In addition to childhood deprivation, part of my love for these sorts of dips, I suspect, stems from the fact that I never make them. As many of you know, so many of these most-adored party dip recipes call for opening a pack of soup mix filled mostly with dehydrated ingredients, two days worth of the recommended salt intake, MSG and a host of nitrates and preservatives. While this knowledge never seemed to prevent me from eating these dips — all willpower dissolves when confronted face to face — for many years it prevented me from making them. With the recent success of a homemade sour cream-and-onion dip, however, I am hoping homemade queso dip along with a few other classics might be in my future, with any luck before the Super Bowl. Who knew that real sour cream-and-onion dip is astonishingly easy to prepare and far more delicious than its dried-soup variation? While caramelizing onions takes time — time, not work — throwing together this dip couldn’t be much more difficult than opening a box of instant soup. One bite of this sweet-and-tangy dip atop a salty Ruffles potato chip allayed my fears that my Super Bowl guests, upon observing the spread — my mother’s olivata, my aunt’s whipped feta with roasted red peppers, and not a crock pot in sight — might run out the door. If you feel like going this homemade-sour-cream-and-onion-dip route, rest assured that your guests will feel right at home watching the game. Just don’t forget the Ruffles… for some things there are no substitutes. PS: Another favorite, easy crowd-pleasing party spread: Black Olive Tapenade
5 from 2 reviews Notes: When researching recipes for this dip, I came across a ton of variations, many of which called for additional ingredients such as goat cheese, mayonnaise, dried onion powder, etc. While I thought for sure the goat cheese variation would win me over, none of the variations I tried was as good as this simple combination of equal parts caramelized onions and sour cream, some sort of member of the green onion family — scallions, chives, etc — and a little freshly squeezed lemon juice. I know how hard it is to resist trying out those flashy recipes, but I highly recommend giving this simple recipe a go first.
