Cranberry Salsa Cream Cheese Dip

Happy Holidays everyone! I know you've probably been wondering where I have been the past few weeks. The answer is I've been studying for finals and eating out way too much. I finished with most of my exams last Friday and I only have one more this week. After Friday's final, instead of getting some much needed sleep I went into the kitchen right away and made some oreo truffles and italian sausage and white bean stew. I've seriously been making that stew every week, its so good. Anyways, I'm glad to be back in the kitchen and blogging again in time for Christmas. I've got some great recipes coming up this week for you that are great for the holidays! If you're still looking for an appetizer to bring to a holiday get together, look no further. This dip is extremely easy to make and only takes some time to refrigerate. It's absolutely delicious. It's in the middle of the intersection of Sweet, Bitter and Spicy. However, if you don't want to take Spicy St. just leave the jalapeno out. I just deseeded my jalapeno since that's the really spicy part. Watch out for those seeds though... they are crazy hot and will burn your hands! I made this twice for Thanksgiving, one for my grandma's house and one for a party my mom was going to. The first time I didn't use a slotted spoon to scoop the cranberry mixture over the cream cheese and it got a little too liquidy as it sat out. So I would suggest either draining the cranberry mixture a little bit before hand or using a slotted spoon when transferring it into the dish to get rid some of the excess liquid. My mom said that the second time it was better/less messy since I drained it a bit more for her party. Either way it's quite delicious!

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tsp lemon juice
dash of salt
2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese (16 oz total)
1 package crackers (I used Wheat Thins)

Directions:
Put the cranberries in a food processor (or if you don't have one you can chop them with a knife). Process them until they look chunky--It shouldn't take too long. Chop up you green onion, jalpeno pepper (I get rid of all of the seeds because I absolutely hate spicy things), and cilantro. Put the cranberries, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, granulated sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt in a bowl. Mix it up. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours so the cranberries can break down and lose some of their bitterness. When ready to serve, place cream cheese bricks on a large plate. Spread the cream cheese evenly all over the plate. Pour the cranberry mixture over the cream cheese. I would suggest using a slotted spoon to get rid of some of the excess liquid. Spread cranberry mixture over cream cheese with a knife. Serve immediately with crackers.

Source: Recipe from Jamie Cookies It Up