Recipe File: ’80s Goat Cheese Dip

Back in April, during a ladies weekend away, my pal Heather and I found ourselves reminiscing about growing up with moms who were caterers.  

Many funny and not-so-funny memories of late 1970s-early 1980s party food. One recipe of her mother’s stood out for sounding delicious, easy, and versatile: Goat Cheese Dip. 

Heather still makes it several times a year and promises it is always a hit. I can attest the same. I made it as soon as I got home and have made it a dozen times since. 

This is definitely staying in rotation all year long, especially at the holidays.

I arrange it the way Heather described her mother doing it, with a garlic clove placed on each morsel of cheese. This seems particularly ’80s to me, quite unlike the freehand and unfussy way we plate today, and I like the retro vibe of it. 

Heather also promises that leftovers are fantastic tossed with hot pasta, creating a melty yummy sauce. Unfortunately, although I always double the recipe, I have yet to have any leftovers.

This is a recipe for a double batch, which is perfect for a crowd of 10-15 if you’re serving other hors d’oerves. You can easily halve.

Heather’s Mom’s Goat Cheese Dip

Ingredients

Two heads of garlic

Olive oil to cover garlic cloves in a small pot (about 1 cup, more or less)

Two logs of goat cheese

One jar TJs sundried tomatoes (conveniently already sliced into the perfect size), at room temp

Basil or other herbs

Thread or dental floss (not mint flavored!)

Steps

Peel garlic cloves and place in a small pot. If you have some thyme or rosemary around you can add a few springs.

Add enough olive oil to just cover the cloves. Bring to a simmer and keep at a very gentle simmer until garlic is completely tender and slightly golden, about 25 minutes.  Allow to cool until warm but not as cool as room temperature.

While the garlic is poaching, slice the goat cheese logs into ¼” slices using thread or dental floss. This makes much cleaner slices than using a knife does.

Arrange slices on a platter or large shallow bowl. Place a warm garlic clove on each slice. Add slivers of sun-dried tomato all over the platter. Drizzle with plenty of the warm garlic oil. Add basil, either whole leaves or chopped.

Serve immediately with crackers or thinly sliced bread or hold at room temperature for later.