The perfect game day dip: baked goat cheese with sweet peppers and crunchy pine nuts.

Warm goat cheese served with crisp bread crackers

Why you’ll love this recipe:

It’s fun to change the peppers to honor your teams colors- hopefully red, green or yellow are among them.
there is not much prep work other than chopped peppers and garlic.
You can bake and serve in the same dish
Assemble everything the night before, chill and heat inter oven before guests arrive
It tastes fantastic! Tangy goat cheese, sweet peppers, loads of herbs and a balsamic glaze are so delicious.

Ingredients for Baked Goat Cheese with Peppers and Pine-nut Dip:

goat cheese
pine nuts
garlic cloves
green, red or orange bell peppers
red pepper flakes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
fennel and coriander seeds
salt & pepper
rosemary & thyme
crostini or toasted baguette

I first came across this recipe over 10 years ago when I began hosting little cocktail parties for the Winter Park Crew moms each year. This was one of my favorite dishes to serve. It is simple to prepare, but looks impressive on the buffet. The original recipe comes from Celebrate The Rain, the beautiful cookbook from the Junior League of Seattle. I adore this cookbook and you will see many dishes on my blog based upon recipes I’d experimented with from Celebrate the Rain. This is not your mother’s Junior League cookbook- no cream of mushroom casseroles. After many years of baking this recipe, I have perfected the seasonings and I think you’ll agree- it’s one fantastic dip.

Smooth and tangy creamy goat cheese is warmed through with peppers dressed in a balsamic glaze is a perfect Northwest dish, but really- it is perfect for company anywhere. Use toasted baguette slices to scoop up the warm cheese or crostini or cracker pepper water crackers.