Things don’t always go as planned in my kitchen. To be completely honest, they seldom go as planned. Cookies don’t spread out the way that I want, bread never rises, something becomes too runny and quickly becomes a soup; I deal with it. As long as it tastes good, who cares? I wanted to make another variety of Cannellini Bean Dip this weekend, but the universe seemed to have something else in mind.
I’ve been longing to try Farmer’s Garden by Vlasic pickles for some time now, and Safeway finally had them on sale for buy one get one free, so I stocked up. B.O.B. Bob and I eat a lot of bread and butter pickles during the summer, now that I’ve finally got him hooked on pickles. I’d been thinking about how the sweetness of the pickles would work nicely in a “hummus,” especially if they were paired along with the smokiness of pimentos and paprika. Sounds good, right? Well in order to get that sweetness I may have used too many pickles, because the dip quickly became watery from the pickle juices. Now what? I could add another can of beans, but then I’d be eating dip for every meal of the week.
After tasting the “dip,” I was surprised to find that it tasted an awful lot like Thousand Island dressing. I like salad; B.O.B. Bob likes salad, what the hell, thousand island dressing it is. Add a bit of sour cream to add a bit of tang and creaminess, and you’ve got a great dressing for a salad, a dipping sauce for warm grilled chicken kabobs, or even a dressing to be used in pasta salad. (I’ll be sharing that recipe with you tomorrow.) Sometimes mistakes mean disaster, and sometimes they turn into something else that is even better than you could have imagined. Thank goodness this was one of those good mistakes.
Ingredients:
- 1 (15.5-oz.) Can Cannellini Beans, Rinsed and Drained
- 7 Farmer’s Garden by Vlasic Bread & Butter Chips
- 1 Tablespoon Diced Pimentos
- 4 Tablespoons Sour Cream
- 1 Teaspoon Chopped Chives
- 1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Directions:
- Place all ingredients, except for the olive oil, into a food processor.
- Turn the food processor on, and then slowly add the oil to the bean mixture; puree until smooth.
Suggestion:
- This salad dressing also makes a wonderful dip for grilled chicken kabobs.
- Add this dressing to cooked pasta, diced eggs, and vegetables to make a summer pasta salad.
Improvements:
- Add a 1/2-teaspoon of capers.
- Add crumbled bacon.
- Replace the sour cream with mayonnaise or Greek yogurt.
Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck
-Colleen
