MGoBBQ: Sizzling Feta
[Sponsor Note: MJoe’s BBQing costs are covered by our sponsor Lantana Hummus, which was started by a Michigan fan/MGoBlog reader.
That’s usually more than enough to get our endorsement. But this stuff is honestly, seriously, unbelievably good. Also it’s not made of cats!
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I am a believer that the GOOEYER the dip, the better. I also love me some salty goodness on crunchy bread whenever its an option. This is why is love the SIZZLING FETA appetizer is perfect on GAME DAY. I need to give full credit to my man Big Green Craig for this recipe. Craig is the captain of our 2 time defending Eggfest National Championship winning team and the genius behind this gooey and cheesy creation. He has a great site with plenty of fantastic recipes at www.biggreencraig.com. Check it out. This dip also pairs well with a few tubs of your favorite Lantana Hummus and some charred baguette pieces. Take them both to your favorite tailgate and your job is done!
This is the easiest recipe we have done in 4 years of MGOBBQ. You can purchase the ingredients at your local grocer and have in the oven or on your grill in less than 2 minutes. If you want to make your own pesto, the recipe is listed below.
INGREDIENTS:
- 16 oz Feta Cheese
- 8 Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Baguette (Toasted)
- PESTO - Mix in food processor or blender until smooth.
- 2 garlic gloves - Chopped
- 1.5 cups fresh basil Leaves
- 1 OZ Parm Cheese - Grated
- 1/4 cup Pine Nuts
- 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
[Hit THE JUMP for directions]
DIRECTIONS:
Heat grill or oven to 400 degrees. There is no need to add wood to this fire unless you want some smoke flavoring. I didn’t on this one, but feel free to add a little smoke. Drizzle a little olive oil on the bottom of the skillet. Cut your feta into 1 inch chunks and place in the cast iron pan. Drizzle as much of the pesto sauce over the top as you want.
Now cut up some of the sun dried tomatoes and sprinkle on over the top of the feta and pesto. I love sun dried tomatoes, so I went heavy.
Slice your baguette into 1/2 inch pieces and brush with butter or olive oil. I sprinkled with some garlic salt and pepper to add some flavor.
Take the feta out to the grill and place over direct heat. My grill was at 400 degrees and screaming hot.
This will take about 15 minutes to get nice and gooey. Once the feta starts to melt, toss on your baguette slices. They will only take a few minutes per side, depending on how close they are to the heat.
After 20 minutes, we end up with this beautiful feta dip and charred baguette. I made this for work and it was gone in less than 5 minutes.
It’s hard to take good pics with hands reaching in every few seconds. This would also work great with goat cheese. Try different cheeses to see which you like best, but FETA is my top choice. Once it cools, you can pick out the charred bits on the bottom of the pan and use them in your salads. The charred bits are my favorite. Give it a few mins to cool and start dippin’.
Have a great weekend and enjoy the Big 10 opener. Let me know what you think of this easy and fun appetizer. GO BLUE!!!!
September 21st, 2017 at 12:18 PM ^
***insert Randy Marsh dot gif
September 21st, 2017 at 12:30 PM ^
I think goat cheese would work equally well.
Such as I've used in my favorite goat cheese pomodoro:
September 21st, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^
Goat cheese is amazing, but why is it so damned expensive?
September 21st, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 4:28 PM ^
I'll pick up a few barley pops and head that way.
September 21st, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
Because it's seen as a gormet product and people can charge that much for it. Best source I've found for cheap goat cheese is Costco. 2 large logs for the price of less than half that at most stores.
September 21st, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^
If true, you are my hero for today.
Goat cheese, italian sausage, fresh dill pizza here I come (seriously, it's phenomenal)!
September 21st, 2017 at 1:02 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^
Pardon my ignorance, but can someone explain to me the origin of the hummus made/not made out of cats trope? I've heard it a bunch and feel like I missed the joke. Please and thank you.
September 21st, 2017 at 1:07 PM ^
correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the internet was invented by cats.
September 21st, 2017 at 1:08 PM ^
IIRC, it originated from a live read on one of the mgopodcasts. It is all a part of it being a very professional podcast.
September 22nd, 2017 at 11:41 AM ^
Brian was doing a live read, and ran out of things to say about hummus,* so he said to buy Lantana because it's not made of kittens. Since then it's been a running joke.
* Everybody has their strengths: Brian is good at analyzing college sports and writing about it, and is pretty funny on air, but not super good at describing food, with the possible exception of cheese. Guy Fieri is good at describing food on air, but not super good at creating a restaurant that's not horrifying. And so on.
September 21st, 2017 at 1:19 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 1:27 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 1:28 PM ^
u left that out of thge directions
September 21st, 2017 at 1:34 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 1:31 PM ^
Sounds good. Reminds me of Provoleta from Argentina.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/18/dining/provoleta-argentina-bubbling-…
September 22nd, 2017 at 10:27 AM ^
Thanks for the link. Looks AWESOME!!! You know I like me some cheese on the grill.
September 21st, 2017 at 1:54 PM ^
i have a knock off green egg and love it. might have to try this.
September 21st, 2017 at 3:50 PM ^
first the feta looks terrible and weird
then you cook it
boom
then it's delicious
September 21st, 2017 at 4:46 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^
September 21st, 2017 at 11:11 PM ^
September 22nd, 2017 at 10:28 AM ^
Stay tuned.
September 22nd, 2017 at 5:38 AM ^
September 22nd, 2017 at 2:06 PM ^
This will be perfect, since I just finished my annual pesto festival a couple weeks ago. A friend and I get together every year in August.... we pick up a half bushel of basil from Alexander's farm market out on Whitmore Lake Rd, and then appropriate amounts of the remaining ingredients. It all takes 2-3 hours, as the basil leaves must be plucked from the stems, washed, and dried. We have this down to a science. We could probably get done quicker... but there's drinking, of course. It's pesto fest! The result is enough pesto for each of us to last until next year's fest. A little goes a lon way, and it freezes really well.
Anyway.... always looking for new and creative ways to use pesto. This one looks outstanding.
September 25th, 2017 at 9:03 AM ^
I was very excited for this recipe. Unfortunately, I inadvertantly bought fat free feta. Fat free cheese, aside from tasting like ass, doesn't melt. It turned out... ungood. Nobody's fault but my own. Looking forward to trying again with the proper ingredients.
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