Cordials and Truffles - An Easy Holiday Dessert

I am not a huge fan of desserts, but when hosting a casual holiday party, it's fun to offer something simple and tasty to satisfy your guests' sweet cravings.

A simple way to do this is to add some {store bought} truffles to a large platter and surround them with cordial glasses.  Then you can set out a number of after dinner drinks such as Kahlua, Baileys, Frangelico, etc. 

Your guests can choose their cordial and enjoy a decadent dessert at the same time!

Carol's Clam Dip - A Holiday Tradition

For as long as I've been with The Hubby (over 18 years), his mom has always made clam dip for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Since she doesn't live nearby, we don't usually see her for both holidays each year.  The Hubby usually comes through and makes a similar version, but it is never as good as his mom's. 

This summer my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were visiting - we decided to make a batch then too.  We were all together - figured it was a good time to enjoy some.  Whenever my sister-in-law is around, we always have to make two batches, one with onions, one without.

I have learned over the years that making this dip is all about taste testing.  The measurements below are not perfect.  This is tasted and the ingredients are adjusted along the way as well as after it has had time to sit in the refrigerator. 

We also have two chip varieties preferred by each family member as well, Ruffles Original and Baked Ruffles.  This dip could be served with crackers or even veggies as well, but our family tradition is Ruffles. 

I hope you'll serve this as an appetizer at your Holiday table this season and come back to this post to tell me about it!

Carol's Clam Dip
Serves 4-6

16 oz. cream cheese, softened (we use 1/3 lass fat (Neufchâtel cheese)
6.5 oz. can of minced clams (not drained)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
1/2 medium Vidalia onion, minced
Small amount of milk
Ruffles potato chips

Cream the cream cheese in a bowl with a hand mixer.  Add almost all of the clam juice and continue blending until you have a nice, smooth consistency.  With a spatula, start adding the other ingredients and blending by hand as you go. Add mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce (to taste), hot sauce (to taste).  Stir.  Add a little milk as needed to get a creamy consistency.  Add chopped onions, stir again.  Add the clams and stir gently. Use a small amount of milk again, as needed to get to a creamy consistency. Lastly, add the lemon juice (to taste) and blend.  Do a taste test now. 

Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.  Taste again and add more of the ingredients.  above until it tastes just right.  You'll likely need to add more milk as well as it will thicken in the fridge.

My Favorite Valentines

I have a column for the Southeast Valley Ledger coming out with my favorite Valentine's next week - but I was so excited to share what I did for my boys this year, I decided to make it a blog post as well!

This year for my boys, I saw an idea on Oriental Trading’s site that involved a bag of Pop Rocks and a cute tag attached with wording along the lines of “You Rock, Valentine!”  While looking for bulk Pop Rocks, I enlisted my good friend and next door neighbor to try to find.  She is our family photographer and is also incredibly talented at design: cards, Facebook cover templates, invitations, announcements, you name it.  So, she designed a card to attach to the Pop Rocks for me. 

Here is a photo of the finished product!

We decided to leave them as bookmarks (rather than folding them around bag) and tie them to the top of a small bag of Pop Rocks with matching ribbon.  My friend designed “girly” ones for her daughter’s class – so cute!   You can check out more of her talents by visiting her website at GretchenWakeman Photography.

Here are some other cute ideas I have seen while searching for the perfect Valentine for my boys to give to their friends and classmates.

My friend, Gretchen, also created some very cute cards for her daughter last year using a photo of her and attached a Cherry Blow Pop to the card.  They were adorable – follow this link to the post and image on her blog:  ValentinePhoto Cards with Blow Pop.

Another one I saw used crayons, a silicone heart-shaped, muffin pan, and some packaging (even simple card stock will work!)  The result?  A heart-shaped crayon, full of different colors that can be attached to a card.  For more instructions on this one, make sure you visit the blog, For love of that Sillie Smile:  Valentine'sCrayon Craft.

The last one I’d like to share is more geared toward boys – but what kid doesn’t love some candy and a little race car?  “I Wheelie Like You” as the message stapled to the top of a bag - perfect.  For the image, check out the blog lilsugar:  Race CarValentine.

I hope you had fun this Valentine’s season – I know we did and our boys are super excited about giving their friends Pop Rocks AND a bookmark!