Cream Cheese, White Cheddar, Cranberry Dip

Standing on the subway platform for work this morning, I was struck by just how much I needed the Thanksgiving break as a chance to do absolutely nothing.

I read all of the new recipes for Christmas cookies and am super excited to take part in the season's baking frenzy but first? I needed to sit on the couch all day, watching Star Trek re-runs, eat chocolate-pecan pie for breakfast, and find out what it feels like to not go outside for over 24 hours because my boyfriend was nice enough to take out the dog. 

I plan to start my Christmas baking this weekend but there are leftovers (and LOTS of wine) to be worked through first. The winners and consequentially 'least leftovers available' from this past weekend are: pulled pork, chocolate-pecan pie, and the most surprising dish of Thanksgiving: melted cheesy-cranberry dip.

I've said previously that I am not the biggest fan of cranberries but now I realize that, that only applies to sweet dishes. This savory recipe on the other hand...is perfection.

This dish requires 4 things: cranberries, cream cheese, aged white cheddar, and a ramekin (or Italian pottery equivalent as was my case). Once you have those? Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, mix the cream cheese and shredded cheddar, fold in the cranberries, and place in the ramekin to bake. I'm not kidding, it's that easy.

Give the mix 30-40 minutes and take out when it is browned around the edges and starting to bubble. Serve hot with crostini and enjoy!

Lessons learned: always make at least a double batch because this will be gone in 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

- 8 oz cream cheese

- 4 oz aged white cheddar, shredded

- 1 c cranberries 

- 1 ramekin