I love a good tail gate party as long as it is indoors. Seriously, though, a great game needs great food and that starts with dips and spreads. Beer too.
Enjoy the fixin’s and the company. Go Team!
Onion Dip
An easy and delicious recipe to scratch that itch of not enough onion dip. I've been known to use it as a spread on sandwiches for it is just that good.
Ingredients
- 1 C Mayonnaise
- 1 C Sour Cream, full fat please
- 2 T Dried Onion Flakes
- 2 t Onion powder
- .25 t Garlic powder
- .25 t Celery Salt
- 1 t Worcestershire Sauce
- q.b. Salt, Pepper
- 1 T Dried parsley or chives
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients into mixing bowl. Whisk well to incorporate. Chill 1 hour or over night.
Recipe Notes
Dips are great places to learn about flavors and textures. Add or subtract ingredients as your preferences suggest. Maybe you would enjoy dried garlic flakes as well as onions flakes. Or add some Tabasco sauce or a dash of malt vinegar. Experiment with flavors based on what tastes good to you.
For a bolder flavor, replace half the onion flakes (or all!) with the Mt Hood Onion rub. The fennel and chervil and other herbs really give it a width on the palate I appreciate.
Enjoy.
I’ve stumbled upon a tweak to the onion dip which is worth mentioning.
Savory Spice’s Mt Hood Toasted Onion Rub. Great onion flavor and that toastiness adds a nice depth
Sorry for the oversight, q b means as needed. It’s an abbreviation for quanto basta.
Buttermilk Dressing
A great basic dressing alone or with any herbs you want to add.
Ingredients
- 1 C Mayonnaise
- .5 C Buttermilk
- 1 T Dried parsley flakes
- .5 t Garlic powder
- .5 t Onion powder
- .5 t Dry mustard powder
- 1 t Fresh chopped herbs Chives or Dill or Cilantro
- Pinch Salt and pepper
- Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients together with a whisk. Allow to stand in the refrigerator for at least half an hour for flavors to develop.
Recipe Notes
This dressing is a bit of a blank canvas, so feel free to let your experimentation go. Add Tabasco for a bit of a kick, or dried onions or additional herbs or even diced roasted red peppers.
Eggplant Dip
The Italians and the French love eggplant and there is a good reason why: it is delicious. This recipe is a good way to get that great flavor on a cracker or piece of bread.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Eggplant sliced lengthwise
- .25 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 oz Diced red onion
- 1 oz Diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 each Diced Jalapeño pepper optional
- 4 oz Sliced mushrooms
- 4 oz Diced tomatoes
- 1/3 C Chopped basil
- 2 t Chopped garlic
- 2 T Chopped fresh oregano or marjoram
- Salt and pepper
- EVOO for sauteing
Instructions
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Heat oven to 350 degrees.
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Brush the cut side of the eggplant with the olive oil. Roast cut side down on a sheet pan for 35-45 minutes or until the eggplant flesh is very soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
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Sauté the onions, mushrooms and peppers in EVOO. When the are translucent, add the garlic and herbs and cook until the garlic is cooked. Allow the vegetable mix to cool.
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Scrape the eggplant from the skins into a stainless steel bowl. Chop the eggplant into small pieces, place in the pan with the vegetables. When all the eggplant it cut, return it to the bowl, mix well with a wooden spoon and adjust the seasoning.
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Place the dip into a container with a cover, seal the container and chill for at lest 1 hour.
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Serve warm or cold with a drizzle of EVOO, chopped parsley and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
Recipe Notes
I prefer the dip served warm to wake up the sleepy flavors. I also find the cheese gets a bit melty and that's just yum.
Serve the dip with crackers or a freshly baked focaccia.
Need more dips choices? Silly question, of course! Here’s my fabulous spinach artichoke dip.
More, you say? Okay, says I. More Condiments.