Cream Cheese with Green Onions

I was in the kitchen experimenting with a new dip recipe recently and this is what I came up with.  I thought it turned out quite nicely and I want to share it with you today.  This is very simple to assemble with only a few ingredients.  It presents beautifully, as you will see.

Ingredients:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons freshly chopped green onions, plus additional for topping
2-3 drops of tabasco sauce
A pinch of garlic salt and white pepper
Table salt, to taste

Directions:

Combine cream cheese, milk, garlic salt and white pepper in a large glass mixing bowl.  Beat with the whisk attachment of an electric hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Stir in chopped green onions and refrigerate overnight.  Remove from refrigerator approximately 2 hours before serving and add tabasco sauce and a sprinkling of table salt.  Stir to combine.  Cover and leave at room temperature.  Just before serving, place dip in desired serving bowl and top with additional chopped green onions and a sprig of curly parsley for presentation.

So, here is how it goes.

Here are the base ingredients that I listed above.  The tabasco sauce and table salt are added at the end just before serving, but you will have that information when you print the recipe.

We start with the 8 ounce block of cream cheese, at room temperature.  It is easy to cube at room temperature and that it what I did and what I generally do when making any recipe that includes cream cheese.

Add 2 tablespoons of whole milk.

Add the garlic salt and white pepper.  I added a good hearty pinch of both.

Now it's time to mix these ingredients together using the whisk attachment on an electric hand mixer.

Add the freshly chopped green onions to the bowl.

Incorporate the onions into the cream cheese mixture using a rubber spatula.

You can move the mixture to a container and cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.  I suggest overnight, if you can.

When you are getting ready to start preparing for your guests, remove the mixture from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.  Once that has been reached, add a few drops of tabasco sauce and a sprinkling of table salt.

Stir to combine the tabasco.  It is much easier to do this once it reaches room temperature.

You can serve this however works best for you, but I used a simple white, bone china soup bowl.  I lined the center with lettuce to hold the container in place in which I would put the dip mix.

I found these wonderful olive oil tortas from the wine and cheese department of my local Safeway.

These are large, measuring 5 inches in diameter and individually wrapped in these wonderful little cellophane packages.  These are a little pricey, but they are delicious and make a beautiful presentation, so they are worth it in my opinion.

I broke up the tortas into smaller wedges and placed them around the outer edge of the bowl in two layers.

This is just beautiful and you would be proud to serve it to your guests.  The small, stainless steel bowl fit perfectly in the center of the larger bowl.  There was plenty of room for the dip and a generous topping of diced green onions.  A sprig of parsley finishes things off.

Serve this with a small appetizer spreader so guests can help themselves.  I know this will be a hit with your family and friends.