Roasted Red Pepper Dip question

[Canice]

Inspired by sdrunner's recent thread on red pepper dips, I hauled out this CL T&T recipe tonight and made a batch. My peppers were rather small, though, so I used just 6 ounces of cream cheese, rather than eight. Owing to a slight misreading, I used one TBSP of vinegar, rather than the tsp I'd intended. Oh well, it tastes great. But the dip is very thin. I've made it just once before and don't recall the consistency, but to my mind it should be rather thick and creamy. Just wondering if anyone's made it and can comment. I've half a mind to add the rest of the cream cheese and some chevre to it. As it is, though, it would be a great sandwich spread.

Roasted Pepper-Cheese Dip
(Cooking Light Complete Cookbook)

2 large red bell peppers
2 large unpeeled garlic cloves
1 8-oz. pkg. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Cut bell peppers in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place peppers, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Add garlic to baking sheet, and broil 4 minutes. Turn garlic over; broil 4 minutes more or until blackened. Remove garlic from baking sheet; set aside. Broil peppers an additional 2 minutes or until blackened. Place peppers in a zip-top plastic bag and seal; let stand 15 minutes. Peel peppers and garlic; discard skins.

3. Place roasted peppers and garlic in a food processor; process until smooth, scraping sides of bowl once. Add cheese; process until smooth. Spoon into a bowl and stir in vinegar, salt, and crushed red pepper. Serve immediately or cover and chill. Serve with raw vegetables. Yield: 1 1/2 cups.

[dneilson]

Do you have a jar of roasted red peppers in the pantry you can tap into?? (Since your fresh bells were small to begin with?? I frequently forget my "back up" jarred roasted red peppers because I prefer fresh.)

Additionally, the recipe I make asks for crumbled crackers and coarse ground walnuts. Those are great fillers.

Dolores

[Canice]

Thanks, Dolores - I do have a jar or two of peppers in the cupboard. My concerns would be that I like the flavor balance now, and wonder if that would tip it out (though adding cheese could, too) and that the peppers are so heavy with water content, that might not give the heavier mouthfeel I'm thinking of. ??

[tennisashoe]

I wonder if you can take some of the moisture out by straining it in cheesecloth, like you would do to make yogurt cheese? You may lose some of the balsamic bite, but it should make it thicker? Sounds delicious though. Thanks for the recipe!

[charley]

I think it would do fine with a little more cream cheese.

The dip I make has 2 bells, a couple jalapenos, little roasted onion & garlic and cilantro. I use 8 oz. of cream cheese. It's the right consistency for dipping veggies.

[Sheila in MD]

I make this dip alot and find it to be pretty thick.....especially after refrigerating. I never worry about how big my peppers are-in fact, I usually roast a ton of peppers at one time (I de-seed and cut into strips before roasting) and often eyeball how much I think might be "2 pepppers". I love this stuff!

Sheila in MD