One of the best parts of a cocktail party, aside from the cocktails of course, are the delicious appetizers. Snacks, dips, and the occasional cheese board bring people together, create conversation starters and of course show off your skills as a host or hostess. For anyone who is a fan of Central Market’s Love Dip, you may think the recipe lies deep in a dark vault along alongside the formula for Coke and the Ark of the Covenant, but the truth is closer than you think. Instead of paying $5.99 a pound for this dip, make it yourself for much cheaper and everyone will be begging for the recipe! Most of the ingredients (if not all) are already in your kitchen; you may add or improvise if you favor certain flavors over the ones in the recipe. Salsa, Neufchâtel cheese, (it’s like the lower fat version of cream cheese), lemon juice, minced garlic, cayenne pepper and hot sauce are the base ingredients; obviously you do not have to add the spicy ingredients if you are wanting a milder dip. You could even blend the ingredients and then only put the spicy ingredients in half of it so that guests would be able to choose the dip more to their liking. As dipping sticks I recommend Stacey’s Pita Chips, if you prefer salty snacks, tortillas chips work well; for the healthier eaters I would say carrots, celery and cucumbers make ideal vessels for this dip. Once you dip in, you will fall head over heels for this tasty treat!
Recipe:
½ cup chunky salsa
1 block Neufchâtel (or cream cheese)
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tbsp. hot sauce (Valentina or Tabasco)
Allow cheese to set out for 30 minutes before so it will be easier to mix. Combine all ingredients except block of cheese together. Gently fold combined ingredients into the softened cheese until dip becomes a creamy pink consistency. Enjoy!
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