Thanks for another fun night, Loopy Ewes!

Last night was lots of fun, as always, ladies. Ingrid, thanks so much for hosting the festivities once again! Who knew that we would have stripping, bag envy and hoe. . .cakes all in one night?!? :-) Since you guys asked, here are some of the recipes from last night.

Lemon-Thyme Dip (from Everyday Food Magazine Jan/Feb 2007)

• 1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon (about 1 teaspoon zest and 2 to 3 tablespoons juice)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
• coarse salt and ground pepper

In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest and juice, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more thyme; serve with crudites, or cover and refrigerate, up to 3 days. Makes 1 1/2 cups

Crudite suggestions from the recipe: steamed cauliflower, broccoli, new or small potatoes, brussels sprouts; raw carrots, endive, celery and fennel

Hoecakes (from Williams-Sonoma June 2007 catalog)

• 1 cup fine-grind cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
  
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T finely chopped green onion, white and light green portion
  
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 T unsalted butter, melted
• 2 T canola oil

In a bowl, stir together cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, and green onion. Add egg, buttermilk and butter; whisk to combine. Heat nonstick pan or griddle over medium-high heat and add 1 T of oil. Pour tablespoon amounts of batter onto hot pan. Test 1 or 2 hoecakes to make sure pan is hot enough; cakes should be done when cooked about 30 seconds per side. Repeat to cook remaining hoecakes, adding more oil as needed. (Cooking instructions adapted by me to do on the stovetop)

Barbecued Chicken (Cooking method for chicken from Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook)

• 2 split bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• barbecue sauce (I used Bulls-Eye Original)
• 3 scallions, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Rub with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin.

Put the meat into a bowl and use two forks to shred the meat. Add barbecue sauce to taste (I think I used about 3/4 cup), scallions and parsley. Serve warm on top of hoecakes, if desired.

Enjoy! Kathleen :-)