Paula Deen's Dips on a Dining Stone

Hot Dips — of course!!!

There is nothing better than dipping a corn chip into melted cheese and nothing spicier than Paula Deen’s bean dip.  I love these recipes.  Imagine her fabulous dips warmed in crocks on top of a Dining Stone … well you don’t have to imagine very long, here it is:

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Three Cheese Hot Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

1/2 cup grated Parmesan
2   green onions, sliced thin
1   (14 ounces) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1   (8 ounces) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella
dash Paula Deen’s Hot Sauce
dash Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Remember to place the Dining Stones in the oven at least 20 minutes before your dip is done.  Tip:  if your stones are on the rack below your dip, place a sheet of aluminum on top of the stones to protect them from dripping dip.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand held electric mixer until smooth. Then beat in the mayonnaise until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir together until combined. Transfer the dip to a pie plate or shallow gratin dish. Bake in a preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the dip is bubbling. Serve hot with crackers, tortilla chips, crostini or veggies.—

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Hot and Spicy Refried Bean Dip

Ingredients:

2 cans (15 oz) of Refried black beans
2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese with jalapenos
3 tablespoons Paula Deen Hot Sauce
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons Paula Deen Southern Spice Rub
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Tortilla Chips

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, combine beans, cheese, hot sauce, cumin, and southern spice rub. Heat until cheese has melted. Pour into a bowl and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm alongside tortilla chips.

Best regards,

I have been dreaming of having my own business for as long as I can remember having a dream about what my life would look like.  Numerous ideas on paper sit neatly in folders in my home office drawer.  Some I knew pretty quickly they weren’t viable or lucrative but others I spent of lot of hours playing out each detail until the end.  So it only makes sense to me that I pursue and follow my idea for Dining Stones when it came to me.

The genesis came out of my own frustration with food getting cold on the plate during a meal.  I wondered if there was something on the market that would keep my plate warm on the table, something without cords, something that looked good as well as being functional.  Google didn’t present anything that fell in that category so I set my mind to the task of creating one myself. 

I remembered my dad telling me the story of his childhood where his mom would put stones on the wood burning stove and placed them in his bed at night to keep him warm.  I had a broken piece of stone tile in the garage which I cleaned and placed in the oven as a test.  Within 15 minutes the stone was piping hot.  After setting the stone on a hot pad and placing my plate on it, I could tell right away that I had a solution.

That was two years ago and today I was propelled back to that very exciting time in the beginning when my spare time was spent researching every detail and setting Dining Stones into motion.  I was trying to relax and watch a reality cooking show on the Food Network and a number of times the new movie “Julie and Julia” was advertised.  The movie features Meryl Streep as famous television personality and chef, Julia Childs, and Amy Adams as Julie Powell, a young woman trying to make a change in her life.  I loved what Meryl Streep said about the message of the story, “Sometimes it takes outsized messengers to deliver the goods to us.”  Her words in the movie, played as Julia Childs, “don’t be afraid”, struck a chord with me.  My inspiration of someone who lives this motto fully is Paula Deen!  She paved a clear path through her own raging fear and provides a perfect recipe for my life:  Laughter, kindness, passion, and “no fear!”

Some days I just need to step back from the overwhelming responsibilities of life and be reminded of these principles.  I momentarily forgot this because I have truly been so busy working full-time at a financial firm during the day and spending every moment in the evenings and weekends working to make Dining Stones a successful business.  Paula Deen had the same kind of pressures when she was starting out, and I’m sure she still struggles to find time to relax and truly enjoy the moment!  Paula, if you are visiting my blog, please contact me!  I have an innovative product for your show!

My recipe for today is “success at life”:

Mix in equal parts laughter, kindness, pursuit of your passion, and serve with “NO FEAR!”

Paula Deen's Cheeseball Recipe

Today is the official beginning of my blog experiment to meet Paula Deen. My first step is creating this blog, my next step is connecting with other fans of Paula!

This photo is a cheeseball recipe Paula Deen demonstrated on the Oprah Winfrey show recently.

INGREDIENTS
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) blue cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup finely minced green onions (white part only)
1 jar diced pimento, drained
3/4 cup Fisher pecans, divided (Of course, any nut will do!)
10 slices of bacon, cooked, drained, finely crumbled and divided
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Place cream cheese in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater to mixer. Turn to Speed Two and mix 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Turn to Speed Two and gradually add milk, mixing until well blended about 1 minute. Stop and scrape bowl. Add cheeses, onions, pimientos, half of the bacon and half the pecans. Turn to Speed 4 and beat until well blended, about another minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a large piece of plastic wrap. Form into a ball and wrap tightly. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Refrigerate (or freeze) at least 2 hours. Combine the remaining bacon and remaining pecans, parsley and poppy seeds in a pie plate. Then, remove the plastic wrap and roll the cheese ball lightly in the bacon/nut mixture until evenly coated. Wrap it back up in plastic wrap and refrigerate again until ready to use.