Foodball: Smoky Hatch Chile Bacon Pimento Cheese
Foodball: Smoky Hatch Chile Bacon Pimento Cheese

Smoky Hatch Chile Bacon Pimento Cheese

Hatch chiles give this pimento cheese a completely different profile. Both are a smoky pepper, but Hatch chiles match so well with the bacon, I’m pretty annoyed I didn’t have the idea to switch up my pimento cheese until this summer, as are pretty much all of my friends who I have served it to over the past few weeks.

Foodball: Muhammara
Foodball: Muhammara

Foodball: Muhammara

This is a sneaky dip. I’m not talking sneaky like the Seahawks running the Auburn offense against the Packers, I’m talking sneaky like the Seahawks running a flea flicker against the Bills. It doesn’t seem like this dip should be so spicy, but ground Aleppo pepper has a front of the tongue heat the builds the more of it you eat, but at the same time has this great fruity taste to it. Much like how I feel about za’atar, once you start using the spice you won’t be able to stop putting it nearly everything you make.

Foodball: Basic Queso Dip
Foodball: Basic Queso Dip

Basic Queso Dip

Did you make my Beer Cheese Soup last season? No? Well, if you haven’t, you should because it’s delicious and great in the cold weather. If you did make it, you’ve already got the basics down to make your own queso. A roux, some whole milk and some cheese. Boom. Installed.

 

Foodball Zesty Za’atar White Bean Dip
Foodball Zesty Za’atar White Bean Dip

Zesty Za’atar White Bean Dip

I’ve already sung the praises of za’atar earlier this season when I posted the recipe for Grilled Za’atar Chicken Pitas, and I wanted to give everyone a second recipe to use the beautifully earthy, smoky spice mixture in so you didn’t feel bought all this za’atar then didn’t know what else to do with it. I hate when a recipe calls for say, machalepi or fenugreek but then doesn’t suggest what else I could use those ingredients in. After I posted how to make Chicken Tikka Masala Wraps, I posted a recipe forGaram Masala Dip to inspire readers to find their own ways to use up the rest of their garam masala. So if you ever see me list an ingredient you don’t think you will use often, especially an unusual or expensive item, don’t hesitate to ask me what else you can put it in while creating in your own kitchen.

Foodball: Roasted Serrano Artichoke Ricotta Dip
Foodball: Roasted Serrano Artichoke Ricotta Dip

Roasted Serrano Artichoke Ricotta Dip

As the season goes on, it’s easy to get sick of the same old sour cream based dips, guacamole or hummus, and you don’t always want a heavy baked spinach and artichoke dip made with cream cheese. The next best option for creaminess and taste? Ricotta.

By roasting the garlic, artichokes and some of the serranos, it tones down their sharpness and tames the heat so the peppers won’t overpower your palate. Fresh scallions round out the dip, but if you want a little extra bite of salt or brininess, fold in a tablespoon of chopped capers or kalamata olives.

Foodball: Pork Rillettes
Foodball: Pork Rillettes

Pork Rillettes

What’s great about a good pork rillette is that it’s an easy snack you can bring together on a Tuesday night and have ready for the weekend. It takes a minimal amount of effort with a maximum of reward, highlighting the real taste of the pork without losing its essence to rubs and sauces.

Blueberry Goat Cheese Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Blueberry Goat Cheese Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Blueberry Goat Cheese Dip

This dip isn’t for everyone, just us sexy people. It’s tart with just a hint of sweet and spice, best matched with fresh fruit and cookies, this fruit and cheese dip a great palate cleanser on a day full of heavy football foods.

 

Salsa Verde: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Salsa Verde: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Salsa Verde

Personally, I like a good salsa verde over the usual tomato, onion and jalapeño routine. Roasting tomatillos creates such a beautiful smell in the kitchen and it’s a nice treat if you’re used to just pulling out a jar of whatever salsa happened to be on sale that week at your tailgate.

Roasted Pepper Artichoke Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Roasted Pepper Artichoke Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

A spin on the classic spinach and artichoke dip, roasted red peppers bring a fiery tang while fresh mozzarella makes this dip especially creamy and rich.

 

Garam Masala Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Garam Masala Dip: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

I came up with this dip early last summer when I was looking for a way to get the essence of a chicken tikki masala dip or wrap, but without all the mucking about cooking.  Not so surprisingly, you get a very bright, tart dip of tomatoes, yogurt, garam masala and warm ginger and cayenne. Just lovely with pita or naan chips.

You will need:

Spicy Avocado Hummus: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Spicy Avocado Hummus: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Spicy Avocado Hummus

Sometimes you want to mix it up from the usual guacamole, or maybe the avocados in your market are a little on the small side this time of year. This is a good way to stretch those green goddess globes and have a good dip. Spicy pepper and cool avocado always go well together.

 

Quesdo Fundido: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!
Quesdo Fundido: SUPER BOWL RECIPE MONTH: DIP SPECTACULAR!

Queso Fundido 

If possible, try to use Mexican quesadilla cheese with this dip. It melts without becoming stringy and greasy, unlike many other cheeses. Queso fundido goes especially well with warm soft tortillas.

Warm Lentil Crostini: Football Foodie Coasts Into The Playoffs
Warm Lentil Crostini: Football Foodie Coasts Into The Playoffs

Personally, I’m looking forward to an easy weekend of football. We’ve been traveling for nearly two weeks now; cross-country flights, 12 hours on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in a snow storm, going to the symphony, tailgating with my fantasy league and a hockey blogger in a Santa beard, cooking for my family, cooking for my in-laws, multiple bar outings with friends which — even as I type this post — have left my stomach and my head spinning. (It’s tough keeping up with Ape’s drinking, but I guess that shouldn’t be surprising. Apes are known for having quality livers.) I had planned on making one last spread of the season, but instead I think I’m to make something easy this Sunday to snack on. Crostini it is.

Tapatio Lemon Chips, Thanksgiving Leftovers and Pimento Cheese: Football Foodie Shortcuts
Tapatio Lemon Chips, Thanksgiving Leftovers and Pimento Cheese: Football Foodie Shortcuts
If it’s Friday and this post is going up, it’s safe to assume neither me nor my husband killed anyone during the Thanksgiving feast — thank you Patriots blowout for being there during a stone cold thirty minute silence between us and a family member we’re not talking to! — and we’re ready to be lazy the rest of the holiday weekend, just as soon as we clean out grandma’s garage, battle traffic past the outlets in Camarillo on our way home to Los Angeles, and do all the chores we swore we’d do this weekend since we supposedly have all this extra time on our hands.

It’s enough to make one look forward to Rams-Cardinals.

Roasted Butternut Squash Sage Dip
Roasted Butternut Squash Sage Dip

Butternut squash sage dip is a healthy choice on a day that is already filled with calories. Interceptions are especially fatty, so you might want give this recipe test run when Tony Romo (13 INT) faces Brandon Weeden (12 INT) this Sunday.

 Hot Bean and Chimichurri Dip, South American Choripans: Football Foodie Sauced
Hot Bean and Chimichurri Dip, South American Choripans: Football Foodie Sauced

A long day of football often calls for a hearty dip, especially if you don’t feel like mucking over a grill or with a fryer on a particular game day. This is an easy, filling baked bean dip that doesn’t require a lot of hands on time in the kitchen, leaving you plenty of time to wish you hadn’t benched that no-good crumb-bum Kenny Britt on your fantasy team. Adding chimichurri sauce to the beans not only brings a lot of extra flavor to the little legumes, it also works to thin out the mixture to make for easier chip scooping.

Roasted Garlic Cheese Spread: Fancy Football Foodie
Roasted Garlic Cheese Spread: Fancy Football Foodie

Over the years I’ve found sometimes it’s good to have a snack that it a little more substantial than chips and dip between a big football brunch and the late-afternoon or evening football meal. Items that satiate small nagging hunger without spoiling your appetite later. Luxurious creamy French cheese infused with the flavors of roasted garlic, herbs and crisp white wine spread over crostini or crackers fit the bill perfectly, and if you’re watching the game with your in-laws, makes your game day feel a little classier than the usual canned-salsa-in-Velveeta routine.

Pasta Chips: Football Foodie Snacks
Pasta Chips: Football Foodie Snacks

Sports can make you a nervous eater. Salt is good. Crunch is even better.

Unfortunately plain chips –  while delicious — don’t quite give the full emotional satisfaction of a hard crunch and aren’t filling enough to signal any sort of “stop you’ve had enough!” reaction until you’ve consumed the whole bag watching Peyton Manning being sacked for about the twentieth time. Season corned chips are better this way, but are covered with so much salt you don’t taste anything after about fifteen minutes and you may as well just go eat the rock salt in the garage. (Not that I’ve ever done that, but let me say that if you do try it, make sure it’s the plain rock salt and not the kind that has chemicals added to it for easier ice melting. Not that I’ve ever done that.)

This is why pasta chips are great for stressed sports eaters like myself.  They have a thick, hard crunch with heat from the red pepper flakes, depth from the thyme and rosemary, brightness from basil and just enough salt to balance out your drink.

Roasted Jalapeno Avocado Dip: Football Foodie Kickoff
Roasted Jalapeno Avocado Dip: Football Foodie Kickoff

College football kicks off tonight, which means our crazier friends are crazier than usual getting ready for the start of their football season. While there is a lot of overlap between college and pro fans, they are on the whole, different breeds of fanatics. Of course they are of the same football code and one group is not any better or worse than the other, but mannerisms — the shibboleth — are what make the two groups different, although I would like to think we’re the same on situational bourbon.

Artichoke and Leek Goat Cheese Spread: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes
Artichoke and Leek Goat Cheese Spread: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

Tender artichoke hearts are given a boost by bright lemon juice, herbs and meaty olives while tender leeks give a nice sweetness and tang without the overpowering taste of onion in this great cheese blend. Make a day or two ahead of time to save time and sanity on game day!

Chicken Tikka Masala Wraps: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes
Chicken Tikka Masala Wraps: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

There are few things my husband likes more than chicken tikka masala, so when the first weekend without Steeler football came around this postseason, I knew I needed to make something a little special to cheer him up for watching a black and gold-less football game. When we had visited Harrod’s in London last fall, I had seen some beautiful chicken tikka masala wrapped in kubus bread in their great hall of food and knew immediately I wanted to try to make them some point this season for the living room-gating. Kubus bread is a sort of pita flat bread from the Middle East, but I found that using lavish, pita and naan are good substitutes. With this batch, I did a mix of lavish wraps (easier to serve and handle at a party) and chicken tikka masala served with naan for people to scoop and wrap as they please.

The chicken tikka itself is delicious, so if you want to skip the whole hullabaloo of making masala sauce and wraps, just make chicken tikka kebabs instead. There is nothing quite like the mix of spices that flavor tikka and masala, so don’t worry if it’s the first time you’ve ever bought garam masala to make a dish. After you figure out how easy and great it is to cook with the spice mixture, you’re going to go through the whole bottle in no time.

Ancho and Guajillo Chile Chicken Enchilada Dip: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes
Ancho and Guajillo Chile Chicken Enchilada Dip: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

Tacos and burritos are always a hit at any Super Bowl party, but for me? I love, love, love, love enchiladas. Unfortunately making our usual breakfast enchiladas doesn’t really lend itself to a night game and big platters of enchiladas can be hard to serve at a party, not to mention time consuming to wrap all the enchiladas.

Which is why a enchilada dip made from scratch is the way to go. You get the rich taste of the ancho chiles, the heat from the guajillos chiles, rich cheese, smoky cumin all over a nice base of tomato. It’s filling, tasty, and feeds a crowd. This particular batch? Was perfect New Year’s Day drinking and watching football food.

If you like, you can make the enchilada sauce a day or two ahead of time and refrigerate for when you are ready to make your dip. Want to make it vegetarian? Use vegetable stock in place of chicken stock and substitute out chicken with a few cans of rinsed pinto or black beans

Spicy Pickle Dip: The 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes
Spicy Pickle Dip: The 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

It’s true, pickle dip is generally considered one of the more Canadian-centric snacks of North America, like poutine and, um, poutine, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t one the most perfect chip dips for football. Canadians and the CFL get many things right — overtime rules, letting teams with better records in one division bump out weaker teams from another division in the playoffs, one year split of paternity and maternity leave for new parents — so we shouldn’t be so quick to judge this potato adornment from the north.

Htipiti – Greek feta and roasted red pepper delight: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes
Htipiti – Greek feta and roasted red pepper delight: 28 Days of Super Bowl Recipes

One of he nicer things about serving htipiti as a football snack is that it never feels too heavy. The lemon and the heat of the peppers give a freshness to the feta that almost makes the dip feel refreshing. A palate cleanser almost between more substantial snacks, if you will.

New Year’s Day Lucky Black-Eyed Peas Dip with Chorizo
New Year’s Day Lucky Black-Eyed Peas Dip with Chorizo

It’s about the time of the year when fellow football fans start asking if I have any good black-eyed peas recipe for New Year’s Day. (For those of you who do not know the history of black-eyed peas, in many cultures around the world, from the Middle East to the American South, eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is thought to bring prosperity in the New Year.) Since Smoky Cowboy Caviar is only recipe I have ever posted involving the storied pea, I thought it was high-time to add another one to the catalog, especially with so many crucial Week 17 games heading our way on New Year’s Day. If I was a Raiders/Chargers/Eagles/Giants/Cowboys/Jets/Bengals fan, I’d plan on eating a tray or two of this dip on January 1, 2012.

Smoky Chipotle Bacon Pimento Cheese
Smoky Chipotle Bacon Pimento Cheese

Smoky Bacon Chipotle Pimento Cheese will probably go down as the easiest and yet most satisfying of all the Football Foodie recipes all season. The smoky cheddar comes alive in the cream cheese and mayonnaise, the heat of the chipotle tempered by the sweet and salty bacon. Delight in a dish.

Maple Sage Sweet Potato Chips
Maple Sage Sweet Potato Chips

Before I start into this Friday’s Football Foodie, I’d like to take a second an express a little sympathy for our basketball loving friends who experienced a pretty tough blow this week when NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled the first two weeks of the NBA season due to lockout. Fans will lose 100 hundred games and seasonal employees will probably go without work the nights games were scheduled as it is unlikely building management will be able to arrange for a Disney on Ice or concert to fill those dates on such short notice.

Homemade Roasted Salsas
Homemade Roasted Salsas

Once I started messing around with Josh’s basic salsa recipe, I found my own way to make both a hot and mild salsa perfect for game day. It’s easy to make ahead of time and yields far more salsa for your dollar than anything in a jar.

(Although a great salsa recipe didn’t prevent Josh from drafting both CJ Spiller and Braylon Edwards.)

Greek Nachos
Greek Nachos

Over the summer I was one involved in a pretty serious debate about what was the perfect bar food for watching sports. The usual suspects had their supporters; wings, mozzarella sticks, personal pizza (awful, never in my life have I had good bar pizza) and rather vocal contingent for fried pickles that oddly enough, was not headed-up by me.

Me? Nachos. Nachos go with sports like all the cliched pairings you can think of to list here. Hearty, cheesy, salty, doesn’t need silverware, some vegetables; plus they’re cheap and easy to make. Sometimes though, you don’t want something as heavy as typical bean and cheese styled nachos.

Derby Disasters: Kentucky Beer Cheese
Derby Disasters: Kentucky Beer Cheese

You may find yourself face to face this Derby weekend with one of the worst of sports snacks of all time. One that should be avoided at all costs whether it be homemade or store bought. Traditional recipe? Modern (read: fancy) recipe? Served with pretzels, crudites or chips, nothing is going to save this food.

Kentucky Beer Cheese, also known as Kentucky Ale Cheese.

On paper, this should be one of my favorite snacks of all time. It’s made with cheese blended in cheese with even more cheese whipped in with beer and spices. But it’s not. It’s awful.

Tomato-Cannellini Dip
Tomato-Cannellini Dip

In the four-plus years of doing the Football Foodie, I’ve tried to make a point out of not relying on a lot of kitchen appliances in the recipes I post. Stove, oven; heavy pan for frying instead of a deep fryer, knife or pastry blender instead of a food processor. I haven’t always succeeded. The mini-chopper is used quite often, as is the stick blender and the mixer, and yes, a traditional blender. My thinking has always been that most of my readers are young, may not have a huge kitchen (I certainly don’t), and might be single sports fans with just a knife and a can opener.

Why the explanation? Because it’s the second post in a row using my new food processor and I’m feeling guilty for getting away from one of my own personal guidelines. Just know that a good pastry blender or potato masher can work just as well as a food processor/blender/stick blender/mini-chopper with this recipe.

Toasted Sesame Edamame Dip With Wonton Chips
Toasted Sesame Edamame Dip With Wonton Chips

We’ve been experiencing a bit of radio silence over here in Football Foodie land after the Super Bowl, and for that I apologize. I’ve been trying to wrap up a few other projects this month that sadly don’t involve cooking and posting recipes, but now that it’s Bracket Season* we all have an excuse for a little extra snacking to go along with our sports.

There is still time to make a chèvre cheese plate
There is still time to make a chèvre cheese plate

Maybe you’re like me and completely worn out. Maybe you haven’t even started getting your Super Bowl snacks together. Maybe you have got your snacks together, but you feel your table needs just a little something more. Maybe you already ate the snacks you made.

You still have time to make a chèvre cheese plate. Creamy goat cheese cut in to rounds and rolled in herbs and pepper, topped with olives or preserves, plain or with honey.

What Happens When A Yankee Makes Pimento Cheese
What Happens When A Yankee Makes Pimento Cheese

When football and foodie raconteur The Gurgling Cod declared November Pimento Cheese Awareness Month, I was intrigued. All I knew about pimento cheese was that it was the stuff sold in small jars next to the Velveeta and that you’d see it in Southern cookbooks, often served on crustless white bread. I figured it was something reserved for ladies who lunch and The Masters. Turns out, people take pimento cheese very seriously.

Baba Ghanoush
Baba Ghanoush

Lots of recipes that involve eggplant list all the ways you can help keep your eggplant from turning bitter. Resting them in salt, water, then salt again, waving a candle over the vegetable and saying a prayer, what have you. To be honest, I’ve never encountered a bitter eggplant so I don’t worry about all those steps, but you can go through the anti-bitter rituals if you like.

Also, some baba ghanoushes are fluffy white, some are nutty brown. They both taste the same, so don’t worry too much about the color here.

You will need…

Creamy Hot Hoagie Dip
Creamy Hot Hoagie Dip

Yes, hoagie dip recipes are not new. What bothers me about all the hoagie dip recipes out there is that they are cold. Cold cuts, cold dressing — some creamy, some oil based, and tossed like an antipasta.

Cold is not a hoagie. Cold is a sandwich.

Spicy Roasted Vegetable Dip
Spicy Roasted Vegetable Dip

So, it’s the first weekend of the playoffs and you’re trying to stick with some sort of New Year’s resolution to lose a few pounds, or at the very least, not gain any new pounds. Maybe you have already pinned your swimsuit to the wall as a reminder that summer will be here sooner rather than later, living your life like a “thin-perational” ad for either Special K or Yoplait. And here at TSW HQ (am I still allowed to stay that?) I don’t judge. Or at least, I try not to. It’s hard to not roll one’s eyes at hamburger stuffed with bacon, wrapped in bacon served on a bacon donut bun or conversely, 54 calorie grungy tap water beer.

Shredded Chicken Mole Chili Frito Pie
Shredded Chicken Mole Chili Frito Pie

Listen, so the Steelers lost last weekend to the Saints and there are about a dozen things to be upset about in the loss, but there are about a million more reasons why not to be too upset. The week before, I even stated that if the Browns upset the Saints — which they did — it was very bad news for Pittsburgh.

To be honest, after most regular season losses I can recall very little of the actual game after a couple of days. Glimpse here, moment there, bad call, bad break, feelings of dread, which players struggled, who on the opposing team was suddenly a superstar, but mostly nothingness. I don’t think I could count the number games I’ve been to, watched on television, or listened to on the radio over the years. At home. At parties. At the office. Tailgating. On the road. High school. College. Pro. Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Regular season Steeler losses somehow all blur together over the past [redacted for age] years as a thin, black thread of empty memories.

Roasted Garlic Hummus
Roasted Garlic Hummus

If you are buying pre-made hummus, you are overpaying for your football snack.

$4.99-$8.99 for a paltry 7 ounce container of hummus is Al Davis paying for JaMarcus Russell or Gibril Wilson. Shameful.

Beans or chickpeas? Cheap. Lemon juice? Cheap. Garlic? Cheap. Salt and pepper? Cheap. Paprika, cumin and dried herbs for your pita chips? (Do not waste money on store bought baked pita chips!) Very cheap, and even cheaper if you keep away from the spices in fancy glass jars and buy the brands that come in little bags. Salt and pepper? Practically free. Tahini? Okay, tahini isn’t the cheapest thing in the world, but you’ll get a lot use out of it. If you want to go even cheaper, you can toast your own sesame seeds and then blend them together with olive oil to make your own. But still? Cheap-ish.

Chipotle Black Bean Hummus
Chipotle Black Bean Hummus

Making your own hummus is like getting LaMarr Woodley for half a million.

First up, a spin on traditional hummus, Chipotle Black Bean Hummus. As far as I can tell, as long as you include tahini, you can call it all hummus. Tahini in your morning coffee? It’s hummus.

Hot Pastrami Reuben Dip
Hot Pastrami Reuben Dip

I love this recipe. I spent my whole childhood hating the Reuben casserole my mom would make (mostly because it had corned beef, Swiss and way too much sauerkraut, things I don’t particularly like), but in this incarnation I love Reubens.

Unfortunately, I now have to temporarily hate Hot Pastrami Reuben Dip because it’s what I made on Sunday when the Steelers lost to the Ravens in a most spectacular implosion of mismanagement and undisciplined play in the final couple of minutes of the game. (Even worse, now my new Steelers headband has unfortunately moved to 3-1 this season.) To some football fans, complaining about 3-1 may sound spoiled or insincere. It’s not. Not when you had a chance to defeat your fiercest division rival — sorry Browns — who were an early pick to go to the Super Bowl. The Steeler fan’s chip-on-the-shoulder-why-does-no-one-respect-our-team never really ever goes away, and in my case, this grudge is going to be taken out on a dip.

Homemade French Onion Dip
Homemade French Onion Dip

This week’s Friday Football Foodie is French Onion Dip.  Oh sure, you can just take the packet of Lipton’s French Onion Soup, stir it into a 16 oz container of sour cream and call it a day. It’s not a bad dip, but it sure as hell is not a good one either.  (Also, because the Lipton dip is rather salty, you keep kind of going back for more and more and more and more and more AND OH MY GOD SARAH WILL STEP AWAY FROM THE DIP ALREADY!  THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE AT THIS HALLOWEEN PARTY.)

Making French Onion Dip from scratch allows the natural sweetness of the onion to come through, and pairs much better with vegetables.  This is also another one you want to make at least a day ahead of time to give all the flavors a chance to open up and develop.

Sage, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto Crostini
Sage, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto Crostini

Some people love prosciutto wrapped around cantaloupe.  Now I love cured meats and I love cantaloupe, but football foodie rules clearly state all melons served in conjunction with football watching  must be properly soaked with Popov first.  Hopefully you are not combining a handle of anything with your food that costs less than the prosciutto.

Artichoke, Olives, and Capers Crostini
Artichoke, Olives, and Capers Crostini

It is incredibly important to have a sound base.  A solid running game (THAT CAN PICK UP TWO YARDS ON THIRD DOWN MISTER-BRUCE-THROW-TO-THE-END-ZONE-ARIANS), some money stashed away in savings just in case you quit your day job, and bread that has been properly toasted.

Mexican Fondue
Mexican Fondue

Mexican Fondue, a nice variation of spinach artichoke dip. Consider it the wildcat formation of hot dips. Seen here with its buddy guacamole, aka Shotgun Dip.

Hot Pizza Dip
Hot Pizza Dip

And naturally, what do you do? How do you hide the nagging voice in your head telling you Bruce Arians has no idea what he’s doing with an offense? Well, you can bang your head on the wall continuously (as my boyfriend does), or you lose yourself in the food (like I do). Drown in the comfort of warm, cheese-infused, dip-friendly goodness. Ah. That’s more like it. What’s that you say? Nine sacks, intentional grounding, four QB runs? It’s all good when you’ve got a friend like hot pizza dip.

 

Spinach-Artichoke Dip
Spinach-Artichoke Dip

This recipe was given to me from a friend – who can be seen in the background of the homemade corn dog FFF – who got it from Cooking Light magazine. It is possibly the best spinach dip recipe I’ve ever come across and works just as well if you make it their “light” way or if you go ahead and use full fat cheese and sour cream. Which I do. And I use way more spinach than they call for.

Lite Veggie Dip, Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Dip
Lite Veggie Dip, Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Put that together with a few parties each week – anything from your friends tree decorating gathering complete with egg nog to the work parties that by 2am you’re splitting the last bottle of Patron with the blonde in from Annex while gobbling up the last of the Coconut Shrimp – and you’re looking at packing on 5-8 pounds before Nate Washington has dropped his first ball of the game.

Dave’s Hot Beef Dip
Dave’s Hot Beef Dip

Dave first posted the recipe for the Hot Beef Dip back for Super Bowl XL – predicting a Steelers’ win, naturally – but this recipe is really too good to wait for a special event game, especially as we head into fall and heartier football snacking.

9-Layer Ranchero Dip Kickoff Special
9-Layer Ranchero Dip Kickoff Special

Mix together mayo, sour cream, and taco seasoning in a bowl. Remember how I said I usually double this mix? Much like coach Belichick and the injury report, I lied. I always double the amount of sour cream and mayo, and then usually use about a packet and a half of taco seasoning. (Really to taste, but remember the longer this sits, the more the spices will open up on the cream so do not over do it. ) You can also make your own taco seasoning by mixing together paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder if you happen to have all the above on hand.

Buffalo Chicken Dip
Buffalo Chicken Dip

Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling at the edges, and then add your cheese on top. If you add it any sooner, it will form a hard crust on top, and no one needs to have to struggle with a dip when it is already a struggle to watch Nate Washington drop the ball. Again.

One Response to Dips and Spreads

  1. Charity says:

    Really like your recipes and the style of your blog. It looks like you get right down to business. I appreciate the sports slant and the refreshing lack of girly/I’ve read this same narrative before a million times approach!

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