I made this dip for a football party a few weeks back, and it turns out it was a favorite in somebody else’s house, too. I hope you give this olive dip recipe a try at your home and tell me how it goes.

But before I share the recipe…have you shared your favorite Super Bowl dip recipe yet? Dipstock is going on RIGHT now. By sharing a link on the Master Super Bowl Dip List or posting the recipe to the Saucy Dipper Facebook page you could win a dip tray and a free shipment of endive from Discover Endive. Share your favorite dip recipe before February 9 to win.

This recipe was inspired by Lighter and Local’s Creamy Olive and Feta Dip

But a few months back while on Twitter I met someone. I met @DiscoverEndive. Actually, I met Casey who works to help get the word out about endives. And that’s when things changed for me…

Turns out there’s a whole world of things you can do with endives. I know now that I’ve experimented with them more. In fact, I spent an entire Sunday afternoon doing nothing but dip and endive experimentation. I basically emptied the fridge and went to town.

But before I share those dip recipes, let’s first talk about using endives as a dipper.

Five Reasons You Should Dip with Endive

1. An endive has 17 calories. (That’s why they call it the slimmer dipper.)

2. Carrots and celery have had their hay day. It’s time to make room for a new veggie on that relish tray.

3. Endives are versatile. I’ve dipped an endive in both sweet and savory dips and found them both delightful. (Might be due to the fact that an endive is both sweet and bitter tasting.)

4. Endive is a fun word to say. Certainly more fun than saying “cracker.”

5. They’re available year round.

Bonus Reason: Discover Endive is the Super Bowl Dipstock Sponsor!

In case you haven’t heard, we’ve got a Dipstock happening RIGHT NOW. You can read all about how to enter (and how to get prizes from Discover Endive) over on this post about Super Bowl dip ideas.

The Endive Dipping Experience

An endive is about three inches long (give or take) with a firmer, crisper, and bitter-tasting bottom end and a softer, bendier, and sweeter-tasting top end. I found it’s best to use the firmer end to drown in the dip and then eat the other half on a second dip-less bite. A dip free bite is a nice way to clear the palette. Plus, remember that double dipping is dangerous.

Three Dips Made for the Endive

Now back to that Sunday afternoon where I dipped with endives like I’ve never dipped before. Here are three dips that I think work just about perfectly with an endive.

Light Ranch Dip

Ingredients:

*1 c. cottage cheese

*1/4 c. raisins

*1 small celery stalk, finely chopped

*1 tbsp. powder ranch seasoning mix

Instructions: Mix well and serve with endive!

Spicy Pineapple Dip Over Pancetta and Endive

Dip ingredients:

*1 c. pineapple

*1 large jalapeno

*1/4 c. cream cheese

Instructions for dip: Blend all ingredients together using hand blender. Place two pieces of pancetta on an endive and then spoon the dip over the pancetta.

The shipment of endives I received from Discover Endive* actually came from their parent company, California Vegetable Specialties. Seeing the word “California” and then munching on this fruity dip really got me thinking  about warmer days. It seemed only right that I break out the Hawaiian t-shirt plate.

Isn’t it darling?

A Greek-Food Lovers Dip

Ingredients:

*1, 5 oz. container plain Greek yogurt

*1/4 c. feta crumbles

*1/8 c. sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped

*1 garlic clove, minced

*2 tbsp. parsley, roughly chopped

*salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Mix all ingredients together with a spoon taking care to leave feta crumbles in tact. This dip is better chunky. If you like your dips spicy hot, then throw in a few splashes of hot sauce to heat things up. I did and it was a nice touch.

This last dip was my husband’s favorite. Even he–a true tortilla chip fanatic–enjoyed dipping with an endive. Although he didn’t really like it when I forgot I had just finished chopping jalapenos and splashed water on his face. Sorry, honey!

*Disclosure: Discover Endive provided the endives in exchange for this post.

As a result of my love for football party dip a Super Bowl Dipstock only seems logical. So, here we are a few weeks from the Super Bowl and I’ve made Dipstock easier than ever.

All you have to do is share one of your favorite Super Bowl dip recipes and add a link to this post below. If you don’t have a blog, you can still participate. Click here to read all the Super Bowl Dipstock details.)

The first 20 participants will get this groovy dip tray from Dipstock sponsor, Discover Endive…

Oooh. Ahhh.

And one lucky participant will receive a shipment of endives from Discover Endive. I’ll pick the winner randomly on February 9.

You heard me. You have until February 8 to share your dip recipe by adding your link to the bottom of this post or by submitting it here. What are you waiting for?

If you’re at a loss for Dipstock game day dip ideas, try one of these. They’re classic Super Bowl dip recipes.

How to make guacamole

How to make potato chip dip

How to make pizza dip

How to make refried bean seven layer dip

How to make Mediterranean seven layer dip

How to make Buffalo chicken dip

Oh, and I’m working on a killer dip perfect for dipping with endive. Stay tuned for that next week.
Update: Here’s the post about how to dip with endive.

Add your link using the Linky Tool directly beneath this line.

My posting frequency may go down even more in the months to come, but never fear. I’m still here. Just a bit inconsistent.

However, I am making time for one of my favorite dip things. A Super Bowl Dipstock!

It’s been a really long time since we’ve had a Dipstock. Don’t you think it’s time? I do. So, get your datebooks out — February 5th is Super Bowl XLVI and the days leading up and the next few days after the Super Bowl will be dip recipe mania here.

Details will be posted to the Dipstock page soon.

Everything tastes better with sauce…and bacon. Right?

This little gem came to me in November while I was spending a crazy amount of time on the couch waiting for baby. Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network made it. And it is GOOD. We’re talking restaurant quality here.

Sorry, I couldn’t find the original recipe on the Food Network site. This is a modified version.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Dips are essential to have on hand while entertaining for the holidays. They keep the snackers and lurkers from coming into the kitchen and getting their grubby hands on the turkey or casserole or pie you’re working so hard on.

In other words, a quick dip or two works as a diversion. Keep your sides and main dishes safe by thinking ahead with dip.

Last year I gave you some easy, sweet fruit dip recipes, and this year I’m treating you to a couple of spicy and savory dips. Again, these dips are super fast to make. I bet you can make put them together in five minutes or less.

Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip

You’ve likely seen this dip recipe before. It’s a tried and true classic.

Ingredients

*1, 8 oz. package of cream cheese

*Roasted raspberry chipotle sauce

Directions: Blend ingredients quickly in food processor or keep cream cheese brick in tact and pour sauce over the cheese. Serve with buttery crackers.

That red raspberry sauce just looks festive.

Fig and Mustard Dip

I found this recipe on the Cabot website. They do dips right over there!

Ingredients

*1/2 cup fig preserves

*2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard

*1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions: Stir together and serve with Swiss cheese and apple slices. To keep your apple from browning, sprinkle lemon juice on the slices.

What says Christmas better than figs? Thank you very much.

That’s why when I learned how stupid easy it is to make sour cream  I just had to tell you about it. It’s the easiness that makes homemade sour cream so amazing.

It’s so easy that I think we should change the saying “easy as pie” to “easy as sour cream.” Seriously. Who is with me?

The real benefit of making your own sour cream is that you forgo the preservatives found in prepared sour cream. Homemade sour cream has a nice crisp bite, but it is not significantly different from full flavor store-bought sour cream.

Here’s how I made sour cream.

I didn’t know that, and I was pleasantly surprised when I bought a completely gutted and ready-to-go chicken for a batch of chicken soup I made recently.

I’m not crazy about canned chicken soup. In fact, I don’t like it at all. That’s why I normally use store-bought stock to make my soups.

But on this day I was feeling adventurous. On this day I wanted to boil Ms. Cockadoodledoo down to the bones instead. It was very rewarding to actually SEE the flavor floating in the stock.

By the way, stock is made by boiling bones, and broth is made by boiling meat. The stock versus broth topic seems like it could easily fall into a heated culinary debate about how to make sauce properly, so I won’t get into too much detail here. My only point is that I’m calling this stock, because I boiled bones.

The recipe for chicken and noodles on the Pioneer Woman looked just about right, so I chose to follow that one relatively close. Here’s the abridged/modified version.

How I Made Chicken Stock and Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

*1 whole chicken

*1 yellow onion, chopped

*3 large carrots, chopped

*3 large celery sticks, chopped

*1tbsp dried Italian seasoning (parsley, oregeno, etc.)

*1 tbsp. dried thyme

*salt and pepper to taste

*1 package egg noodles

Directions:

1. Boil your chicken for 30 minutes in four quarts of water.

2. Remove chicken from water.

3. Use a fork (or fingers) to take the meat from the bone. Return the bones to the bubbling water and boil for 45 minutes.

4. Remove ALL bones from water. (I ran the stock through a strainer to be sure.)

5. Add your mirepoix to the bubbling water. Mirepoix = one onion, three carrots, and three pieces of celery (chopped).

6. Add the spices of your choosing (I chose Italian seasoning, thyme, salt, and pepper, but I don’t think you can ever go wrong. Use the spices you have on hand and prefer with your chicken soup.)

7. Return meat and add noodles to stockpot and simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Eat.

ps – I am not ashamed that I ate THREE rolls that came out of can! A pregnant lady knows what she wants.

First up, baked spinach dip mini bread bowls from the Picky Palate. If you’re not careful with these, you could eat your entire day’s wroth of calories in one sitting. They’re that good.

My mini spinach dip bread bowls were not near as pretty as Picky Palate’s. She measured the dip and the mozzarella perfectly. You’ll have to visit her blog to see what I mean.

Me, on the other hand, I just scooped and sprinkled to my heart’s content. The results were both good (delicious) and bad (messy).

Next up we have brisket dip from Sweet Life. Hopefully you recognize the name of this fantab blogger, since she’s a regular participant of Dipstock. She has some of the most creative ideas, and I seem to like them all. Sweet Life has good food style.

Anyhow, about that dip.

I used my slow cooker to make the brisket. It took all day. Once the brisket was ready I sliced tomatoes and made a quick guacamole to serve alongside the brisket.  Because brisket is too heavy and stringy to dip (I thought so anyway), I neatly placed the brisket, tomatoes, etc. on individual tortilla chips. Then I melted some cheese over the top. Delish!

Last, we have cheesecake stuffed strawberries from Nutmeg Nanny. These beauties don’t need much introduction. I think you can imagine how amazing they are.

After you’ve made the strawberry center hollow, fill it with a cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar mixture. Then sprinkle on some graham cracker crumbs to top it off.

When your friends come over set the plate out and watch them go crazy. If you feed them cocktails before hand, they’ll be extra-enthusiastic about this creative snack.

Do you have any creative dipping and snack ideas? Do tell.

Several days of this proved dangerous. I overdid it. I ate too much pumpkin and haven’t had any since then. At least not until I saw a recipe for pumpkin bacon waffles with pumpkin sauce.

Pumpkin? Bacon? Waffles? How can I say no to that?

So, I didn’t say no. I made my own. But not before coming across an apple pie dip. Amazing.

That got me thinking. If I had to give the fall season ONE flavor that would be tough. But if I could pick two, well, then, apple and pumpkin sauce would be it.

There you have it. I’ve declared apple pumpkin sauce the official flavor of the fall. But one quick word to the wise…don’t over do it. You CAN eat too much pumpkin.

Applesauce Recipe

(Inspired by The Peach Kitchen)

*2 honeycrisp apples, peeled and diced

*2 tbsp lemon juice

*1 tbsp brown sugar

Directions: Place all ingredients in small sauce pan and bring to a slow boil. Reduce to simmer and stir. Once you have a consistency you like, set aside and let cool. Leave as is or throw in food processor for a smooth texture.

Apple-Pumpkin Sauce Recipe

(Inspired by Marybeth on Foodista)

*1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

*1/2 cup apple sauce

*3 tbsp cream cheese

*2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.)

Directions: Place all ingredients in small sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk until smooth.