Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

It is about 21°F this morning. The cold always me makes me crave crave warm, cozy dishes. This gruyère, roasted garlic and thyme dip  is just the thing to take to a New Years Eve cocktail party, or simply enjoy on the sofa after a long day, with your feet kicked up (build a fire in that fireplace, while you’re at it!).

I went to a cocktail party this fall (potluck style), and there were at least three different spinach and artichoke dips! Tasting and comparing them all was fun, but really? Three versions? Seems everyone was on the same page that night. I LOVE spinach artichoke dip, and this dip hits the same craving but mixes it up a bit.

The first step in this recipe is to roast a whole head of garlic. Have you roasted garlic before? YUM. It becomes golden and soft and spreadable. I roasted an extra head of garlic while I was making the one for this dip just so we could have it. It makes the best garlic garlic bread or compound butter. You may as well make the most of having the oven on!

Surprisingly, even with a whole head of garlic in this dip, it’s a subtle flavor — not a “I’m going to be breathing garlic for the rest of the night,” flavor. The gruyère and cream cheese soften it. Thyme adds an herbaceous note. The leftovers (if you have leftovers — in the realm of cheese that’s a rare story) do well as a sandwich spread or tucked inside of an omelette with sautéd mushrooms.

The new year is almost here! Wishing everyone a joyful 2019!

Warm Gruyère, Roasted Garlic & Thyme Dip

Published December 7, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

   Print This Recipe

Serves: 6   |    Active Time: 75 minutes

---

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil or avocado oil

8 ounces sour cream, at room temperature

2 ounces cream cheese

2 ounces gruyère, finely grated, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon minced parsley for garnish

For serving: crudités, crackers, crusty bread, etc.

Directions:

1. First, roast the garlic: preheat oven to 350° F. Chop the very top off of the head of garlic. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive/avocado oil. Place in oven and roast 45 minutes, until cloves are golden and soft.
2. Allow garlic to cool until you can easily touch it without burning your hands, about 15 minutes. Squeeze garlic cloves into a medium-sized mixing bowl, discarding of the garlic papers. Mash garlic.
3. Add sour cream, cream cheese, 2 ounces gruyère, salt, black pepper, and thyme to bowl. Use a fork to mix until well combined.
4. Spread cheese mixture in a ramekin or cocotte dish. Do not over fill—make sure there is at least 1/4-inch of extra room in the dish to avoid bubbling over. Top with remaining 2 tablespoons gruyère, and place in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and just starting to brown in spots on the top.
5. Remove from oven and allow to cool 10 minutes before sprinkling with minced parsley and serving with crudités, crackers, or crusty bread.
6. Leftovers? Eat them cold as a spread on toast, sandwiches, etc, or re-warm the dip in the microwave for 30-second intervals or in an oven until warmed through.

Apricot, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Bites

Have you heard of "Knowledge Knights?" The idea of Knowledge Knights is to get a group of friends together to learn and teach something new. We've been to a few, and hosted our first last week! The only rule is that everyone must come with one thing to talk about for roughly five minutes (whatever they want). If you have ever gotten into a deep web of Wikipedia searches, reading about this and that and becoming totally lost in the world of random facts, this is for you. So here is what you do!

First, invite your favorite people over. Give them the basic jist of what will happen. 

Pick and research your topic (and ask all of your guests do the same). The sky is the limit! You can pick something that you already know like the front and back of your hand of you can use this as an excuse to learn something new. No ideas? Try answering a question you've always asked yourself, like "What causes volcanoes to erupt?" or "How did Mayans discover cocoa beans and how did they make Xocoatl? " (I tend to go for the foodie questions, go figure).

Plan your menu--really this can be whatever you want, but most recently I made a couple of appetizers, like these Apricot, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Bites and it worked out great! 

On the night of your party, crack open a bottle of wine and roll a dice to see who will go first! We don't like to keep people to their fixed five minutes--you are welcome to, but it's also fun to see what other questions people have and, of course, to joke around a bit. 😉

Apricot, Goat Cheese and Prosciutto Bites

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |    Print This Recipe

A creative play on bacon wrapped dates, these prosciutto wrapped apricots are stuffed with goat cheese and a toasted pecan, for a little something different.

Yields: 16   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 16 dried apricots
• 1 four-ounce package prosciutto
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese
• 16 whole pecans
• 1 cup baby arugula
• 2 tablespoons balsamic gel (honey would also be good if you don't have this!)

Directions:

1. Toast the pecans in a oven at 350°F for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
2. Spread a small amount of goat cheese on the top of each dried apricot, and top with toasted pecans.
3. Place a few pieces of arugula under each apricot.
4. Remove top slice of prosciutto from package, and cut into 3 pieces, the long way, so that you have three strips. Carefully remove any plastic dividers from the prosciutto. Using one long prosciutto strip, wrap an apricot and arugula together. Place on serving tray. Do the same thing with the other two strips you cut (wrapping an apricot with arugula and placing on serving tray).
5. Repeat step 3 until all prosciutto is used and apricots are wrapped. Keep serving tray wrapped in plastic in fridge until you are ready to serve. Before serving, drizzle with balsamic gel.

Nutty Maple Baked Brie

We're not much for formal get-togethers, typically just telling everyone "come on over, we'll make [fill in the blank here]." And with that our friends will join us, bringing along more food to share, or drinks, as if it is a potluck, though no one named it such. I find this makes home feel even more like home: warm, relaxed, and comfortable. 

Some times I get a recipe fit for a party in my head, so I'll whip it up but the surroundings rarely change. To me baked brie has always been a little on the fancy side when it comes to appetizers, but not because it's difficult to make. On the contrary, it's one of the simplest appetizers you can make, and it comes out of the oven looking rich and ready to die for (I mean, it is melted cheese, after all). 

For guests I'll serve baked brie with crackers, but I myself enjoy spreading the stuff on pear and apple slices--the sweet & savory combination has me hooked. Plus, this baked brie is topped with a fruit and nut mix (which makes it really easy to make) and also lends it's self particularly well to being spread on pear slices. 

And I know, I know, this recipe is not the *most* resolution friendly, but maybe your New Years resolution is to spend more time with people you love? In which case this one is perfect. Or perhaps you're resolution free this year, and if that's the case, dive right in!

Made in Nature provided me with product, but the recipe and opinions are all my own. Working with brands to develop wholesome recipes is one way I keep Foraged Dish going! Made In Nature helps me stock the pantry and keep the blog going. I only work with brands that I truly enjoy and use.  

Nutty Maple Baked Brie

Paleo, Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

With only three ingredients, this brie is party ready in a few minutes!

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

---

Ingredients:

• 1 whole round of brie
• 4 ounces of your favorite fruit & nut mix— I used the Maple Balsamic Mix from Made in Nature and it paired really well with the cheese!
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 350°F. Place cheese in baking dish.
2. Pile fruit and nut mix over cheese, and drizzle with maple syrup. Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until cheese is soft but not melted.
3. Serve: my favorite things to serve this with include slices of pears and apples, crackers/pretzels, and sliced carrots or cucumbers.