Since I am working with smooth dill pickle chips I had to think outside the box a  little to recreate this childhood food favorite.  I first took this dip to an Oscar party I was invited to at the end of February and it was there that a friend requested it for her upcoming 40th birthday.  So here is the recipe……..Snack Pickle dip.

• 16 oz cream cheese (block)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon horseradish
• 10 1/2 oz of smooth pickles, chopped (hint-the weight is measured after you drain the pickles)
• 6 oz of ultra thin ham, chopped (I’ve used Buddig and Hillshire farms varieties)

Mix the cream cheese (after you have let it soften to room temperature) with the garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce and horseradish until smooth.  Add the chopped pickles and ham and mix thoroughly.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.  Serve with club crackers or some other cracker if you prefer.

I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!!!

• 8 oz Bloody Mary mix (I used Mr. & Mrs. T’s Hot & Spicy)
• 2 oz homemade Pepper vodka (you can substitute regular vodka but I feel sorry for you if you don’t have this homemade stuff – it’s the bomb!)
• Couple of shakes Worcestershire sauce
• Couple of shakes Franks Red Hot Sauce (or more, to taste)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• Some dashes of Penzey’s Wasabi powder
• Some dashes of Penzey’s Jalapeno powder
• Some dashes of ground celery seeds or celery salt
• Some dashes of ground celery salt
• Some dashes of black pepper
• Some dashes of cayenne
• and of course…..2 tablespoons of Sweet & Spicy Pickles juice

Put all ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice and shake, shake, shake!  Pour into a salt rimmed glass and garnish with Sweet & Spicy Smooth pickles!  Enjoy!!

Now I’m gonna hunker down and enjoy this BLIZZARD!!!!

A while back I was searching under pickles in the App Store because…..well…..why else?  I wanted to see if there were any pickle themed apps of course!  I came across ”A Yodeling Pickle” app and was instantly intrigued….what could this be?  After reading some of the reviews I decided to install it and discovered that basically this app does two things….gives you a few laughs as you watch a large whole pickle wearing lederhosen sing-shouting in falsetto and supplies you with fun facts about pickles.  From the app info page: “Are you sick and tired of pickles that do nothing?“  Well, yes as a matter of fact I am!…..and…..”Nothing is as cool as a singing pickle.“  I agree….few things are.  Did you know that more than half the cucumbers grown in the U.S. are made into pickles? Or….a most impressive fact that pickles were mentioned by Jesus in the Bible? You will learn these tidbits and more with this app.

So without further ado….check out the yodeling pickle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JF_1ih__po

Now, the downside….if there can be one when you have a singing pickle at your fingertips.  It is not a free app and I know that is a really important piece of information for some people when they are considering adding a new app to their arsensal.  It does cost $0.99 but….I feel this is one app that you as a pickle lover cannot live without!  And for those people who are not pickle devotees…..which by the way I don’t understand….laughs are priceless so how can you not spend $0.99 on a Yodeling Pickle?

Pickle Juice Chili
Serves 2-4

Ingredients: 

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 pound, ground meat or steak, cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small, green pepper, chopped
• 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 large can tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano, dried
• 1 cup pickle juice from the jar (I used Sweet & Spicy pickle juice)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans

Directions:

In a large pot over medium to high heat, add the oil. Add the onion, ground meat and garlic. Sauté, stir and brown for 3-5 minutes. Add green pepper, chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, oregano, pickle juice, salt and pepper.

Stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add kidney beans, stir and set to simmer or low heat. Let simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Serve in a bowl and add your favorite chili accompaniments. 

 Here it is with my favorite accompaniment……a glass of red wine…..chianti (I’ve been watching to much Sopranos).

Put 1 quart dill pickles, drained, in a bowl (I used smooth dill pickles of course).
Add:
1 T. crushed red pepper
1 T. Tabasco sauce (or some other kind of hot sauce)
2 cups sugar
Stir. It will make it’s own juice. Leave in bowl and stir occasionally til sugar dissolves. Then store in jar.

With sugar and crushed red pepper added.

All mixed up.

I love them and would marry them if I wasn’t married already.

Be ready for the Sweet & Spicy Smooth Pickles recipe. I’ll post it tomorrow.

A quick internet search was done and I found there is also a Mr. and Mrs. Pickle drop for New Year’s Eve in Dillsburg, PA: http://www.carrollcitizens.com/PickleDrop.html

I think there could be a destination New Years Eve party in store for smoothpickles next year!!