email this pageIf turkeys are for Thanksgiving and chocolates are for Valentine’s day, dips are for Super Bowl Sunday. By the end of the game, Americans will have gone through more than 8 million pounds of tortilla chips and thousands of tons of potato chips. Without missing the half-time show or taking their eyes off the field, they will have dipped and scooped and licked the most delectable combinations of homemade and store-bought dips off their fingers.
Dips, a kind of finger food for grownups, have been around for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that the idea of scooping up mounds of savory mixtures became popular. Onion dip, created in 1954 to promote onion soup, was an envelope of soup mix and a container of sour cream. It was a stretch to call it cooking, but that was besides the point. The dip was one of those spur of the moment party foods that everyone seemed to like. Clam dip, another stir-together concoction that was piled onto chips or spread on English muffins and served as canapes, was appealing enough to start a run on canned clams.
Because we cannot imagine a Super Bowl party with just one dip, we’ve created two recipes for the occasion. A garlicky dip with two heads of roasted garlic, goat cheese and sour cream can be made ahead and refrigerated until game time. Creamy enchilada dip, which can be made as long as a week ahead, will remind you of enchilada sauce. If there’s any left after everyone goes home, serve it with pasta or chicken. Dips, like quarterbacks, can do more than one thing.
Creamy Enchilada Dip
Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups lower-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey
2. Add oil to pan, reduce heat and add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes or until golden.
3. Add garlic; cook 20 seconds. Add broth and scrape pan to loosen browned bits.
4. Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin and salt; bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes or until chiles are very soft.
5. Pour mixture into a blender; cool 15 minutes. Process until smooth. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate. When cool, cover with plastic wrap.
6. Just before serving, add sour cream and honey and stir with a whisk. Yield: 2 cups.
Recipe by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, food writers in Colebrook, Conn.
Goat Cheese and Roasted Garlic Dip
Ingredients
7 ounces soft goat cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream
6 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2. Cut off the top quarter of each garlic head. Wrap in foil and roast about 1 hour or until soft. Unwrap and cool 15 minutes.
3. Squeeze garlic pulp into a large bowl; mash. Stir in goat cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, chives, salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to 1 week. Yield: 2 cups.
Recipe by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, food writers in Colebrook, Conn.
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