Mushroom Marsala Dip

This dip takes all of the best parts and flavors of a traditional marsala sauce, blends it with cream cheese to make it thick and creamy, and turns it into the perfect accompaniment to toasted baguette, crackers, sammies, and even pasta. It's a pretty versatile dip!

Lets start with the mushrooms. You guys know that I have a texture issue with mushrooms, so I usually have to mince them into the tiniest pieces possible before I can even think about cooking them. But, not today! We're going to slice some baby bella mushrooms into a perfectly normal size. You could even buy the pre-sliced ones to save time. Then, we're going to saute them in some olive oil until they're beautifully golden brown. Add in some garlic at the end for oomph, and these mushrooms are ready to become marsala mushrooms.

Once the mushrooms are golden, we're going to add in some marsala wine right into the skillet. We'll reduce the wine until it's almost all gone. The mushrooms should still be just a smidge saucy. Then, we'll add in some heavy cream to make these mushrooms nice and rich, let them simmer in our sauce for just a couple of minutes, and the mushrooms are done! We want to let them cool for a few minutes before we blitz them into a dip, so just set them aside right in the pan to hang out for about 10 minutes.

After the mushrooms have had a few minutes to cool down, we're going to add them to a food processor with every last bit of sauce from the pan. Then, we'll add some softened cream cheese and some freshly shredded parmesan cheese to the processor, and we'll let the processor do it's thing until the dip is nice and creamy.

At this point, the dip is ready to be devoured. It's rich and creamy and a little thick. It's a really nice schmearing consistency. But, if you prefer a looser and piping hot dip, you could also toss this in the oven for a few minutes before serving. It's totally your choice!

However you choose to serve this, you're going to end up with such a delightful appetizer. The dip is thick and creamy. The mushrooms are rich and meaty. The marsala is sweet and decadent. And, the cheese adds the perfect amount of savory notes to balance out the whole situation. Talk about a flavor bomb! If you like marsala pasta sauce, you're going to LOVE this dip!

This dip is so versatile. You can spread it on toasted baguette. You can schmear it on crackers. You can use it as the glue in a sammie. You can even repurpose it into a pasta sauce by throwing it back in a saucepan with a little milk and a little pasta water. I, personally, like to serve it with a recipe that's coming up later this week.

So, stay tuned!

Ok, everyone. There's really only one thing left to say today.

Best wishes. Warmest regards. And, let's eat!