It’s getting to be that time of year, again — party time. And while I love to try out new recipes for hors d’oeuvres, it’s good to have a few tried and true workhorses on standby. Such is the Sour Cream Dip, always a favorite and literally a blank palette for the cook to experiment with. While Sour Cream Dip works well with chips, it’s particularly good with crudités: cut-up raw (or sometimes blanched) vegetables. This gets some vegetables on the table while still remaining high in decadence.
My basic formula for sour cream dip is 3 parts sour cream and 1 part mayonnaise, for added richness and flavor. If you’d like a tangier dip, substitute plain yogurt for the mayonnaise. Combine ¾ cup sour cream and ¼ cup mayonnaise, and you’ll have enough dip for about 10 people. Mix with 1 tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper, plus other flavorings as desired. Here are some suggestions, to be used in any combination:
- ½ cup blue cheese or feta
- ½ cup smoked fish
- ½ cup minced vegetables, such as cucumber, scallion, onion, bell pepper and/or tomato
- minced garlic and/or fresh herbs, to taste
- 1 tbsp. horseradish or mustard
- up to 2 tbsp. seasoning mix, such as curry powder or Southwest seasoning, to taste
Spicy Italian Sour Cream Dip
Combine:
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 scallion, minced
- 1 tbsp. Italian dressing seasoning (Penzey’s is recommended)
Crudités
With conveniently cut-up and bagged veggies from the grocery store, crudités are a snap to make. But if you want to get a little more creative and put in slightly more work, here are some suggestions:
- No work: pre-bagged broccoli and cauliflower florets, baby carrots, celery sticks, jicama sticks, cherry tomatoes, mushroom caps (will need cleaning, though)
- Some work (cutting up): bell peppers, cucumber, summer squash, zucchini
- Slightly more work (blanching): asparagus spears, green beans, sugar snap peas, snow peas, new potato wedges
- Fun: Scoop out a cabbage, sweet pepper or squash to hold the dip
Filed under: Master Recipes, Recipes, Techniques | Tagged: Appetizers, Crudites, Dips, Home-style, Italian, Make-ahead, Sour cream, Vegetables
YUM! i love this time of year too
we can pack on the pounds guilt free cause everyones doing it! I am definitely an hors d’oeuvres kind of person…
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