On Recipes: Jalapeno Popper Dip

Today I am reviewing a recipe from my fellow blogger, Kevin of Closet Cooking. I chose this recipe because:

1. I enjoy reading Kevin's blog and can appreciate the challenge of cooking in a small space as I myself have lived in a few shoe-box sized apartments.
2. It is football season, which leads me to search out new recipes for what I call "kick-off food" (a not-so-nutritious but nevertheless tasty genre of cuisine)
3. The Lieutenant is inexplicably drawn to any dish that includes jalapenos, so I surmised that this recipe could not fail.

And now, on to the food:

This dip was everything that I thought it would be. It was spicy, creamy and just the right amount of h-o-t. I halved the recipe since I was not cooking for a crowd, however I could see this being a big hit at a party so if you're feeding more than two I would suggest sticking with the original recipe (you may even want to double it if your friends are really hungry). 

I made some slight adjustments to the recipe, some out of necessity and some because I am a terrible listener and do not know how to 100% follow directions

• I used only half of the fresh jalapeno that was called for (since I halved the recipe, that would be 1/2 of a pepper). I also removed the seeds and ribs, which is where most of the INTENSE heat is located. It is not noted in the original recipe whether Kevin of Closet Cooking did this... so I am not sure if he is a super-spicy maniac or if he left this step out.
• I left out the Parmesan Cheese. This gave the dish a creamier texture and it was still plenty cheesy.
• I used Extra Sharp Cheddar instead of regular Cheddar. Sharp Cheddar has an awesome flavor and I prefer it over regular Cheddar cheeses. I think it should be noted here that there is really no need to buy Cheddar cheese that is orange. Orange cheeses are colored by food dye. Go for the naturally white stuff- it's better for you. 
• I used Neufchâtel cheese in place of Cream Cheese. This is a learned behavior. Growing up, my mother always used this substitution to cut down on fat in dishes. I admit, it's not always a straight swap. In some dishes the flavor is compromised by not using the full fat Cream Cheese. In this dip, however, I think the Neufchâtel was a good substitute. The cheese and the mayonase lent a lot of flavor and the Cream Cheese was not missed. 
• I omitted the Panko bread crumb topping. This was a swap made from necessity. I was planning to do a substitution with regular bread-crumbs since that's what I generally have in my pantry. Alas, when I checked my stores, there were no bread-crumbs of any kind to be found so I settled for a cheese topping which I added during the last 5 minutes of cooking and popped under the broiler. I can see where the bread-crumb topping would add a little extra something though, so if you have the bread crumbs (Panko or otherwise) I would do it!

All in all, this recipe was a WIN. I plan to make it for The Lieutenant soon. Doubtless it will have him eating out of the palm of my hand in no time... at which point I will promptly ask if we can get a puppy. 

For the entire recipe click here!

Pictures borrowed from www.closetcooking.com