Life has become insanely busy. I know you feel it too. Who doesn’t. At the moment I must have a million projects swirling around me. It will not let up soon. But busy is good, it keeps my hands out of the potato chip bags (wink, wink).
However, between kid’s school projects, book reports, mobiles to construct, rainforest projects, historical fiction novels to read and then putting finishing touches on vampire and Jango Fett (from Star Wars) costumes I can easily lose my whole day. Oh, and the phone doesn’t stop ringing nor do the emails stop.
But that’s not all, there’s the vineyard. I dream at night about row and vine spacing. I’m deadlocked at 7 feet or 7.6 feet. Those six inches can make a big difference in farming practices. And then the vines, the rootstocks and the Pinot Noir clones. Do I want 114 on a 3309 rootstock or do I want 115 on a 101-14 rootstock. However, I’m in love with the flavor profile of the 777’s and then there’s Pommard. I won’t even tell you about the pressure we are under to get our winter cover crop planted; the seed spreader we had ordered went on backorder. Now we are scrambling for a replacement. Let’s not even mention the hours whittled away discussing irrigation issues, pumps, hoses and underground reservoirs. Putting in a vineyard takes nothing less than everything and since we are doing it ourselves, well, I won’t even go into the stress.
Funny though, there is always time for dip which includes the dip series we seem to have going over here. This is another recipe from the last page of the last issue of Gourmet Magazine.
The verdict is in, we loved it. Let me preface this with saying I have always loved Green Goddess salad dressing so it doesn’t surprise me I have a taste for this warm dip. Don’t be afraid of anchovy paste if you are not an anchovy fan, the paste is a mild alternative. Also, don’t skip the fresh tarragon in this one, it really adds to the flavor.
The dip continues….
Cook scallions in butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until softened, about three minutes. Add spinach and anchovy paste and cook, stirring, until heated through.
Add cream cheese and cook, stirring, until melted and warm, then stir in sour cream, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper.
Serve warm with crackers or crudités.
Green Goddess Spinach Dip
Ingredients
- 4 scallions chopped
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 10 oz thawed frozen chopped spinach, drained and squeezed dry
- 1 Tablespoon anchovy paste
- 8 oz cream cheese, cut in cubes
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 teasponns fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons chopped tarragon
Directions
- Cook scallions in butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until softened, about three minutes. Add spinach and anchovy paste and cook, stirring, until heated through.
- Add cream cheese and cook, stirring, until melted and warm, then stir in sour cream, lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper.
- Serve warm with crackers, pita chips or crudités.
However, we liked this with pita chips.
One Year Ago: Lemon Mini Muffins with Lime-Scented Sugar
