Breakfast Dip?

[valerie]

My daughter's class is having an end-of-year pot luck next week. I was not there when people signed up for what they are bringing, so I was assigned to bring "dip". I like dip and there are a bunch of different ones that I like to make, but don't usually serve it in the morning!

The thing is that it's from 9:15-11:15 in the morning. A quick search on Chowhound gave me some terrific ideas, but again, they don't seem appropriate for the morning. The only one that might be appropriate is Ina Garten's Smoked Salmon Spread, which sounds great. My only reluctance is that this is a class of 2 and 3 year olds. I'm sure the parents will like the spread, but will the kids? (My daughter eats anything, so I'm sure that she will like it!) On the other hand, I'm sure there will be enough other food for the kids to choose from.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for a dip/spread to serve in the morning?

Thanks!

[valerie]

As a follow-up, I ended up making the Fluff & cream cheese dip (with a few teaspoons of orange juice). I brought it with a big bowl of really good strawberries. I must admit that I really didn't like the taste of it (but I was thinking that it might be really good if I added Nutella!)

It worked out well though, since someone brought smoked salmon and some else brought plain egg salad. People did eat it and it couldn't have been easier.

Thanks again!

[tnilsson]

You could also do a chocolate ganache dip to dip fruit and chunks of croissant, poundcake, or other bread in (a riff on chocolate croissants or churros and hot chocolate). The cream in the ganache should keep it liquid at room temperature so you don't have to keep it heated like fondue. I have pretty good luck covering chocolate chips in cream (or even half and half), melting it all together, then stirring with a whisk before serving. Makes a great sauce for ice-cream too.

[happyhomemaker]

This fruit dip is always a crowd pleaser.

MARSHMALLOW CREME & CREAM CHEESE DIP

13 oz. jar Kraft Marshmallow Creme
8 oz. pkg. Philly cream cheese
Milk, optional (to thin if you'd like)

Beat the cream cheese until smooth; add the marshmallow creme and continue beating until smooth. May need to add milk to get the consistency you like. It does thicken after refrigeration.

Serve with fresh cut-up fruit. Especially good with strawberries and grapes.

[cackalackie]

I was going to suggest the cream-cheese and marshmallow fluff fruit dip. But my recipe also calls for a couple of tablespoons of (thawed) frozen orange juice concentrate. It's delicious!

[brattenheimer]

My sweet dip for fruit: lemon yogurt + whipped cream + dash of nutmeg + garnish w/ chopped mint.

[ArikaDawn]

Here are some links to a few other fruit dip recipes. I've not tried any of them, but you may find a good starting point.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fruit-Dip-VI/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fruit-Dip-V/Detail.aspx
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fruit-Di...

[valerie]

Thank you for all of the ideas. I think that I've narrowed it down to the yogurt dip of some sort or the egg salad, just not sure which way I want to go. Somebody will definitely bring fruit and someone else will bring bagels, so either way, it will work out.

[pamd]

BTW, if you do go with the egg salad, I suggest you might want to use celery seed for flavor rather than celery chunks (or at least cut very fine). I do that for my 2 yr old as he cannot have celery as a choking/getting stuck risk- and not sure about all the kids eating/chewing habits in the class.

[Candy]

Good point, I don't have any young children in my immediate circle so would not think of that. my 3-4 yr. olds are Standard Poodles and eat just about anything. They decided pimento cheese was a pretty good thing today lol! Bottled pimentoes might be another nice choice, they are soft and would pretty color bits in the egg salad.

[pamd]

fruit dips are always a hit with kids & adults! I have also enjoyed the fruit salsa recipe.
Another idea- you could go for a cheese dip (like a fondue recipe)
Does yogurt count as a dip? maybe mix fresh fruit with plain or vanilla yogurt for a nice morning dip!

[Katie Nell]

I make this fruit "salsa" often for brunch... my little cousins love it!

Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips
CINNAMON CHIPS
4 (7-inch) flour tortillas
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

SALSA
2 med Granny Smith apples
1 cup strawberries -- sliced
1 kiwi fruit -- peeled and chopped
1 small orange
2 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp apple jelly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. For cinnamon chips, lightly spray tortillas with water. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over tortillas. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges; place in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Cool completely.

For salsa, peel, core, and slice apples. Cut apples into quarters and dice into small pieces (I usually use the food processor for all the fruits.) Dice strawberries and chop kiwi. Place fruit in 1 quart bowl. Zest orange and juice. Add orange zest, orange juice, brown sugar and apple jelly to fruit mixture, mix gently. Serve with cinnamon chips.

[Candy]

How about a bowl of egg and bacon salad with pita chips for dipping? Make your favorite egg salad recipe and crisp up some bacon and crumble it in. Garnish with a bit of chopped parsley and you've got a breakfast dip of bacon and eggs!

[valerie]

I love this idea and it sounds delicious! But (and this is a big but), it is a Jewish pre-school, and while it is not a strictly kosher place, I don't think that it would be appropriate to bring bacon! (I will keep it in mind though for the next brunch that I host at my house.)

[Candy]

Leave out the bacon, chopped celery would be nice too and maybe toasted mini-bagels?

[KaimukiMan]

just out of curiosity is turkey bacon "kosher"?

[pamd]

perhaps there is a brand that does it- however, most Jewish preschools I think are dairy, to avoid the kosher meat &/or mixing meat/dairy issue. I know people who keep kosher & love fake bacon bits!

[valerie]

It thought of that, but it's just better overall if I don't bring anything with any kind of meat.

[soupkitten]

bacos are vegan-- no animal products whatsoever! the particular brand bacos-- not all fake bacon.

[flipkeat]

Fruit kebabs, any type fruit also adding a marshmallow here and there is fun for children..served with lemon yoghurt dip..yum even for the adults

[renov8r]

Anything sweet will go over big time with the 2 & 3 yr olds. Allergies are often an issue, obvious things to avoid are nuts (including peanute) and honey.

[JaneRI]

Honey is fine once they reach 12 months. It's not an allergy issue, honey is not a common allergen.

[soupkitten]

if it is a concern, a small amt of brown sugar in vanilla yogurt dip tastes great!

[valerie]

Honey is not an allergen. The problem is that infants younger than 12 months are at risk of infant botulism from eating honey.

[soupkitten]

infant botulism is obviously the biggest problem with honey, and should be no problem here, but there are also rare reactions to honey because of contamination of the honey with pollen (the allergic reaction is from the pollen). you would be surprised at how the parents of severely pollen-allergic kids react to honey ingredients. again if it is no concern, i prefer to use honey, but it pays to be careful when preparing foods for other people's kids.

[JaneRI]

Like you said, rare reactions. There could be rare reactions to just about everything.

[chowser]

If you're having fruit salad, you could have yogurt w/ vanilla and orange extract, honey.

[JaneRI]

Flavor softened cream cheese w/honey and cinnamon, and have sliced fruit and toasted pita triangles for dipping.

[DGresh]

My guess is that someone else was assigned to bring carrots and celery, so that they are, in fact, expecting something like ranch dressing. This is from someone with many years of being assigned things under my belt :)

[valerie]

I was planning to just make the old spinach dip, since everyone always likes it. But then I thought "will people eat it in the morning"?

[bubbles4me]

People eat pizza and fried chicken in the morning I'm sure savory dip will be fine.

[Emme]

Do spinach-artichoke dip (ie the copycat CPK recipe) if you're gonna go that route...

Or you could do a hummus and/or baba ghanoush (this of course more for the parents).

You could also do a "four layer breakfast dip"... start with a layer of yogurt or cinnamon sweetened cream cheese, then a layer of berries, then a layer of melted apricot puree, then a layer of graham cracker crumbs, and add more layers if you desire...

[pamd]

interesting you mentioned hummus & baba ghanoush as "more for the parents"- my 2 year old loves both of those! you'd be surprised what many children eat that are given options from when they are young.

[valerie]

My 2 1/2 year old also loves hummus. As a matter of fact, she eats everything, and I mean everything. There wasn't a single suggestion here that she wouldn't like!

[Emme]

Oh absolutely, I just wouldn't count on *every parent* being as adventurous in offering their child foods they consider exotic. A lot of parents just stick to the crap, so I never assume when cooking for a crowd of kids and parents that all are enlightened to the value of widening palates at the earliest ages :) Kudos to you and your young'uns!

[pepper_mil]

Maybe a fruit based recipe, like cream cheese mixed with jam or other fruit.