Jan D'Atri

Jan D'Atri > Jan’s Recipes > cream cheese, softened

cream cheese, softened

Buffalo Cheddar Chile Dip

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You love jalapeno poppers. You love great Mexican dips. Now you can have them both with this cheesy, slightly spicy dish that gives you no choice but to dive in and indulge! The Buffalo Cheddar Chile Dip is so simple to whip up, bake up and gobble up for those game day watch parties or for any get-together. It’s also one of those recipes that you can adapt, adjust and add to for more kick. This dip combines crispy bacon bits, shredded grilled or rotisserie chicken and several cheeses. When creating this recipe, I came across Alouette Spicy Jalapeno Spread in the deli section of the grocery store and decided to add it to the shredded cheddar and jack cheeses as well as the cream cheese. It’s optional, but it does add a spicy yet creamy texture. If you want the dip to have more heat, just add more diced jalapeños or green chiles. Love bacon? Just add more. I baked this dip in a cast iron skillet and served it right from the pan with lots of corn tortilla chips and some homemade flour tortilla chips. It can also be served with crustini, crackers or cut vegetables. This Buffalo Cheddar Chile Dip is worth the deep dive into deliciousness!

Watch my How To Video for Buffalo Cheddar Chile Dip here!

Cranberry Christmas Wreath

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It’s one of those classic holiday sides that seem to get passed on from one generation to the next. The name of this recipe just doesn’t do it justice. It’s called Frozen Cranberry Salad but it’s so much more than that! It’s a smooth, creamy and refreshing dish that is perfect for a holiday side, salad or dessert! There are many variations on this classic. Some recipes call for pineapple chunks. Some have lots of sugar. Some use sour cream instead of the secret ingredient in this particular dish. I think this variation is perfect! It has a wonderful blend of whole-berry cranberry sauce, cream cheese, whipped topping, walnuts and shredded coconut. Then, there is the secret ingredient. The one that you can’t taste but adds the creamy and smooth texture. That secret ingredient is a small amount of Miracle Whip! This Frozen Cranberry Wreath is so easy to whip together. Just combine the ingredients, spoon into a casserole dish or spring form pan and freeze! (Because it’s such a simple recipe, it’s a perfect dish for kids to make as their contribution to the holiday feast. Who knows? They may be the ones to pass it along to the next generation.) This wreath looks gorgeous on a platter on a bed of greens and adds just the right festive look and taste to your holiday table.

Watch my How To Video for Frozen Cranberry Wreath here!

Momma’s Pumpkin Roll

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After Halloween, when our carved-out pumpkin jack-o-lanterns start to shrivel, we usually toss them into the trash or compost pile and then head to the pantry for the canned pumpkin puree to make our holiday pies, cakes and cookies. But in the Early New England settlements, colonists considered the pumpkin a staple and culinary treasure:

“For pottage and puddings and custards and pies,
 Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies
 We have pumpkins at morning and pumpkins at noon;
 If it were not for pumpkins, we should be undoon.”

Now that trick-or-treating is over, all things pumpkin leads the way to Thanksgiving and our holiday baked goodies. Here to kick things off is a deliciously moist and delicate fall favorite, The Pumpkin Roll. This tasty spice cake rolled around a sweet cream cheese filling is a lovely way to not only satisfy our sweet tooth, but to pay tribute to the pumpkin, one of the first wild plants cultivated for human consumption in America.

Hummingbird Cake

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The one thing we do know about this cake is that it was first printed in Southern Living Magazine in 1978 and eventually became the most popular and requested recipe in the magazine’s history. What we don’t know about Hummingbird Cake, is how it got its name. This moist, 3-layer slice of heaven was created and submitted to Southern Living by Mrs. L.H Wiggins of Greensboro, North Carolina forty one years ago. Over the years, information about Mrs. Wiggins was lost, but a recent post on line from Southern Living revealed this:

“Stay tuned, because in the coming weeks, you’ll more about cracking the case of the Hummingbird Cake in a new Southern Living podcast—including exclusive interviews with Mrs. Wiggins’ family and Southern Living food editors throughout the decades.”

So maybe we will find out about the cakes’ origin and its name. Once you make it, you’ll find out why it’s been a time-tested and beloved recipe for dessert lovers for decades!