Fall Queso with Pumpkin and Chorizo #virtualpumpkinparty

It’s Sara’s annual Virtual Pumpkin Party! So, in the name of all things pumpkin, here’s a very bastardized queso dip.

I started out with a classic American style queso dip. You know, runny melty cheese, peppers, spices, yadda yadda. You dip chips in it. Basic. But then I wanted to make it even more basic with pumpkin and all the fall flavors. Chorizo is an obvious addition to queso, and that had me thinking about all those Thanksgiving recipes out there for stuffing with chorizo, pecans, and dried cherries. Fall! So there you have it. It’s cheesy queso, with pumpkin puree and chorizo mixed in, and topped with more chorizo, pecans, dried cherries, and green onions. It would be so good served at a fall dinner party or to nosh on before Thanksgiving!

We’re using a half cup of pumpkin puree, so you'll have some leftover...but luckily there a lot of other savory and sweet pumpkin recipes out there for #virtualpumpkinparty, so head over to Cake Over Steak to check them out!

Fall queso dip with pumpkin and chorizo 

Splash olive oil 2 tablespoons diced white onion 1 jalapeño, diced ¼ lb fresh chorizo (Mexican fresh style, not cured Spanish style) ¼ teaspoon garlic powder Pinch salt, pepper, and cinnamon ½ cup pureed pumpkin ¾ cup half and half (1/4 cup of it set aside) 1 teaspoon cornstarch 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Trader Joe’s Mexican blend) For topping: Toasted pecans Dried cherries Sliced green onion

Heat olive oil in a medium to large pot over medium heat. Add onion and jalapeño, and sauté until onion is translucent. Add chorizo and cook through. If desired, remove a little bit of the chorizo to reserve for topping and set aside. Add garlic powder and a pinch of salt, black pepper, and cinnamon. Add pumpkin puree and stir to combine. Turn heat down to medium low. In a small bowl, mix reserved ¼ cup half and half with cornstarch until cornstarch is dissolved, set aside. Stir remaining half and half into pot until combined, then add cornstarch slurry, stirring until mixed. Add cheese, and stir until melted. Add more salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste, and more half and half or cheese to adjust consistency as desired. Top with toasted pecans, dried cherries, sliced green onion, and reserved chorizo. Serve with tortilla chips.

Smoked Salmon Dip | #SoLetsPigOut

It's summer, bikinis are overrated, and it stays light out super late. So….LET’S PIG OUT. But seriously. #SoLet’sPigOut is a virtual potluck hosted by two super cool gals, Emily and Gina. It’s basically a rad excuse to get together with some of the coolest people on the internet-block/planet for a midsummer celebration of the season's finest eats. I’m talkin’ apps, snacks, desserts, entrees, drinks…all the recipes you need for a really great summer potluck, from 25 awesome food bloggers. I’m bringing the smoked salmon dip!

Thick, creamy, smoky, delicious. This dip is a staple in my family. My mom has been making it my entire life.

My hometown is nestled in between the Columbia River and the Klickitat River, bordering towns with names like Trout Lake and White Salmon, so needless to say, there was a lot of fish in my childhood. Like, a lot of fish. My parents were pretty avid fishermen (fisherman & fisherwoman? fisher-people?) when I was growing up, especially during salmon season. Amanda and I refer to one summer of our lives as “The Summer Mom and Dad had OCFD.” That’s obsessive compulsive fishing disorder, in case you were wondering. We were middle school aged, so old enough to be home alone, but too young to drive. Did I mention we lived in the middle of nowhere, miles away from friends? Oh, and we only had 5 tv channels? And this was before internet-at-home? Yeah, we really had to use our imaginations back then.

So anyway, Mel & John were out salmon fishing from sun up to sun down every single day (ok, maybe they worked too, who knows?), leaving Amanda and I to fend for ourselves. Maybe that’s where I learned to love cooking? Survival, I tell you. She and I both remember the cupboards being bare that summer, but that’s probably just our memories playing tricks on us—if you saw my parents’ cupboards you’d understand why that probably wasn't true...I think they’re preparing for the zombie apocalypse. But about the salmon: we literally got tired of salmon. It’s the one thing we remember eating that summer. We basically lived off of my dad’s hot-smoked-canned salmon, grilled salmon (either Jamaican jerk rubbed or mayo-seasoning salt rubbed, which by the way, makes the best grilled salmon ever), and batches of Mel’s salmon dip (made from leftover grilled salmon and/or salmon that she cooked just to make dip).

Now, of course, I realize how lucky we were. What I wouldn’t give for unlimited salmon that doesn’t cost a month’s rent! Leftover salmon? Please. These days I make Mel’s salmon dip with store bought canned salmon, because you better believe if I’m forking out a full paycheck for fresh fish, I’m grilling it and eating it all in one sitting right then and there. Luckily, Mel’s dip recipe has some secret ingredients that give the illusion of tons of super smoky smoked salmon, without actually using smoked salmon. Genius, that woman! 

This recipe is also super simple and comes together in the blink of an eye, which means you'll have extra time to make other #SoLetsPigOut potluck recipes! YES! Check out the recipes at The Pig & Quill and So…Let's Hang Out! 

Mel's Smoked Salmon Dip

We have lots of good canned salmon in the PNW, but if you can't find anything local, I've found the Trader Joe's canned salmon is pretty good! Just avoid anything that has skin with it, no bueno. Use 2 6oz cans, or equivalent cooked salmon. For fun, I bought a little 2 oz chunk of smoked salmon and mixed that in as well. You can serve with any crackers or veggies, but the classic summer-of-OCFD version calls for Saltine crackers. 

2 6oz cans salmon, drained

2 oz chunck of smoked salmon (optional)

1 8oz brick cream cheese, softened to room temp

1 tablespoon prepared horseradish sauce (more or less, depending on preference)

1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

Stir everything together until fully combined. That's it! Add more lemon juice or liquid smoke if you desire. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. 

PS. I knew making this dip look pretty would be a challenge. The quickest way to tell if food looks gross? Have a second grader take it to school for lunch and see how many kids make fun of it and are grossed out by it. Yep, I was that second grader you guys. In the end I was the lucky one with this dip in my lunch, but man, sometimes a kid just wants a Lunchable like everyone else, ya know?   

Almond Butter Fruit Dip

We all have our bad habits. Some are vices, some are just little things that drive other people crazy. I definitely have some bad habits that drive Evan crazy. I leave dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, I hit snooze a million times every morning, I'm the worst back seat driver. But lately, the one thing he just can't stomach…is that I eat peanut butter (and Nutella, and almond butter, and spekuloos spread) straight out of the jar, on a spoon. He thinks its disgusting. I think….why consume extra calories via an edible spoon (cracker, bread, waffle, cookie, etc), when all I really want is the peanut butter? I think my logic makes perfect sense. 

My favorite afternoon snack the last couple of weeks is a spoonful of almond butter with a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of coconut, and a couple of blueberries. Delicious one bite snack, right!? 

But, since it bothers him so much, I tried putting it all in a little bowl: almond butter, honey, coconut, blueberries. Stir it together, insert spoon, eat. Delicious two bite snack! He didn't like that too much either. The guy isn't too particular about most things, but this one just really seems to bother him. So, to make my afternoon snack a bit more appealing to him (not that his opinion has stopped me from standing at the counter eating Nutella straight out of the jar, with a spoon), I decided to add yogurt and whip everything up into a dip for fruit. That's totally normal and acceptable, right? Way less crazy than drowning every single thing you consume in hot sauce. *Cough* Evan *Cough*. 

Almond Butter Fruit Dip

1 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt

2 tablespoons salted almond butter

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 cup shredded coconut

pinch of cinnamon

sliced fruit or fruit skewers for serving

Whisk together yogurt, almond butter, and honey. Stir in cinnamon and coconut. Add more of anything, as desired. Serve with fruit. 

Everything Tastes (and is) Better Camping

For Labor Day weekend, I went camping with a group of friends- Evan's guys plus their girlfriends (and a few stragglers). Prior to heading out for our weekend expedition to Fort Flagler, I was a little concerned about two things: the weather and the food. The forecast called for rain, rain, rain all weekend. And the food... not that I was dreading it or anything, but I've known these guys for a long time. BBQs at their house in college were always BYOF: Bring Your Own Food, and like Evan, they all think Chipotle and McDonalds are gourmet. Needless to say, I was slightly concerned.

The morning of our departure, I packed up all the food Evan and I prepared- everything we needed to survive if no one else brought supplies- secretly hoping to impress the group (and by impress, I mean bring the best food and get oohs and ahhs from everyone, of course). I brought LeAnn's Spinach Dip with crackers, chocolate chip cookies, and the fixin's for one of Evan's favorite meals (and a camping must-have) Girl Scout Packets. We grabbed the ice chest (also heavily laden with beer), and headed out into the rainiest day Seattle had seen in months.

I was expecting nothing but hot dogs and downpours. As usual, I was proven wrong. Other than a brief spurt of rain Sunday afternoon, we had blue skies and sunshine. And the food...not only did we have more than enough food, with everyone bringing loads and loads of supplies, but we also ate like we were in a five-star restaurant. Ok, not really (not at all), but everything tastes better when you're camping.

We started out Saturday with a lunch of campfire-steamed whole crab with garlic butter (courtesy of Dave and Nadia), which we ate standing over the picnic table, butter and juices running down our arms (camping brings out the heathen in all of us). We snacked on dip and chips, fresh veggies, two kinds of cookies, and of course, hot dogs. For night one's dinner, Mike and Mark took the helm at the cook stove, preparing a meal I would normally feed to the dog when no one was looking: Hamburger (and hot dog) Helper. I don't know what it is about camping, but I have to say it... that was some damn good Helper (I'm just happy it was dark so we couldn't see the neon orange colored sauce that we scraped off the pot the next morning). For breakfast Sunday, we made a sausage-egg scramble, with extra bacon and sausage on the side, washed down with French-press coffee and cream.

For lunch, we were treated to rain, and a surprise from Kyle. Little did I know, Kyle's mom used to own and operate her own Filipino restaurant in Port Orchard, and he worked in the kitchen for years. He had intended to make chicken skewers, but the brief rain shower put a stop to that, and instead we just had chicken cooked on the cook stove. Good enough for me!


Kyle's chicken was marinated in a soy/pineapple/garlic blend, and he cooked it up to gooey, crispy perfection on the Coleman. I think the whole campground was jealous of the delicious scents wafting out of our campsite!


After a long hike and exploration of the old (scary) barracks at Fort Flagler, I prepared the Girl Scout Packets. Girl Scout Packets are something I made years (and years and years) ago in Girl scouts, and have since made for Evan in our oven. The basic gist is to wrap meat and veggies in foil, and cook over the fire until everything is soft and almost stew-like in its juices. Our packets had ground beef, carrots, potatoes, onions, butter, and seasoning salt, double wrapped in foil. That simple.

The packets were delicious, with a smokiness you can only get cooking over an open campfire. We ate them straight out of the foil, with a side of fire-roasted garlic bread, followed by Chelsea's homemade apple pie. Such basic food, but for some reason, everything is always better camping.

LeAnn's Spinach Dip

This is a pretty basic, pretty delish dip! Mix together the following:

1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix
Equal parts mayo and sour cream (about 1 to 1.5 cups of each, can vary depending on your tastes)
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 box frozen spinach- thawed, drained, and chopped (be sure to wring out and get rid of excess liquid)

The End of an Era

This post is both tasty and tearful, all at once. A dear friend, LeAnn, is packing up and moving far away.