Hot Swiss Almond Cheese Dip

Dinner guests arrive a teensy bit earlier than planned? Party time and the main course isn't quite done yet? Hungry people invading your cooking space before your culinary masterpiece is unveilable? Fear not - Appetizer of Speed and Hunger-Squelching Proportions is on the way!

This delicious dip/spread is not only quite easy, it's also good to make in advance and heat just before serving, so it saves you time (and brain space!). And it's very tasty!

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese (1 block), softened

1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 - 2 green onions/scallions, chopped finely

Fresh-ground black pepper (to taste)

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Heat oven to 35o degrees F (or 180 degrees C). Mix all ingredients. Spread in baking dish (pie plate, 8x8" square, or something of equivalent size). If you like, sprinkle a few more toasted almond slices on top. Bake until slightly golden, about 12- 15 minutes. Serve with crackers, bread, apple slices... Bon appetit!

If you make this up in advance, save in airtight container in refrigerator. Spread in pan, then bake at least 15 mins, maybe more (since it will be colder to start off) or until slightly golden.

Other options:
* Add a bit of smoky crumbled bacon (maybe about 1/4 cup or so)

* Cut Swiss down to 3/4 cup and add 3/4 cup shredded cheddar, Jack, or another favorite cheese for a different tang. (Just so you know, the Swiss is great for its mild creamy flavor in this, so substitute with judicious care.)

* Artichoke hearts are also wonderful in this... Add about a 1/4 cup, chopped finely

Things About Me...

Favorite person (outside family)?
Does my husband count?

Favorite food?
Currently I'm a fan of this fabulous Moroccan dish, bisteeya. It's a tumeric/cinnamon-flavored chicken pie made with phyllo dough and topped with an almond/powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture - AMAZING. And I've discovered a relatively quick way to make it at home... (happiness abounds!) All-time favorite food, however: dark chocolate. Of course.

Quirks about you?
I can't stand it when people bit the metallic end of their pencils around me. The sound makes me freak out! And I blush like crazy when I'm embarrassed or self-conscious.

How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less?
Good question. He usually goes with "amazing and beautiful" but that's only three... I'll have to ask him if he can come up with seven more and then I'll get back to you.

Any regrets in life? I was once responsible for the accidental death of a hummingbird. I think it was already close to a goner from exhaustion, but I think I pushed it over the edge with overheating (by leaving it on the porch).

Favorite Charity/ Cause?
Hmm. I have a couple favorite organizations that I really like: Compassion International (www.compassion.com) and Heifer International (www.heifer.org), and I'm a big fan of adoption (http://www.antiochadoptions.com/)!

Favorite Blog recently?
As always: www.vintagedutchgirl.blogspot.com I just love me some 'Manda Action! I enjoy http://www.aapplemint.blogspot.com/ for my foodie fix (lovely photos!) and I always like http://www.barbaracurtis.com/ because she's one of my heroines (12 kids, 3 adopted, former radical leftist now conservative homeschool mom who writes books/articles? Dude. She rocks.).

Something you can’t get enough of?
Bubble tea! Good books! Holidays in fascinating/beautiful places! Lovely fabric! Sleep!

Worst job you’ve ever had?
Server at a nice restaurant - the truth was that we were overworked, the tips were pittance, and we servers (mostly petite women) had to do double duty as janitorial staff!

What job would you pay NOT to have?
Emptier of the squatty potty trench in a Chinese village when it got too full each spring - uberfilth.

If you could be a fly on the wall, where?
Not really too keen on the idea of being a fly, personally, but if I HAD to be, perhaps in a nice warm tropical country on a sugar cane plantation?

Favorite Bible verse right now?
Psalm 119:98-100
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

Guilty Pleasure?
Reading when I should be doing something else, clothes shopping when I don't need to, and drinking bubble tea when I haven't done anything particularly virtuous to deserve it that day.

Got any confessions?
I can't stand hot pink. Or musk in perfume. And I'm one of those people who will pull items from the bottom or back of the shelf/rack to ensure that they have not been worn/read/cracked/opened before I purchase them. Once when I was young I pushed my brother when he was brushing his teeth and he fell into the toilet and got his pajamas soaking wet. How's that for a confession?

If you HAD to spend $1,000 on YOURSELF, how would you spend it?
Facial, massage, hair appointment, personal fashion consultant, dinner out with a fabulous dress and killer shoes...

Favorite thing about your house?
The archways between the kitchen/dining room/ living room- and the lovely warm color throughout!

Least favorite thing about your house?
Kitchen storage is seriously lacking.

One thing you are bad at?
Volleyball. And I need to work on my Sudoku as well.

One thing you’re good at?
Baklava. My sushi rolls, spaghetti sauce, molten chocolate lava cakes, and lemon bars are pretty good, too! And my zucchini cakes with feta and a dill-yogurt sauce...

If you could change something about your circumstances, what?
A flat, rock-hard abdomen would be nice.

Who would you like to meet someday?
Eh... William Carey?
And Javier or Lily VG. How 'bout it, 'Manda? Tee hee!

What makes you feel sexy?
When don't I? (Just kidding!) Not being tired is a great start...

What is the hardest part of your job?
It leaves me tired and drained so that my husband, home and friends don't always get the attention they deserve.

When are you most relaxed?
Clean house, freshly showered, beautiful dinner finished, funny movie with my Braden while knowing I can sleep in the next day...

What stresses you out?
A messy house! Money issues! Cigarette smoke!

What can you not live without?
Water, air and nutrients. Is this a trick question?

Do you agree or disagree with the recent article that reported that blogs are authored by narcissists?
I didn't read it - I was busy blogging and admiring what I wrote. What's the author's blogsite?

Why do you blog?
1.) I want to be like Amanda, even though I lack a Bubbalu to write about.
2.) It's faster than writing letters to people.
3.) So I can bless others with my fascinating thoughts and life.

Okay - rules:1. Answer the questions2. Link back to whoever tagged you3. TAG some people...

Sheepish

My family likes sheep. Firstly, they taste good. But they're also mostly quite pleasant and friendly, even if their intelligence is slightly at a lower level than one could wish. Since they're in the tropics my family raises tropical sheep, which resemble goats. My dad is working towards his goal of a flock of over two hundred, at which point he can continuously supply various purchasers with fresh lamb. Dee-lish!

My sister Susan is raising some goats (not sheep), and emailed me recently to tell me about her billy goat, Billy. He is a terrible brat and pees on people and escapes out the fence every day and she's very proud of him (but not for those reasons). She is the only person he loves and he likes it when she combs his beard and coat. Here he is in all his goatly splendor:

Apparently they also rescued a friend's dying calf and named him George. George can barely walk even though he's a month old, so the joke is to say "George is running away!" when he manages to hobble a few steps.

What can I say? My family is a highly interesting and entertaining group of people!