was the prevailing flavor.

Next time you are in need of an emergency dip or salad dressing, see what you can whip up with the ingredients you have in your fridge. You might be pleasantly surprised with the results. :)