It’s the second installment of Samantha Barclay’s Ghost Hunting Party and the music is blasting and much food is being eaten! Tonight, I believe, Samantha is serving her French Quarter Dip. I so wish I could be there but characters don’t like it when their author shows up to play. They can be cranky that way!
Samantha ~ “So far the party is a success! All of the men from Iron Rack’s Gym are here, as well as a few of the wives. The only one who hasn’t shown up yet is Kells Torridan, the boss of everyone. LOL.
We’re all munching on appetizers, and the men are telling jokes about each other. There’s so much I don’t know about the men who work at Iron Rack’s Gym (all from the same ex-Green Beret unit), and I’ve discovered that Vane is actually a great storyteller. His anecdotes about his buddies are making us laugh out loud. And I had no idea that Pete White Horse, my boyfriend, had taken his cousin to his prom because he couldn’t get a date. (Seriously, if you could see how hot Pete is, you’d be shocked too!)
Now Nate and Zack are arguing about my French Quarter Dip. It’s a hot appetizer made with cream cheese and pecans that’s baked in the oven. Apparently, Nate is accusing Zack of eating too much of it and not leaving enough for him.
As the sun begins to go down, and Cain takes the floor to tell stories about his boss Kells, Kells appears with a frown and flowers. The men go silent, afraid that Kells’s famous temper will ruin the night. Instead, Kells hands me a huge bouquet of yellow flowers and tells a story about his first day at Beast Barracks at West Point. It’s a story that makes all the men spit out their Sweetened Lime Iced Tea and the women smile. It also proves that Kells, a legendary Special Forces commander, is a normal human like the rest of us.
Once Kells finishes, Ty turns up the music and I bring out another plate of my French Quarter Dip. We still have a bit of time before the ghost tour starts, but since everyone is having such a great time I think it’s going to be difficult to get them to leave the courtyard. But that’s okay. I can tell stories too and I have a perfect one that will have them begging to leave on the tour.”
French Quarter Dip
This easy recipe was given to me by one of my best friends, Karen Johnston, who unfortunately died of brain cancer years ago. I love to make this recipe around the holidays because it's both delicious and it reminds me of all the wonderful times we had together.
Ingredients
French Quarter Cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 garlic clove minced
- 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion reconstituted
Topping
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 box favorite crackers for serving
Instructions
French Quarter Cheese
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In a small bowl, combine all of the cheese ingredients. Press into the bottom of a 9" pie plate and set aside
Topping
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In a small saucepan, combine all the topping ingredients and cook over a low heat until the sugar is melted. Pour the filling over the cream cheese. Serve at room temperature with your favorite crackers.
Note: The serving size (for calorie count) is for about three spreads of cheese but does not include the calories in the crackers.
