Easy, right? I have a big sectioned tray with six sections surrounding a center one so got the equipment. The problem is that I usually don't pay attention to the vegetable trays when I'm at a party or event and have never prepared one.

What six vegetables and dip would you use? I think I should include carrot and celery sticks but am stuck on the other four. It will be a mostly male, meat-and-potatoes group.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, red or yellow bell pepper, scallians, grape tomatoes.

Be sure to put a spoon in the dip, and supply small cups (you can buy them at the local bar or restaurant supply house) so people can put the dip in them. Especially this winter, with the prevalence of serious flu and stomach virus strains, you want to be sure no one double dips. Another suggestion--make a big container of dip, but put only a small bowl out at a time, so you can wash the bowl between refillings to make sure you're not starting any kind of epidemic among your friends--LOL!

Just go to the market and pick veg that are good raw, that are really colorful. You can even include a section of cubed rye or pumpernickel bread if you're using a dip that goes with that (spinach, for example).

Also small radishes are good

Di

Onion Dip from Scratch
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onions
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
In a saute pan over medium heat add oil, heat and add onions and salt. Cook the onions until they are caramelized, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Mix the rest of the ingredients, and then add the cooled onions. Refrigerate and stir again before serving.

Teresa

The hard stuff - like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tend to be the last eaten.

I enjoy those condiments, too, like olives, pickles, artichoke hearts, etc.

Enjoy

Delicious with spinach dip.
And lots of color for your veggie tray.

Rusty

/tricia

Garlic/Dill dip

3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp white pepper (optional)
1/2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
1/3 cup fresh dill, minced (large stems removed)
1 dash cayenne
1 cups mayonnaise (Hellman's or Best Foods)
1 cup sour cream

Coarsely chop garlic and then put it in a mortar with the Kosher salt (Use less salt if not Kosher). Mash the garlic into a paste, adding more salt if needed to make the paste. Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. Remove mixture to a medium bowl, and add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cover and chill for at least one hour before serving.

This dip is also good with potato chips. For vegetables, in addition to the celery and carrots, I serve raw mushrooms (cut into quarters, depending on size), broccoli florets, zucchini chips, cherry tomatoes, and pumpernickel pretzel sticks. Sometimes I include radishes, but they are a bit intense.

Lars

Silvia

Depending on what you can get in season or reasonably fresh and priced right you can use anything you like. I like blanched asparagus, I love artichokes, Ithink pickles and olives are a separate thing and are best served along side.

This has become one of my favorites and the Aioli is amazing!

Crudite Platter with Roasted Garlic Aioli
From Cottage Living 2/07

1 bunch baby carrots (leave about 1 inch of green tops on
1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets & blanched
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets & blanched
1 lb asparagus, trimmed & blanched
1/2 lb green beans, blanched
Cherry tomatoes
Red, orange or green peppers, sliced
1/2 lb small red potatoes (I didn't use)
1 belgian endive, leaves separated (I didn't use)
Roasted Garlic Aioli

Arrange prepared vegetables on platter and serve with aioli for dipping

Roasted Garlic Aioli

1 head garlic
1 T olive oil
1 c good quality mayonnaise
1 6oz jar marinated artichoke hearts
1 T Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut off pointed end of garlic, place on a piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap tightly and roast for about 30-40 minutes or until soft. Let garlic cool and then squeeze the pulp from the cloves into the bowl of a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Aioli may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Linda

I also like sweet peppers although green ones can be strong, jicama, kohlrabi and raw turnip, all things I can get here in the winter time and they add some interesting flavors and colors.

If you do go with cauliflower, I've found orange and purple varieties also, they'd add some interesting color also.

Dip? I like the traditional dill vegetable dip but everyone else seems to love ranch. Doucanoe's garlic aioli sounds really good.

Annie

As far as dips, I agree that offering 2 dips is best, I think both Lars and Linda's recipes sound great and I would go with those.

Have fun!
Alexa

Crudite means raw in French so I would keep with that.

Perhaps in other areas of the country, though, that may be the norm. So, you may want to consider that, ask around among your local friends before you make the decision. If blanced vegetables are standard in your area, that may be the way to go. If it's unheard of--then save the time, energy and cost of blanching.

I am well past 62,
And have never ever heard of blanching
for a vegetable tray, either.
Until this post.

Yes, I can see where a quick dip in boiling water
would enhance broccoli's appearance.
But In my opinion they are not
at all 'nasty' tasting when raw,

I actually prefer them that way.

But, as we all know,
Taste is subjective.

Rusty

Eileen

I like them both ways, but I think I like them quick blanched just a tad bit more than raw. Especially broccoli.

Green beans I always blanch for a veggie tray. And asparagus, too.

Linda

I've tried to imagine DH sitting on the edge of his seat, it's 3rd and 1 from the 6 with seconds to go before half, the QB takes the snap, and DH says, "Hon, please hand me a couple pieces of that broccoli."

Nope, he's sure as the world going to load up a chip with whatever's handy or grab another wing maybe but that veggie platter isn't even on his radar. It's Super Bowl, for goodness sake. I realize we should be munching on healthy stuff but the reality is we don't.

Super Bowl, for us, here in New England as well as CA, TX, and CO has always been associated with bar, pub type food and beer (softdrinks for the kiddos). Are we the only ones that don't eat their veggies on Super Bowl Sunday?

/tricia

I ended up with:
1) raw carrot sticks (not those baby carrots) and azalea, I made them short to prevent double dipping.
2) small red radishes with enough of the foliage left on top for holding
3) short celery sticks
4) thick slices of large white raw mushrooms
5) strips of red, yellow, and orange baby sweet peppers
6) lightly blanched broccoli florets, still nice and firm for dipping

All the dip recipes sound great but I made a from-scratch basic sour cream ranch one with some finely minced scallion tops added.

I'll let you know if any of it gets eaten.

Whether to blanch or not is up to the individual, but when I do crudite for myself I blanch, uh actually more like parboiling, because I don't like eating some veggies raw. Also raw veggies can be hard to digest for some.

Well, that does it for me. Just what I don't need tonight at the Super Bowl party.

Ruthanna, I'll be curious to read your post-mortem on the veggie platter. :)

/t

I added a spoon to the dip and tongs to the platter when we got there. The host located it on the table that housed the Wing Bar.

Consumption: peppers, radishes and broccoli - no leftovers; mushrooms - one quarter left; carrots and celery - half left, which surprised me because I thought they would be the first to go.

Observations: physically fit friends and girlfriend of family's sons ( age group mid-20s to early 30s) were the main consumers of the vegetables. One of them brought a big bowl of fruit salad, which I was also surprised to see was gone by the third quarter. Again, the older generation mostly passed it by.

Conclusions: The host was right on target with the menu matching his guest list. I am glad I stuck with what he requested.
The blanching worked out fine.
The CF is a great place to clarify a cook's direction when making something not in their repertoire. Thanks again.

Eileen

I think a good veggie tray is a lost art. Sorry I wasn't there!

In your honor, I fixed some red bell pepper strips, carrot strips, and dill dip last night while I watched........Downton Abbey!

Silvia

Tricia I had to smile when I read your comments. I agree, not my idea of Superbowl food.

I have to agree with everyone that suggested blanching too. I find that Cauliflower, Broccoli and Cabbage only smell is they are overcooked.

~Ann

I learned that I should blanch the broccoli. I've never done it, although I have wondered if I should.

Chi, your onion dip sounds good. Caramelized onions, yum!!

We were served this dip with the veggies this summer and I asked for the recipe. Easy as heck, and delicious!

Curry Vegetable Dip

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp horseradish
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp curry powder
dash lemon juice
2 tbsp sour cream
Chopped herbs can be added for even more flavour.

Ruthanna, your selection looks great, and Gina, I'll try adding vinegar to the blanching water next time.

First I blanched four similar sized pieces of broccoli, two for 45 seconds, two for 90 seconds. (Cook's Illustrated recommends 1-1.5 minutes for broccoli.) For each cooking time I shocked one and let the other just sit on a plate. I placed them all in the fridge for a while to cool down.

Result - They were all pretty similar, but side by side I preferred those that had been shocked. The stems were the same but the flowers (or whatever you call them) retained a firmer texture on the shocked florets. The time differences had less of an impact.

I repeated the experiment, but this time added a splash of vinegar to the water. Maybe I didn't add enough vinegar but I didn't notice any difference off-hand. (How much do you use, Gina?) Because I needed to get rid of the vinegar, this time I gave the un-shocked veggies a quick rinse under tap water.

This time I couldn't really discern much difference at all. My guess is that the quick rinse was enough to stop the broccoli from steaming, so it helped keep the texture of the flowers.

My takeaway, next time I do a bunch I will stick with 45-60 seconds and will definitely shock them. My thinking is that with a larger amount of florets piled up there will be more residual heat to steam the flowers and this is what I don't want to happen.

YMMV, of course, and I'd expect different veggies to benefit from different blanching times.

The purpose of acidulation is to keep color and (arguably) nutrients. Just like squeezing lemon or lime juice over cut apples prevents browning.

I find acidulation using vinegar particularly useful in making the traditional Korean-style spinach side-dish. I like to make enough to last a few days, and find that the vinegar helps keep the blanched spinach looking fresher longer while refrigerated.