Cream Cheese

Let's get this out of the way: This week's recipe is not health food. It's not foodie food. And it's not particularly pretty food. But this warm Buffalo chicken dip is hearty, rich, comforting, and it's got just enough hot-sauce afterburn to help warm you up during a chilly tailgate party. In short, it's perfect football food. Made as directed, you can serve it in a crockpot if you've got a plug in the back of your vehicle. You can also heat it in a 350-degree oven in a casserole dish until the cheese melts and bring it on over to your event.

Asian food aficionados probably think they're living next door to nirvana these days. No longer does the crowd have to agree on one type of fare. With the current trend in Far East-style eateries, most everyone can be satisfied. Among the newer such restaurants on the block is East Moon Asian Bistro, which opened in October 2011 in the Shipley's Grant community in Ellicott City. Behind the rather unprepossessing plate glass windows is a large, sleek dining room with separate sushi bar and wet bar. Decor in the 130-seat dining room is about as neo as you can get -- sleek, slick, bespeaking an expensive decorator and plenty of startup money from the on-site owner, Danny Tian, and co-owners who run the three other East Moon eateries elsewhere in the region.

We get lots of announcements of new products. We mostly ignore them, but this one got our attention - "the launch of the industry's first Greek Cream Cheese. " Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese, according to its producer, Franklin Foods of Enosburg Falls, Vt., contains twice the protein and half the fat of regular cream cheese and contains live and active cultures. The Greek yogurt craze has made its way into the newsroom. You can usually spot a container or two in the refrigerator. We were interested.

We get lots of announcements of new products. We mostly ignore them, but this one got our attention - "the launch of the industry's first Greek Cream Cheese. " Green Mountain Farms Greek Cream Cheese, according to its producer, Franklin Foods of Enosburg Falls, Vt., contains twice the protein and half the fat of regular cream cheese and contains live and active cultures. The Greek yogurt craze has made its way into the newsroom. You can usually spot a container or two in the refrigerator. We were interested.

Mary McDonald of Hermitage, Pa., was looking for a recipe for a cream-cheese poundcake. She is 80 and used to make this cake often but has lost her recipe. Pat Holahan of Fayetteville, N.C., sent in a recipe she likes for Philadelphia Cream Cheese Poundcake. This simple cake is chock-full of butter, cream cheese and eggs and is anything but low-calorie. It is, however, rich, dense and delicious. Dust the top with powdered sugar and serve it with fresh strawberries or sorbet for a classic dessert everyone is sure to enjoy.

Q: Are sour cream and cream cheese freezeable? Mine always seem to separate when thawed.A: No, sour cream and cream cheese do not freeze well because of their high water content. The ice crystals that form during freezing cause them to separate as they thaw, leaving them caked and watery. They do, however, have quite a long refrigerator life -- two weeks for cream cheese and two to three weeks for sour cream as long as the container is currently dated.Q: Is there any way that I can whip cream a few hours before I serve it?

Barbara Pruitt of Finksburg requested a Baltimore cheesecake "like the one Muhly's Bakery used to make." She said, "It was a thin cheesecake and had a pastry crust. I think it had ricotta as well as cream cheese and currants." Her answer came from Jennifer A. Macek of Towson, who wrote: "Attached is a recipe for ricotta cheesecake, which may be what Barbara Pruitt is looking for. I am not familiar with the cheesecake that Ms. Pruitt apparently used to purchase from Muhly's Bakery. Hopefully, this is similar."

Joan Kerns from Salisbury, N.C., was looking for recipes for cakes made without eggs. She has a granddaughter who is highly allergic to eggs, both the yolks and the whites, and she wanted to be able to make a cake she could safely eat. Beatrice Odom from St. Pauls, N.C., says that she has two great-grandchildren who are also allergic to eggs and that she found a very good recipe for a "no egg cake" a few years ago in a magazine. This simple one-bowl cake is extremely moist and rich, and the delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting gives the cake a lovely finish.

Dianne Bernsten from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for making pub cheese similar to one she remembers from the Hilltop Inn and Lounge in Bowie many years ago. She said she has tried several store-bought versions over the years and has not liked any. The Web is full of pub cheese recipes, the majority of which start with processed cheese like Velveeta as a base, but a recipe for a homemade Irish cheddar and ale pub spread that I came...

While visiting Baltimore in 2003, Patti Kress from Osprey Fla., had an incredibly good cheese spread that she purchased at a cheese stand at the Cross Street Market. She thinks it contained asiago cheese, cream cheese and chives. Since she doesn't get to Baltimore often, she was hoping to find a recipe for the spread so she could re-create it at home. Tracy Morgan from Santa Rosa, Calif., says she came up with a delicious cheese spread that sounds very close to what Kress described. The spread is very simple to make and reminded me of a homemade Boursin cheese.

The folks at Aramark sent over some game-day recipes from M&T Bank Stadium's Executive Chef Joe Bachman . There was one for Maryland crab cakes, another for pit beef sandwiches, but I thou ght you'd want to see the one for Maryland Crab Tots. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Aramark is the exclusive food and beverage partner for M&T Bank Stadium. Here's the recipe for Maryland Crab Tots from M&T Bank Stadium: •    2 pounds tots (any supermarket brand will do)

Let's get this out of the way: This week's recipe is not health food. It's not foodie food. And it's not particularly pretty food. But this warm Buffalo chicken dip is hearty, rich, comforting, and it's got just enough hot-sauce afterburn to help warm you up during a chilly tailgate party. In short, it's perfect football food. Made as directed, you can serve it in a crockpot if you've got a plug in the back of your vehicle. You can also heat it in a 350-degree oven in a casserole dish until the cheese melts and bring it on over to your event.

Dianne Bernsten from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for making pub cheese similar to one she remembers from the Hilltop Inn and Lounge in Bowie many years ago. She said she has tried several store-bought versions over the years and has not liked any. The Web is full of pub cheese recipes, the majority of which start with processed cheese like Velveeta as a base, but a recipe for a homemade Irish cheddar and ale pub spread that I came...

Pat's Pizzeria has made its mark on Harford Countywith its sought after slices and its family-friendly atmosphere. Originally the brainchild of three cousins from New Jersey, Tony, John and Joe, the franchise grew to over 50 locations in New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. And today, every Pat's franchise is owned by a relative of the founding cousins. So in the spirit of keeping it all in the family, nephews of the founding partners, Christos and his brother, Stathis Kotanidis, own the Havre de Grace, Bel Air, and Edgewood locations of Pat's Pizzeria.

The latest healthy recipe comes from Consumer Reports Food & Fitness Magazine. It's  a healthy twist on what is many people's favorite comfort food, macaroni and cheese. Except this is mac-and cheese with cauliflower. Nothing wrong with getting some veggies with your mac-n-cheese. The recipe also uses multigrain pasta, which is better for you than the white variety. Do you have a healthy recipe to share? Email me at andrea.walker@baltsun.com . Meanwhile, check out the latest recipe.

Jackie of Baltimore wants the recipe for a red velvet cake: "Two years ago at Christmas, I had the chance to taste this cake but I can't find a recipe anywhere. " — Baltimore Sun recipe finder, 1990 Hang in there, Jackie. If you managed to wait 20 years or so, thousands and thousands of red velvet recipes are now yours for the clicking. But why bake? You can now to grab a red velvet cake in the bakery of your favorite supermarket. And while you're there, you can load up your cart with Ben & Jerry's Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream and red velvet tea from Republic of Tea. Red velvet is thriving on restaurant menus, on and off the dessert page.

Each week a nutritionist from the University of Maryland Medical Center provides a guest post to The Baltimore Sun's health blog Picture of Health (baltimoresun.com/pictureofhealth), which is reprinted here. This week, Faith Hicks weighs in on Super Bowl food. Imagine a typical Super Bowl party spread: fried chicken wings, meatballs, sour cream and cream cheese dips. This translates into a feast of meat and lots of fat, particularly saturated fat. It will probably be your dinner on gameday, but hardly a "Strive for Five" or "My Plate" meal.

Wendy Robin from Cockeysville was looking for a recipe for a dessert her mother used to make in the '50s and '60s. As she recalls, ladyfingers were used to line the bottom and the sides of a springform pan and there was some sort of a chocolate, mousselike filling. It was served chilled. Alice Murphy from Providence, R.I., sent in a recipe from the August 1999 issue of Bon Appetit for a Mexican Chocolate Icebox Cake that she thought was probably just what Robin was looking for. Murphy says she substitutes cream cheese for the butter because she thinks it gives the filling a richer flavor and improved texture, and she also brushes the ladyfingers with Kahlua before she uses them to line the pan. I followed her suggestions when I tested the recipe, and the result was a decadently rich showstopper of a dessert.