If you’re not bringing a dessert tray everywhere you go this season, then maybe you’re the designated appetizer bringer. Sometimes, it’s really fun to make one-bite appetizers that impress — and a post on those will follow. This time of year, I admit that I get lazy and opt for a dip.
I love a traditional hummus (I’ve even got my perfect recipe for hummus, though I suspect I add more lemon now than I did when I wrote that recipe) but this recipe for Moroccan bean dip caught my eye. It’s chick peas and yogurt, with spices and seasonings (like cumin) that sound scrumptious to me.
Back to hummus for a moment — if it’s too passe for you, try dressing it up with these ideas for hummus to impress, or make my favorite recipe for black bean hummus.
It doesn’t get a lot easier than this herbed goat cheese dip — fresh herbs and sun-dried tomatoes stirred into goat chevre … that’s it.
Sometimes, I don’t want a brown rice cracker or vegetables as my dipper … I crave a corn chip. That’s how I discovered Nigella Lawson’s red kidney bean dip, which I love and make often. I’ve yet to make this chipotle black bean dip, but they even give a recipe for your own (healthier!) corn chips as an accompaniment. It’s on my list for sure.
Or if you want to scoop up some dip with potato chips, try this caramelized onion dip (thank you, Heidi Swanson) that my brother made this weekend. The amount of dairy in it nearly sent me to the hospital, but it was so delicious. Why would anyone use a packet of onion soup mix when this four-ingredient recipe tastes so much better?
The layered Mexican dip has been done to death (um … ’cause it’s delicious), so in the interest of a new twist on a classic, this eight-layer Mediterranean dip will shake things up. Hummus, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives, yogurt, spinach, feta, roasted red peppers and green onions … yes, I’m drooling just a little.
Sweet pea guacamole is not a healthy substitute for the gift from the gods that is an avocado guacamole, as some may try to convince you. It is a different dip altogether, but it is addictingly delicious and you’ll not want to cease scooping this into your mouth.
White beans can become anything — a white bean roasted red pepper dip, a white bean dip with garlic and fresh herbs, even six easier than sin white bean dips, including pesto white bean dip and Caesar white bean dip. Please tell me a can of white beans (or two … or seven) is a staple in your pantry.
Black-eyed peas aren’t a common dip ingredient, which is why this black-eyed pea pate with pickled onions caught my eye. It’s suggested that you serve it on flatbreads, but I’d present it as a dip with crackers and veggie rounds and let my guests have at it.
I love this mayo-free recipe for shrimp dip — Neufchatel cheese, plain yogurt, scallions and a few other easy ingredients make the dip appealing to mayophobes like me.
If you didn’t find a recipe here, well, you’ve got a problem … but you could always check these nineteen easy and festive appetizer ideas to secure your position in the dip-obsessed fan club. I’m a charter member.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Dec 24, 2010 @ 14:32 EST5EDT
