Recipe – Cheesy Crock-Pot Brussels Sprouts Dip

"Dip" and sliced baguette

(as a note: there may be some weirdness with some of the photos. the site seems to be acting up today)

Since you are reading this blog, you obviously use the internet.  And you’re probably on some form of social media.  If you’re on facebook, chances are that you’ve seen those fast action-recipe videos from Tasty or others that have popped up in recent years.  I’m sort of obsessed.  It’s so satisfying to watch a bunch of ingredients become a thing that looks, well…tasty.  Watch it in action below and TELL me you aren’t suddenly hungry!

Crock-Pot Cheesy Brussels Sprout Dip

Posted by Tasty on Wednesday, February 24, 2016

 

So, this is all background information to say that I saw this recipe on facebook and said to myself, “Maggie, that looks really yummy and would be great for your Oscars Party!”  So I purchased ingredients from the grocery store and prepared to make yummy dip in my crock-pot.

 

The most obnoxious part of whole process was all the grating and chopping that needed to be done.  Grating 4 cups of cheese (which, by the by, is a LOT) is not a fast process.  Unless you don’t plan on keeping all the skin on your fingertips.  So I took my time.

Scallions and garlic - chopped!

Oh look – more items that needed to be chopped.  That’s not one but TWO whole scallions that I chopped into small pieces and tried not to actively weep on.  And also quite a bit of garlic that I minced by hand – I find that it’s got a stronger flavor this way, and I do love strong garlic flavor!  It also is less messy than using the garlic press, which is a BEAR to wash out when it’s time to finish.  And pre-minced garlic in a jar (while easy) just isn’t the same.

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So here I’ve put all the cheese, milk, garlic and scallions into the crock-pot, and I’m just about to cover it.  If you watched the video above and have eagle eyes, you may notice that I’ve missed something.  I didn’t.  So, let’s continue, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, you’ll find out when I did.

Sliced Brussels Sprout

While the cheese was melting, I sliced brussels.  I was quite pleased with how pretty they looked.  I also was intrigued by being able to purchase these particular sprouts individually by weight at the grocery store, which is not something I’ve ever done before – I usually had to pick out a half- or one-pound mesh bag, so this was new.  And they look really nice, don’t they?

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This is where I’ve dumped in all the sprouts, and as you can see, it does not look like dip.  It looks like slightly damp and sticky sprouts.  It was right around this time that our guests for the party started to arrive, and I bemoaned to them the fact that my dip was not dip-like enough.  “Show us the video” they said.  So I did.  And as I watched…I noticed something HUGE.  It turns out I had forgotten the cream cheese.  You know, the glue of the cheese and milk concoction that was supposed to melt and hold the sprouts together.  “ACK” I cried, rushed over to the fridge, and quickly dumped the cream cheese in the pot and hoped that by melting onto the sprouts, it might fix things.

"Dip" and sliced baguette

Spoiler alert: it did not.  Not really.  The milky-cheese stuff never quite mixed with the cream cheese, and the Brussels sprouts never quite melted into the goo.  Instead, there was a sort of green something that still tasted quite good, and was cheesy and yummy…but it was not the dip that I had imagined.  Perhaps I should have laid out the cream cheese with all the other ingredients as I was preparing my spread.  Perhaps I should have double checked the recipe.  The lesson here is that none of us are perfect, and It’s better to admit your mistakes (even in public on the internet) and say “I tried.  I didn’t quite fail, but it all worked out in the end.”

If you would like to try your hand at the recipe (and if you do – please let me know if it turns out the way it does in the video!), here’s the recipe.

Crock-Pot Cheesy Brussels Sprout Dip

Yield: enough for a party

Ingredients

2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar
2 cups shredded gruyère
2 Tbsp. corn starch
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups milk
2 diced shallots
3 cloves minced garlic
2 lbs Brussels sprouts
1 tsp grated nutmeg (optional)

Instructions

In a slow-cooker combine two cups shredded white cheddar, two cups shredded gruyère, and two Tablespoons of corn starch. Mix until the corn starch has evenly coated all of the cheese. Add two cups milk, two diced shallots, and three cloves of minced garlic. Stir until evenly mixed. Turn slow-cooker on low and allow the cheese to melt (about 30 minutes – 1 hour).

Finely chop two pounds of Brussels sprouts. A microplane also works well for this.

Mix the cheese mixture and ensure that the cheese has fully melted and combined. Add the Brussels sprouts and mix in. Optional: add one teaspoon of grated nutmeg.

Keep the slow-cooker on low for 20-30 minutes or until Brussels sprouts have reached desired doneness.

Set slow-cooker to “keep warm” and serve with sliced and toasted baguette or crackers.

From: Tasty / Buzzfeed

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