Cook’s notes
Unlike most, this cheese dip was not baked. But there is a bit of cooking involved. To be more precise, the cooking consists of stovetop heating and a bit of microwaving. Whether those two things fall within the definition of cooking may be debatable.
So, a little stovetop heating. Unless you’re okay with raw garlic. I personally don’t have any problem with it. But I have read that raw garlic stored in oil can result in botulism. Since this dip can be a make-ahead party dish, I recided that heating the garlic is the safer alternative.
And, unlike most, no seasonings are used. Cream cheese is already salty. And I used salted butter. So, more salt would have been overkill. What about lemon juice? Sun-dried tomatoes are already tangy and the overall flavor is really intense. So, again, lemon juice would have been superfluous. Add at your discretion. What about ground pepper? Again, add at your discretion.
Tip: In the grocery, sun-dried tomatoes are sold dried or soaked in oil. We use the latter at home. If you use the kind that doesn’t come soaked in oil, you will have to soften the tomatoes in a small amout of warm water. They have to be pliable enough to be chopped, and soft enough to be eaten.
Cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and scallion dip
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter (at room temperature) divided
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and pounded
- 3 to 4 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
- 125 grams cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1 tablespoon chopped sun-dried tomatomes
Instructions
- Place two tablespoons of butter, all of the garlic and scallions in a small frying pan.
- Heat until the butter melts. Stir a few times then take the pan off the heat and cool.
- Place the cream cheese, remaining four tablespoons of butter and sun-dried tomatoes in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Heat in the microwave oven on HIGH for 30 to 40 seconds or just until the butter and cream cheese are soft enough to be whisked.
- Whisked the cream cheese, butter and sun-dried tomatoes until the mixture has the consistency of mayonnaise.
- Slowly pour the butter, garlic and scallion mixture over the cream cheese mixture and whisk until no trace of melted butter remains.
- Top with greens (we added cilantro and more scallions) and serve at room temperature with toast or crackers.
Lemongrass fried chicken
