A = Ambergris and Artichokes

The first thing I would like to do is say thanks to the man who started A to Z and who is a blogger par excellence himself, Arlee Bird. Thank you so much Arlee, we bloggers are all grateful to you.

There was a story in the news last January about people finding Ambergris on the beach. Basically it is sperm whale vomit which has floated in the oceans for a long while and hardened whilst it hung around, eventually ending up on a beach. It’s worth a fortune to the perfume industry as it works as a stabiliser for perfumes. The piece found in January was worth €100,000 which is quite a nice chunk of change. Some people walking an Australian beach found a 32 lb. lump which was worth $295,000, not sure whether that was Australian currency or American. Oh to live near a beach. I remember, as a kid, hunting for amber on the British beaches, not ambergris though. Ambergris is nicknamed ‘floating gold’, one can see why.


I served this dip at a get together I had just before Christmas and one of my guests really went nuts on it. I think it is delicious too. I first got the recipe from Laila at a party we held quite a few years ago for all the Ontario cookery group who had met on the internet.

Artichoke Dip

Laila Svjeneks


1 cup (250 ml) mayonnaise
1 cup (250 ml) shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs (15 ml) grated onion
1/4 tsp (1 ml) hot sauce, or to taste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 14-oz (390 g) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Paprika to taste

Instructions: 
Combine the mayonnaise, mozzarella, Parmesan, onion, hot sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in an electric blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add the artichokes and place in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 20 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm with crackers or toasted pita bread triangles.
Serves 8 to 12.

Have a great day

Cheese and Wine

Our Cheese and Wine party for some bowling friends went well on Wednesday night. Even my strawberry Santas worked although the filling became too soft and I had trouble constructing them. I forgot to take a photo of them. We ended up with way too much cheese. The assortment of 6 cheeses on a tray turned out to be a heck of a lot of cheese and I ended up giving bags of cheese away. These pix don’t include the cheese and artichoke dip either, obviously I hadn’t heated it up and put it on the table yet.. Then when everyone had eaten their fill, I product the Strawberry Santas which appeared to impress everyone. I thought they looked good, but as I said, I didn’t take a pic. However, I did take a photo of the pathetic last few which we finished for supper on Thursday. the one in the front appears to have collapsed a bit. The thing that staggered me most was once everyone had gone, Matt sat there and finished off the cheese and spicy jam and ate a load of crackers. Most unlike him.
My guests kept yelling at me to get my feet up, got swelling ankles again after my op the other week. Thursday I tried to do just that, but somehow had to keep hopping up to do things. One of those days, so I ended up with a balloon at the end of my leg again. Friday is bowling so I won’t be doing a lot of sitting with my feet up then either. Oh well.
One thing which went down really was the artichoke dip. Can’t remember if I have ever posted it before, but here it is. I got that recipe from a friend at a cookery club, I loved it at the party we went to and have made it a few times since.
Artichoke Dip
1 cup (250 ml) mayonnaise
1 cup (250 ml) shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup (125 ml) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbs (15 ml) grated onion
1/4 tsp (1 ml) hot sauce, or to taste
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 14-oz (390 g) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
Paprika to taste
Instructions:  Combine the mayonnaise, mozzarella, Parmesan, onion, hot sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper in an electric blender or food processor and process until smooth. Add the artichokes and place in a small baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake in a preheated 350F (180C) oven for 20 minutes, until bubbly. Serve warm with crackers or toasted pita bread triangles. Serves 8 to 12.
Have a great day