Sour Cream Dip & Crudites

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