May 12, 2015
We have a fun college graduation weekend coming up so I’m consumed with menu planning for the weekend and preparing dinners this week. A veggie/rice bowl dinner is in the making as I sit down to tell you about a favorite go-to appetizer dip or spread that everyone in our family enjoys. It seems as though we have served it at all graduation parties and special events for the past 10 years or so. The original reipe for Feta Fetish comes from a Commemorative Toledo Museum of Art cookbook titled Art Fare (c 2000 Favorite Recipes Press). The cookbook itself is coffee table worthy with beautiful photographs of art at the museum as well as very artful photos of many of the recipes in the book.

a miniature presentation taste before the weekend celebration.

The spread can easily be made up to a week in advance. It is both creamy, herbal and has a nice salty acidity that tingles on your tongue. I have modified the recipe just a little bit to make it more like a boursin cheese – but the feta cheese is the real star and makes this dip unique. It is very simple to put together in a food processor. The original recipe used the green onions as a garnish only. I like adding it to the cheese mixture for flavor and color.

First, the oregano, garlic and green onions are chopped up finely. Cream Cheese, butter and feta are added and pulsed until fully incorporated into a fluffy mixture. For serving, additional green onion, chopped tomato or chopped black olives sprinkled on top make for a beautiful presentation. Black olives add a lot of salt, but I like the combination. I serve it with pita chips – but any cracker or vegetable can be used as a vessel to deliver the delicious cheese to your mouth!

fresh oregano adds a nice bright green color. Dried oregano works just fine too.

make sure the garlic, onions and herbs are pretty finely chopped before adding the cheese and butter.

I made a large batch of this today and the cheeses and butter were more difficult to incorporate and mix together well. I had to do a fair amount of scraping with a spatula to finish the blending. The feta cheese helps the mixture maintain a little bit of a crumble. When the butter is soft, it is much more spreadable – but sometimes can get too soft I like to serve it a littel bit cold to room temperature.

There are still too many chunks of cheese and butter in this mixture. More processing is needed.

This is the consistency that you want.

If you find yourself with leftovers, the mixture is a great addition to a creamy pasta dish. The butter, cream cheese and feta add a wonderful creaminess and flavorful. It can also be spread onto sandwiches as a condiment – a little goes a long way!

Feta Fetish

Preparation time 10-15 minutes

Serves 10-15 as an appetizer/dip

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, rough chopped
1 Tbs fresh chopped oregano or 1 tsp dried
3 green onions, tops trimmed, cut into small pieces
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
6 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 4 oz. can chopped black olives (or chopped greek olives)
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes

Instructions

Process garlic, oregano and green onions in food processor until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, breaking apart into smaller chunks, butter and feta cheese. Process until smooth and blended. You may need to use a spatula to push mixture together in between processing.

Mound onto a serving platter or into a bowl. Garnish with black olives and/or tomatoes.

Serve with pita chips, crackers or cut up vegetables.

Can be made ahead. Place in well sealed container in refrigerator for up to one week.

Notes