While most recipes are made using fresh jalapeños, I make mine with canned because I find that the slight tang of pickled jalapeños is perfect to cut through the richness of the creamy dip. Serving it in a bread bowl is optional. Skip it if you want to avoid a brawl when everyone fights over who gets the dip soaked crust – arguably the BEST part!!
Jalapeno Popper Dip
My very favourite recipes are those with Food Memories, and this one is my latest and greatest one, concocted after my last trip to the States last month. Food blogging as a job is somewhat unique. You can roll out of bed and work all day in your PJ’s. You can work from anywhere. It’s thoroughly unglamorous and my kitchen starts every day nice and clean but my 11 am looks like a war zone. And your colleagues, your friends you work with, learn from and network with, they are everywhere, all around this big wide world. Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? 🙂 But on the flip side, no matter how advanced technology gets, it will never replace meeting people in real life. I firmly believe that, and that’s why I’ve come out from behind my keyboard and made the effort to meet other food bloggers in person. My first foray into this was when I organised a food bloggers conference in LA in November 2015. And then I went back to LA last month to spend time with friends and also for a small gathering of professional bloggers from Canada and across America. Say HI to my friends, Meggan from Culinary Hill, Jen from Carlsbad Cravings, Holly from Spend With Pennies, Rachael from Eazy Peazy Meals and Chelsea from Chelsea’s Messy Kitchen!
Our gathering was hosted by a wonderful resort in LA called Terranea Resort. There are not enough words to tell you how amazing our experience was. Luxury accomodation yet a “home away from home” feel. Impeccable, friendly service. Set right on the coast and feels like a private tropical escape, and yet it’s just 15 miles from LAX. And the FOOD!!! The food, the food, the food! Everything from fine dining to the casual coffee shop, we couldn’t get enough of it! (We certainly tried though 🙂 ) If a picture can say a thousand words, then videos can say a million. And rather than littering this post with gazillions of photos, I’ve put together a little video!
So. Much. GREAT. FOOD!!! I can honestly say that it is rare to spend 4 days at a resort and say that there was not a single bite that I didn’t love (and there were many bites of many things!). But when it came to recreating one thing when I got home that would remind me always of my time at Terranea, there was no contention: this Jalapeño Popper Dip.
For this cheese loving, snack obsessed Carb Monster, it was a winner from the first bite. It’s warm and cheesy with a little kick of heat from chopped up pieces of Jalapeño. It’s basically a dip form of Jalapeño Poppers (jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, coated with breadcrumbs then deep fried. SO GOOD!!!). As you can see from the photo above, the Terranea version is a bit orange which I suspect is from American Cheddar Cheese which is more orange than yellow (which is what we have here in Australia). Also, I wanted to make mine with a cream cheese base which bakes up beautifully because I wanted to bake mine in the bread bowl WITH a panko breadcrumb topping. For the full Jalapeño Popper experience, I feel a breadcrumb topping is essential! Have you got a version of Jalapeño Popper Dip? I would love to hear about yours, if you do!! I must say, I really enjoyed hearing about everyone’s take on Chili / Chilli Con Carne and the different ways you serve it. Thank you to everyone who joined in the conversation. 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Oh – and for those in the States, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! – Nagi x
Life of Dozer: I spy with my little eye…..
PS When I go on holidays, Dozer gets a holiday too. He stays with a Golden Retriever boarder. He lives like a king, has the run of the house, “his” spot under the dining table (clever boy), and sleeps in front of the fireplace. I receive daily reports that there are no signs of depression or any evidence that he misses me at all. 🙂 This is his clan!
I was not compensated for this post, however, Terranea Resort provided us with complimentary accommodation and some meals to experience their resort. I am under no contractual or other obligation to provide a favourable opinion about my experience at Terranea Resort. As you can see in the video, I had an incredible time and I wanted to share my experience with you!! SaveSave SaveSave
