Dinning with The Bloggers - May 26th. 2009.

Allow me to ease myself back into blogging mode (one needs to, every now and again, don't one?) I've actually been cooking quite a lot from my fellow blogging friends these last couple of months - they're not half bad at it, the food bloggers out there, I must admit. Here are some highly recommendable try-it-yourselves:

Spring Slaw from Tea & Cookies

Let's start with a beauty - I was this close to calling the round-up "The Ugly (but tasty!) Edition" this time, because - well, you'll soon learn why. Tea's spring slaw didn't quite fit into the ugly category, au contraire, it is both very spring-pretty and ladylike in it's colors. That it was also very tasty didn't hurt, either. We had it with potato salad and frikadeller (a Danish meatball I will have to tell you about at a later time) and I had it the next day for lunch as well. Very yummy, and you feel so wonderfully healthy eating all that cabbage and radish and whatnot :)

Love Dip from The Homesick Texan

Okay, here we go with the not so flattering pictures. My fault, 'cause really, you can't put a finger on taste or texture of this fine, fine dip. I made it for my 30th. birthday back in February and was so smitten with the tangy cream cheese taste I made it again a week later for another birthday party, It's a keeper. I didn't have salsa at the ready, but found a jar of chipotle paste that I used instead, of course cutting back on the amount. I liked that, but am sure salsa would make for an interesting version, too. I served the Love Dip with:

Spelt Crackers from Smitten Kitchen

You need to spend a little time making these, but they are worth it - trust me. I used a little chili on some, sesame on others, and just plain flaky salt on a batch as well. Feel free to use whatever you like, and if you're the coordinating kind, you could choose something that matches whatever you're serving them with. Point is, they take well to almost anything you can throw at them, and are sturdy enough for you to be able to scoop a decent amount of dip onto them - and all-essentiel quality in a cracker, if you ask me. You can even make them well in advance - they keep (almost) indefinitely.

Chicken Liver Pâté from Sassy Radish

Oh this, I loved. Don't let the looks decieve you, 'cause it is good. In fact, this was made twice in a couple of weeks (as well) and served with caramelized red onions on toasted bread. Forgive me here, but YUMM-O! Smooth and creamy, with enough taste of the liver for you to know that it is there, but discreet enough for kids to like it as well. That, and the fact that it's a breeze to make has given it a permanent place in my kitchen notebook.

Giant Chipotle White Beans from 101 Cookbooks

I'm still working on my private stock of beans, and lo and behold, when I came upon this recipe, I knew I had to dig in there and find some of my big white beans and make it (and make room for another bag of something at the same time - what an oppurtunist I am!) I like beans, I'm realizing that more and more - especially when they're used in proper dishes and not just mashed and used as a spread. I actually went more along the lines of the original recipe (It's linked at the post), but whichever one you'd go for, I say remember to do the pesto-thingy for drizzling on top - it makes a world of a difference.

Have you tried any of your fellow blogger's recipes lately that you think are worth a repeat?