cream cheese dip – The Bombay Boys

Cream cheese and chilli jam – best party dip ever

I had the neighbours round yesterday and to start with, I put out a big plate of tortilla chips and a load of dips, including hummus, salsa, guacamole and cream cheese with chilli jam. Here is a fact, the cream cheese dip with chilli jam always goes completely in the first half hour irrespective of how much you put out. It’s as if there is something secretly addictive in it that makes you actually incapable of only having one dip in it.

The best thing about it, is that it really is the easiest dip in the world to make and th recipe was given to me by the lovely Joyce and there’s a woman who knows a thing or two, about good, simple cooking.

Go for it.

JOYCE’S LOVELY CREAM CHEESE CHILLI DIP

All you will need is 1 packet of cream cheese, I used philadelphia, but you could in fact use a block of any good, really creamy cheese.

1 small jar of either sweet chilli dipping sauce, or my own lovely home made chilli jam (recipe below or buy it, up to you!).

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh mint and

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh basil and

a large bag of plain tortilla chips.

Method: All you do is turn out the cheese on to a large plate, place the majority of the chopped herbs on the top (Joyce adds chopped red pepper, too), leaving a little for decoration on the side. Spoon the chilli jam over the top of the cheese and serve. that’s it – pure genius, Joyce.

This is what it will look like VERY quickly.

Quick recap on the Chilli Jam recipe…(loosely based on Nigella’s)

150g fresh red chillies with seeds removed
150g red peppers, seeds removed ( I like to use green and yellow as well for a rainbow effect)
1kg jam sugar
400ml cider vinegar
200ml apple juice

Method

Place the cut-up chillies into a food processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the red pepper and pulse again until they are chopped in to small pieces
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and apple juice over a very low heat with as little stirring as possible
Scrape the chilli-pepper mixture out of the bowl and add to the pan. Bring the pan to the boil, then leave it to bubble gently for 10 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool for about 30 to 40 minutes
Ladle into clean, sterilised jars.

A secret passion – canapés – a lifetime love of little things on toast

Those of you who know me well, know I have a secret passion …Louis Vuitton, champagne…oh, the list goes on. It’s bizarrely for canapés, I just love those wonderful little concoctions that you can eat in one bite at drinks parties, or before a lovely dinner. Call it an amuse bouche and frankly, I’m anybody’s! I am truly in heaven when at one of those lovely restaurants where chef sends out a little amuse bouche just before your main course, or a palate tickler as I like to think of it. Small bites of paradise.

So enough of my secret sausage on a stick vice, last Sunday we were having the lovely neighbours round for drinks, so I took the opportunity to unleash the cocktail sticks. To follow are some unbelievably easy canapé recipes, plus I rolled out Joyce’s lovely cream cheese concoction which is always a winner. (See “Joyce takes a dip…and it’s a cream cheese one” under Everyday Grub)

New potatoes stuffed with smoked salmon: You will need the smallest new potatoes you can find, just roast them with groundnut oil and sea salt for about 20 minutes, Gas Mark 6/200C or 180 Fan. Allow them to cool and then using the end of a vegetable peeler, scoop out a little hollow in each one. Just before serving fill them with sour cream, a little smoked salmon and a tiny bit of caviar (real or faux depending on your budget!). These are also really good with crumbled crispy bacon instead of smoked salmon.

Chilli Prawn and Mango Skewers: Throw some ready cooked prawns in to some lime juice (about 2 limes) , with about 1 inch of grated ginger, a chopped red chilli (take out the seeds) and a small bunch of chopped coriander, with a crushed clove of garlic and leave for a couple of hours.

Thread them on cocktail sticks with a chunk of sweet mango and then pour the rest of the marinade on top and serve.

Meatballs with Chilli Jam or minted yogurt: Take 500g minced beef or lamb and mix with 3 flat teaspoons of ground coriander and ground cumin. Add a tablespoon each of chopped coriander and fresh rosemary and some salt and pepper. Combine together with one large egg and roll into small meatballs. Insert a small cube of feta cheese in to the centre of each one, making sure that the meat covers it completely. Place a tablespoon of sunflower oil in to a hot frying pan, and fry the meatballs for about 15 minutes until browned and well-cooked. Either serve straight away, or allow to cool and then place in an ovenproof dish at 180/160 fan Gas Mark 4 for 15 minutes and serve with a dish of either chilli jelly or yogurt mixed with fresh mint.Then to finish, some lovely sweet ones . Strawberries with a Chocolate Dip: All you need is strawberries and a jar of chocolate spread. If you want to be really clever, swirl some melted white chocolate in it, or mix it with a little malibu. So simple, but everyone thinks you’re so clever. My kind of cooking!

Cream cheese and chilli jam

We had the neighbours round yesterday and to start with, I put out a big plate of tortilla chips and a load of dips, including hummus, salsa, guacamole and cream cheese with chilli jam. Here is a fact, the cream cheese dip with chilli jam always goes completely in the first half hour irrespective of how much you put out. It’s as if there is something secretly addictive in it that makes you actually incapable of only having one dip in it.