tradition & cheating

For a long time, I didn't like tomatoes because of their texture. I've since come around, but I'm still not ready to cook with them, I think. So my offering for the last week of SummerFest 09 is a little bit of a cheat. I know, I know, again. The recipe calls for salsa, but I think a less chunky version goes best and without some sort of food processor it seems hard to accomplish. Excuses, excuses, yeah. But enough of my cheating - here are salsa recipes from epicurious, or check out the other SummerFest entries - and let's move on to my own recipe.

When I was younger, my mother would make a dip for New Year's Eve every year, eaten somewhere between dinner time and the ball dropping. It was the only time of year she made it, and so we - or at least I - looked forward to it every year. Somewhere along the line, though, that changed - I think it was when I went off to college, and when my mom asked what sorts of foods I might want on my return visits, I started requesting taco dip.


And then I moved off-campus and finally had a kitchen of my own. So I asked my mom to send the recipe and got that index card shown above in the mail. I made it and probably foisted it upon my friends a few times. At my old job, I brought it for lunch a few times and one especially colorful coworker insisted on trying it. I told her it was my momma's recipe and she said, "Well, tell your momma you did a fantastic job! It's delicious!"



Taco Dip

This recipe started off - as far as my history with it goes, I'm not sure where my mom got it - as something my mom would make for office parties, always a smash hit. It also halves wonderfully for a smaller serving (which is great when you're cooking for one).

8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. sour cream
1 pkt. taco seasoning (or about 4 tsp. Mexican seasoning)

Combine all of the ingredients, making sure to mix thoroughly. Place in the refrigerator overnight to set. Using the dip as the first layer, add as many layers as desired of salsa, lettuce, and/or cheese! Serve with tortilla chips.