Prawn Queso Dip

You want to hear about something better than Spinach Artichoke Dip?

It's Prawn Queso Fondue... or, "Shrimp Fondue with Pico de Gallo" as it's known at Ruby's Tuesdays.

We'd never been there before, but hit one at the San Jose Airport with a couple hours to kill.  I wasn't that impressed with what we were served, but really, I knew it had possibilities.  They call it fondue, but since I'm not dipping anything in boiling cheese, I am calling this a dip.

You won't be quibbling about the semantics after you taste it.

This could be the best new addition to your Football party this Fall.
It IS Football season next, right?

It's always cooking season so I never really pay attention to the sports, just the "feeding people" season, which happens to be always.

This is what I came up with tonight, using Costco pre-cooked prawns and the microwave. It was a decadent Wednesday night dinner, but hey, we were happy.  What about you?

One note:
My hubby, who thinks that a Louisiana Hot Link is its own food group, insisted on chopping up one of those spicy little numbers and adding it to a small bowl of this dip. Awesome... just saying, SO, if you have chorizo or hot links, you could add some other spicy meat to please all your chest beating neanderthal football fans. Don't over think it, just add 1-2 links and microwave it until hot.

Note #2:
You could mix up the base without heating it (everything but the prawns, hot links, whatever) ahead of time and have it in the fridge.  When ready to serve, microwave the base, then the meats, combine and serve with chips. Oh yeah...

Serves 4-8 ppl
Ingredients
Serve with tortilla chips, or slices of french bread.

1 1/2 cups cooked shrimp, chopped

1/2 cup cheese, grated (Any kind, but I used smoked cheddar!)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 8 oz. block cream cheese

1 med tomato, juiced squeezed out and chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup green onions, minced
1 jalapeno, minced

2 tsp hot pepper sauce, like green, or red,  Tabasco
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Chop the tomato, first, squeeze the gushy insides out, then chop up the leftover meaty tomato.  It's not super important, but leaving it in might make you dip too thin. See?  The gushy insides are no longer in the tomato below...

Mince the jalapeno, green onion and cilantro.

In a ceramic bowl, or serving dish, microwave the cream cheese until hot, about 1 minute.

Mix in the sour cream, all the veggies, the seasonings and the grated cheese.

Microwave again for 1-2 to minutes. Add the prawns, and/or hot links, check it's warm enough, and if needed, microwave again for 1-2 minutes. 

Serve at once with chips.

BLT Salad Sliders

An easy variation of a wedge salad, but easier to eat.
We've had these lots of times at Morton's Steak House from their Happy Hour menu.  
I just love these, what an incredible idea... a salad slider!  

You really can't beat the "fun factor" with a salad slider as an appetizer or a side salad.  I love the intense flavors and the casual ease of eating salad with your fingers.  I have always thought that salad eaten with your fingers tasted best for sure.

Now, one thing needed for this is a large round cookie cutter, or a biscuit cutter.  I have a cute set of 4 sizes for cutting biscuits. I've had it since I was about 18... kinda crazy thing for an 18 year to buy herself.  Anyways, having a 3" round cutter makes this work. Without one?  Well, it might be tough, but you could cut it into squares!  Why not, huh?

Serves 2-6 people
Ingredients

1 head of iceberg lettuce
4-5 small tomatoes, or one medium, diced
4-5 slices of crisp cooked bacon, chopped
1/4-1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup blue cheese dressing

I'm not going to get to fancy on the instructions here, okay?

Peel off about 7 layers of lettuce, do it all at once, keeping them as connected as possible.

Cut into rounds; add diced tomatoes, chopped bacon, blue cheese crumbles, ending with a drizzle of blue cheese dressing.  I like to end with a grinding of fresh black pepper too. 

 This is about how thick they are.  As strange as it may be, my husband and I discussed the merits of a thick lettuce disk versus a thinner one....  somewhere between 4-7 layers of lettuce is probably perfect. My husband immediately took half from the bottom of his salad slider and used it to top the slider sandwich.  Gotta admit, it was fun to eat like that too.