Topic's Cucumber Dip

Messy Messy Fail - I haven't planted a thing yet.  I've moved a few plants, dug some things up (to make way for the driveway/front porch) but no annuals and no new perennials.  Get on that, Katie, your garden looks like insane!

Tidy Victory - 6 quarts of fresh strawberries picked with a good friend, and it only took 2 hours (heavy on the sarcasm).  Not to mention the delish lunch we stumbled upon at a small New York style pizzeria.  My mouth is watering just typing about it.

In college, I was a sad, sad, SAD excuse for a cook.  There was the time I had to run upstairs to ask our male neighbors what a skillet was.  Or the time when I tried thawing frozen chicken breasts in our shower - I thought the constant spray of scalding hot water would do the trick.  Needless to say, my poor roommate Topic was always disappointed in my meals.  

She, on the other hand, made fabulous French toast, party bread (those are for another post) and her cucumber dip.  Cucumber dip is the easiest, most refreshing summer time dip EVER.  I have been given permission to share her recipe after I pulled it out for a recent Unified Arts (art, technology, health, etc.) department meeting party I attended.  Everyone liked it (unless they lied!) and I was reminded what a tasty and quick appetizer this was to have ready.

You need:

1 block of 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cucumber
1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
Pinch of salt
Few drops of green food coloring (optional)
Crackers, chips or bagels chips for serving

What you do:

Peel and grate the cucumber into a colander lined with a layer or two of paper towels over a bowl to soak up the water.  

Let the excess water drain into bowl.  You can even use another paper towel layer to press some of the water out.  Feel free to let the cucumber drain for an hour.

In another bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, grated cucumber, one tablespoon of mayonnaise and a pinch of salt.  Mix until well blended.

Add a few drops of green food coloring (optional) to turn the dip into a refreshing shade of green.

Return to the refrigerator to set until ready to serve.  Serve with crackers, chips or bagel chips for dipping.

My personal favorite dipping item is a nice wavy potato chip.  Something about the cucumber with a salty chip is just lovely.

I think this would even be a refreshing change if spread on a toasted bagel, or a chic updated version of a tea sandwich spread on  bread.  

I highly recommend you add this to your summer entertaining recipes - you won't be sorry!

Thanks Topic for letting me share this, I hope I did your fabulous recipe justice! :)

Linking up with....