TAHOE/TRUCKEE – If I have said it once I have said it a dozen times “I didn’t do it.” Just kidding. (Kind of.) What I have really said was, the best way to impress on any significant holiday meal day is with an appetizer. All the big tickets items – the turkey, the stuffing, the ham, the sweet potatoes – are up for generations of comparisons. “My grandmother always did it with this.” “My mother does it like that,” add infinitum. The worst Christmas dinner I ever made was when I tried to recreate everybody’s family recipes and, in the end, it was a moot point because, unbeknownst to me, one coil on the oven wasn’t working. My point is: you can’t compete with ghosts from Christmas (or Thanksgiving) past. With a great appetizer you can be the master of your own domain (meaning the kitchen) plus they travel without having to dig out the retired car seat. The following is pricey to make but, hey, ’tis the season! This will become, I promise you, an instant new tradition.

 

Gorgonzola, pine nut, prosciutto and artichoke dip

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Ingredients:

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2 cans unmarinated artichoke hearts, quartered

6 oz. prosciutto, sliced

1 1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese crumbles

1 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

2 Tbls. fresh sage, chopped

1/2 cup pine nuts

 

Preparation:

Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each artichoke heart quarter and place close together in 9×13 inch baking pan. Crumble gorgonzola over all.  Drizzle with cream. Top with Parmesan, sage and pine nuts. Bake covered at 350 degrees for a half hour. Uncover and bake a little more until dip is slightly brown on top. Serve with fresh baguette.