Give one or more of these appetizing starters or nighttime snacks a try during your next camping trip.
By Janet Groene, F47166
November 2013
Dips are an essential food for those who enjoy the easygoing motorhome life. Friends and family gather around to share a dipping snack, appetizer, dessert, or even a main course. Our small dinette seats four comfortably but is small enough that everyone can reach the cheese fondue. While outdoors at the campsite, it’s easy to put a dip or two on the table where everyone can breeze past to grab a bite while tending the grill or setting up a potluck.
Hot Crab Dip
Flake the crabmeat to make scooping easier. This recipe calls for robust scoopers such as celery, carrots, sweet pepper wedges, or Triscuits.
2 5-ounce cans crabmeat
1 8-ounce package cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 tablespoon dried onion bits
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
Drain and pick over the crabmeat and flake it with a fork to break up the large bits. In the microwave oven, heat the cream cheese with the milk and onion bits until the cheese melts. Stir in the horseradish and the crabmeat and heat in the microwave oven until hot. The dish also can be baked for 10 to 15 minutes at 375 degrees.
Spicy Chicken Dip
Make this for a potluck or for a family meal. It’s good with chunks of crusty bread or bread sticks. To shave calories, serve it with cut-up raw vegetables.
2 12-ounce cans chunk chicken
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 cup ranch dressing
½ cup hot sauce (more or less to taste)
Drain the juice from the canned chicken into a microwavable bowl and add the cream cheese. Heat the mixture for a few seconds in the microwave oven to soften it. Stir in the dressing and hot sauce. Break up the chicken and fold it into the cream cheese mixture. At this point, the dip can be refrigerated for later use. To proceed, spread the mixture in a buttered pie dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.
Ciao Chili Dip
This Italian-accented dish can be scooped up with tortilla chips, pieces of celery, green pepper wedges, or endive leaves.
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon mixed Italian seasoning
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
Water or broth
1 8-ounce brick cream cheese, cut up
Fry the meat in hot oil, breaking it up into crumbles. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except for the cream cheese. Bring the mixture to a low boil, adding a little water or broth if it is too thick. Cover; reduce heat; and cook for five to 10 minutes until the meat is done and the onions are tender. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it melts. Serve warm with your choice of scoopers. This recipe makes four to six servings.
Kale And Artichoke Dip
This recipe is from a new book, Slow Cooking for Two (see book description elsewhere in the column).
1 6-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 8-ounce package cream cheese, cut up
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced, or ½ teaspoon bottled minced garlic
2 cups chopped fresh kale
Mist the inside of a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add all ingredients and stir well to mix. Cover and cook on low for 1½ hours, stirring halfway through the cooking time. Turn the heat setting to warm and dip in with crusty bread or crackers.
Hot Corn Dip
Frying corn in butter gives this dip a completely different look and flavor.
1/2 stick butter
1 16-ounce bag whole-kernel corn, thawed and well drained
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small red pepper, finely diced
1 small green pepper, finely diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup mayonnaise
1 16-ounce package shredded cheese, such as Cheddar or Monterey Jack
Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet, and stir-fry the vegetables and garlic until they are nicely browned. Turn off the heat and stir in the mayonnaise and then the cheese. Put the mixture in one or two buttered pie dishes. At this point, the mixture can be refrigerated to heat later. To proceed, bake for 20 to 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with your favorite scoopers.
Hot Onion Dip
This recipe has been bouncing around the camper-sphere for a while, but it’s still a winner. Provide sturdy dippers such as carrot and celery chunks, round tortilla chips, or extra-thick potato chips. The recipe easily can be doubled.
1 cup real mayonnaise
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
1 8-ounce package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
Mix everything in a 9-inch pie dish. It can be heated in the microwave oven until bubbly, but it turns out better when baked, because a golden brown crust forms on top. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve hot and reheat as necessary. This recipe makes approximately 1½ cups of dip.
Redneck Caviar
This golden oldie is often used as a relish. Serve it as a snack or make it into a cold, vegetarian main dish by providing plenty of scoopers.
2 15-ounce cans black-eyed peas
1 bunch scallions
1 small can diced chilies, well drained
1 tablespoon dried cilantro or 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 cup bottled vinaigrette salad dressing
Drain, rinse, and drain the peas. Thinly slice the white and light green parts of the scallions. Mix everything and chill overnight or up to three days in a tightly sealed container, tipping occasionally to spread the flavors. Drain and place in a bowl surrounded by tortilla chips. This recipe makes approximately 4 cups.
Variation: Add ½- to 1 cup cooked black quinoa to the mixture. The pearly grains add to the “caviar” legend.
Fiesta Dip
1 cup Greek-style yogurt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans whole-kernel corn with red and green peppers (Mexicorn)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with onion and green pepper, drained
1 small can diced chilies, drained
1 8-ounce package shredded Mexican blend cheese
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt and garlic powder. Fold in the remaining ingredients and serve with corn chips.
Blue Cheese Dip
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1 small jar diced pimentos, well drained (optional)
Whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Fold in the blue cheese and pimentos. Serve with crackers or crudités.
Fresh Fruit Dip
This quick, no-cook dip can be fat-free, yet it adds a decadent creaminess to fresh fruit bits.
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream (regular, low-fat, or no-fat)
2 tablespoons brown sugar or more to taste
½ cup strawberry jam (can be low- or no-sugar)
Whisk the sour cream and brown sugar to mix well, then whisk in the strawberry jam. Serve as a dip with fresh strawberries or other fruit.
Dipped Fruit Poppers
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon butter-rum flavoring
1 package dried plums
1 package dried apricots
In the microwave oven, melt the chocolate chips and butter on the high setting, turning and stirring every 30 seconds until everything is melted. Stir in the flavoring. Dip each piece of dried fruit in the melted chocolate, leaving one-third of the fruit exposed. Arrange the fruit on waxed paper and allow the chocolate to harden.
Tipsy Fruit Dip
If you don’t use alcoholic beverages, substitute apple juice concentrate plus a teaspoon of butter-rum flavoring.
1 14-ounce package caramel candies
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons butterscotch schnapps, rum, or orange liqueur
Melt the caramels and butter in the microwave oven, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Stir in the schnapps or other liqueur. Keep warm and serve as a dip with apple slices.
Books For Cooks
Two new titles have been released in the collectible American Antiquarian Cookbook series: The Frugal Housewife ($22.99) and The Picayune’s Creole Cook Book ($40) from Andrews McMeel Publishing. No other series is quite like this one.
Pages from very, very old cookbooks were photographed complete with age stains. They are readable, quaint as a bonnet, and the handsome gold-trimmed covers add a look of prestige to any bookshelf. As cookbooks, they are interesting but not very practical for today’s chefs. As armchair reading, they are a treasure. Many of the tips and techniques used years ago are still valid and need to be revisited by travelers who like to explore regional cuisine. The books are available from the publisher at www.andrewsmcmeel.com, at bookstores, or through online booksellers.
At last, there is a slow-cooker cookbook for couples. Slow Cooking for Two by Cynthia Graubart ($19.99, Gibbs Smith) is a handsome, hardcover book sturdy enough for years of travel use. It’s packed with color photos, inventive recipes, and clear instructions for making dozens of fabulous dishes. Most are prepared in a 3 1/2-quart cooker and are sized for twosomes. The author’s best recipes are “two-fers,” in which she develops two completely different recipes to cook side by side in one slow cooker, using two liners. This book can be purchased through the publisher at www.gibbs-smith.com, at bookstores, and through online booksellers.
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