Carrot Ribbons with Sorrel Pesto and Goat Cheese

I had the amazing pleasure to meet my favorite cookbook author, Diane Morgan at a dinner featuring her recipes at Lou's Food Bar in Denver. I enjoyed a five course meal of recipes from her newest cookbook, Roots and was able to chat with Diane about techniques and preparation.  This was one of the hit dishes of the night. It's raw, healthy and the flavors are perfect. It is a great alternative to the typical green salad that is passed around the table.  Serve this colorful salad family style for your guests to enjoy. Also, if you've browsed my 'dips' you will see most of them come from Diane's Skinny Dips cookbook!

Main Ingredients:

-2 large garlic cloves

-2 tsp salt

-5 large carrots, trimmed and peeled

-4 ounces fresh crumble goat cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

-4 Tbsp olive oil

-1 Tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar

- 3/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp pepper

Pesto Ingredients: 

-2.5 cups lightly packed sorrel, roughly chopped

-2 cloves garlic, chopped

-1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

-1/4 cup pine nuts

-1.5 tsp lemon juice

-1/2 tsp sea salt

-2/3 cup olive oil

Light Ranch Dressing from Cottage Cheese

A fellow friend and food blogger, Hannah from Never Fail to Impress showed me a new and revolutionary way to make my all-time-favorite dressing: Ranch.  I love ranch out of the bottle, but even better is homemade buttermilk ranch.  This is a "skinnier" version than the regular ranch dressing recipe.  People either love or hate cottage cheese, but when blended in this recipe, you'll never even notice it's there!  I served it as a dip with an array of veggies for a fabulously light appetizer.

Ingredients:


-1 packet of dry ranch dressing seasoning packet
-2 cups of low-fat cottage cheese
-1/4 - 1/2 cup of water

Gadgets Needed:


-Food Processor or Blender