Tune in to WAMD 970 AM on Friday, October 21 to hear Dagger Food Columnist Jennifer Williams discuss this column and more on The Morning Show with Maynard and Cindy
Now that the Ravens are on their way to another winning season, it’s time to think about tailgating and party foods that will win your friends’ hearts. So let me take the guesswork out of what to fix by giving you three “guess-ipes” that are easy to prepare. A “guess-ipe” is simply a recipe guide, it does not need to be followed to a T. Add or subtract ingredients that sound tasty to YOU.
It’s time to dip that chip everybody!
Taco Dip
Take 1 block of cream cheese and blend with about ¾ of a jar of your favorite salsa using a hand mixer. Add the salsa slowly until the cream cheese is soft and creamy but not soupy. Spread the mixture onto a plate or platter and top with whatever you feel like. Chopped bell peppers, red onion, shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese, sliced black olives and even lettuce and tomato. Then use tortilla chips to scoop it up.
SuperBowl Hot Sausage Dip
Even though my friend Debbie is from Pittsburgh and is therefore a Steelers fan, she still makes a mean Sausage Dip that I have been copying for years. Brown 1 pound of bulk hot or mild Italian sausage (without the casing) breaking it into bite sized pieces. Drain the fat off, then mix it together with a 16 oz. jar of salsa, 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, and an 8 oz. block of softened cream cheese. No need to use an electric mixer, just use a large spatula, put the mixture into a glass baking dish and cook for a half an hour at 350 degrees. If it cools down midway thru the game, just nuke it. Serve with tortilla chips.
Kickoff Shrimp Dip
I made this one time for a party and never got a chance to bake it – my friends started eating it cold and loved it. However, I do recommend serving it piping hot with sliced bread rounds and crackers.
Get your grocery store or seafood place to steam 2 – 2 ½ pounds of shrimp for you. Thawed frozen shrimp might work just as well but I buy it steamed without the seasoning since you will be peeling it anyway. Cut the shrimp into bite sized pieces and mix it together with 1 small can of chopped green chiles, 2 cups of shredded cheese, a block of softened cream cheese, ¾ cups of mayo, 4 tablespoons of sour cream, couple splashes of hot sauce and Old Bay to taste. Go easy on the Old Bay because you can always add more when it comes out of the oven. Bake in a glass or ceramic dish for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Should you happen to be tailgating at the stadium rather than watching the game in your living room, you can make the hot dips in your home oven in a disposable aluminum pan and then reheat on top of the grill for a few minutes until hot and bubbly.
Happy Eating & GO RAVENS!!
Whoa! Everything sounds sensational. I guess I will have to try one of these at home since I don’t have Ravens tickets. I agree with the recipe approach. Recipes are simply suggestions for ingredients and amounts. Accomplished cooks like yourself just ‘go with the flow’. I’m not so confident so I usually follow the recipe. What are your favorite chips? They can really make a difference.
Hi Keesha! Well, hopefully this doesn’t make me sound like a “food snob” but I generally go for the blue corn chips rather than the standard tortilla chips. Garden of Eatin’ makes a good one, or there is also a brand at Whole Foods and Wegmans called Food Should Taste Good. I don’t like greasy chips – a good dip doesn’t need the added salt and fat of the chip itself.
Let me know if there are any particular recipes that you are trying to hunt down or any certain food item that you want me to test out. I used cornichons, chervil and capers in a recipe for the first time this week and it was fantastic!
Hey! Just wandered over here from my normal spot on the Politics page where I torture the lib/Dems with the truth. Where the heck did you find fresh chervil? And what was the dish? Recipes for dips sound good.
Alex, I love your political comments as well as your food related ones! Unfortunately, I was not able to find fresh chervil. I talked to the produce manager at Wegmans and they do not usually stock it, so I was stuck with the dried version. However, I am planning to search for some plants and grow it at home. My Dad (who is my favorite foodie) says that I won’t be able to find the plants anywhere, rather, I will have to grow them from seeds. I’ll keep you posted!
The dish was Bobby Flay’s grilled potato salad with dijon and vinegar. I used an assortment of small potatoes of various colors and it was a great tailgate food because it was pretty sunny last weekend and this dish did not contain mayo, therefore, it was able to withstand the heat. It’s actually tastier served warm or at room temp rather than chilled.
These dishes look quite good. I do not eat pork but the shrimp dish looks very nice. I like very spicy food and this one looks like they spice level can be increased quite easily.
Great article but it didn’t have evyertnhig?I didn’t find the kitchen sink!
Clarinda,
The great thing about these recipes is that none of them include a kitchen sink. Chervil is mentioned in passing but not one kitchen sink. And blue corn chips. I just figured out that blue corn chips are chips made from blue corn. Who knew? I thought at first they were made especially to attract the Smurf crowd and there was some kind of unhealthy food dye involved.