Recipe: Hummus Party Platter for Nicole

Hummus Party Platter

Assorted Hummus (commercial made or recipe follows)
Spicy 3-Pepper, Roasted Red Pepper,
Roasted Garlic, Black Olive, Cucumber Dill, and/or Scallion)
Assorted vegetable dippers, such as:
celery sticks, baby carrots, green and red pepper strips
Pita bread split, and cut into triangles
Assorted crackers

Arrange hummus, vegetables, pita triangles and crackers on large serving platter. Make-Ahead: Wrap platter tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Basic Hummus

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained, liquid reserved
1 tbsp sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook and stir the garlic in olive oil for approximately 3 minutes, until tender. Place garbanzo beans in a blender or food processor with approximately 1 teaspoon reserved liquid. Process until smooth. Mix in the garlic, sesame seeds, salt and pepper. Blend to desired consistency, increasing the amount of reserved garbanzo bean liquid as desired. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.
Makes 12 servings.

Fire Roasted Garlic Heads

Take a thin slice off head of garlic exposing the cloves. Place on sheet of foil and sprinkle with water. Fold to close tightly. Do this with 4 heads of garlic; 1 packet per head. Place foil packages in the coals before adding the grill. Let cook while meat is grilling. When meat and vegetables are finished, remove packages and serve one per person. Spread on French bread, vegetables or however you like, like in the above recipe!