Tangy Broccoli Dip & Philly Orange Dip

When I was a teenager, the first kid I ever babysat was a three-year-old boy with a predilection for stripping his clothes off at a moment's notice and a passion for 'dip.' Only to him, any food that was liquid was dip. Syrup, salsa, ketchup, soup, honey, yoghurt and even some solids like cereal all qualified as dip, and his parents used this fascination to get him to eat anything he didn't otherwise want to eat. (Refuse to eat broccoli? Here's some cheese 'dip' for it and now Ben is loving it!). I adored that kid and recently realised he's now old enough to be out of college, so clearly I am an old lady.

In the spirit of that adorable kid, I present to you two pleasingly retro but still tasty dips: one savoury, perfect for spreading on crackers, toast points or veggies, and one sweet, great for dipping berries or other summer fruits. Also the sweet one is literally the only sweet dip I think I've ever tasted in my life, so chances are you've had it before, at least if you grew up in the US in the 1990s.

I had to go to four different grocery stores to find water chestnuts, but I persevered because they seemed like an integral part of a recipe I otherwise had my suspicions about, and I'm glad I powered through, because the water chestnuts provided a much-needed crunch to contrast the creamy smoothness of the dip.

(As a sidenote, why are water chestnuts so hard to find here in Scotland? Chinese restaurants have them, because they come in takeaways all the time so they're obviously not illegal, but my Tesco, Sainsbury's and ScotMid all don't carry them, so I had to go to Waitrose, the rich people grocery store, where I spent more than probably anyone ever should on the wee-est can of water chestnuts I've ever seen.)

I made these both for the same party recently, and the veggie dip was the biggest hit by far. The bread bowl was also a good decision- everyone at the party loved it, and by the end of the night the entire bread bowl and its contents was gone. And honestly, a bread bowl might be the most retro food this side of curly parsley, but I challenge you to find a serving vessel that easy that doubles as a snack in itself.

The fruit dip, while tasty, was definitely the bigger letdown- I guess maybe as a grownup you just realise that fruit is sweet enough on its own and doesn't really need to be dressed up. It was still lovely, but I'd probably bypass it next time (unless I was working with off-season fruit that needed the extra bit of sweetness). Also, probably this is down to the weather, but when I mixed the ingredients as listed in the recipe, the dip was far too thick, so I added some additional orange juice, and by the time I served it, it was too runny to dip, leading to a last minute trip back out for more cream cheese to thicken it back up.

The verdict:
Broccoli Dip:

4 spoons out of five. Although if you were asking our party guests, I think they'd give it 5 spoons.

Orange Dip:

3 spoons out five. It was tasty, but given the issues listed above and the fact that I just feel like fruit doesn't need additional sweetness makes me think this dip was just unnecessary.

Two years ago: Wind Pudding

the recipe:

Tangy Broccoli Dip

the directions:

Cut slice from top of bread loaf, then scoop out bread from inside, leaving a crust at least 1-inch thick.
Cut bread removed from inside into slices or cubes and toast at 175C/350F until golden.
Combine cream cheese, yoghurt, mayonnaise and Tabasco, mixing until well-blended.
Stir in soup mix or spices, water chestnuts and broccoli.
Spoon into bread shell and serve with reserved bread pieces or crackers, and fresh veggies.

the ingredients:

1 round sourdough bread loaf
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 c plain yoghurt
½ c mayonnaise
Dash of Tabasco (or, if you're in the US and have access, hot pepper sauce)
1 pkg vegetable soup mix (or, if you don't have this, then ¼ tsp of each of the following: salt, black pepper, dried garlic, garlic salt, dried parsley, dried chives, onion powder, dried dill)
8 oz water chestnuts, drained and chopped
10 oz frozen broccoli, chopped, thawed and drained
Radishes, cucumbers, carrots and celery for dipping

the recipe:

Philly Orange Dip

the directions:

Stir cream cheese, sugar, orange juice and zest together until well-blended.
Chill at least one hour before serving with fresh fruit.

the ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tbsp sugar
¼ c orange juice
Zest from one orange, minced
Strawberries, pineapple, and melon for dipping

Twice-Cooked Broccoli

I found this recipe written on a torn-off sheet from a daily calendar dated 10 March 1984. There are only four steps to make this, and combined with the 4 ingredients, it makes for a pretty easy side dish, or dinner if you live in our house. (As an aside, we've realised lately that we eat a lot of broccoli in this house, and often end up eating an entire head of broccoli with dinner, which seems both strange and unlikely, considering I was once the child who refused broccoli unless topped with-- ahem-- American cheese.)

Anyway, sometimes there’s nothing quite so exciting as a vegetable side dish, especially if you’re in the throes of Christmas baking and have eaten nothing but sweets for weeks on end, and especially if you've been making lots of complicated candy recipes that require particular temperatures, specific timings, and detailed ingredient lists… which is why I was so excited to make this broccoli dish after the Christmas holidays.

We don't do a lot of variety when it comes to vegetables in this house—or at least we didn't until I started this blog—but this time of year it’s nice to have something to vary up the ‘roasted veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper’ that is our mainstay side dish during winter months, and this casserole definitely does that... even if it does so at the cost of upping the butter content. So I was happy to make this, even if it does involve soup mix and butter, both ingredients I contend are not necessary for making veggies tasty and nutritious. I broke my own rules and mixed it up a little when I realised I had bought fresh broccoli instead of frozen, but if the produce section at your local supermarket is as empty as mine has been recently, then no one is going to bat an eye if you use frozen. Also, I looked everywhere in Edinburgh and couldn't find water chestnuts, so for the love of all things good, if you know where I could procure some in this country, please let me know! In their absence, we used celery, which didn't stay as crisp as water chestnuts would have, but it added a nice texture and flavour, so I regret nothing.

It’s not glamorous and it sure is a pain to photograph, but this recipe is tasty and easy, and since we’re always looking for new ways to eat an entire head of broccoli for dinner, this one definitely fits the bill. Note that in the ingredients below I lowered the butter levels to a more manageable amount that's less likely to give you a coronary and also more likely to allow you to eat this as your main course later this week. It's that good.

the verdict:

3 spoons out of five. This is super tasty and definitely easy. It'll become a go-to for us over the next few months, I'm sure!

the recipe:

Twice-Cooked Broccoli

the directions:

Preheat oven to 175C/350F.
Steam fresh broccoli until green but still firm (if using frozen, saute without salt and drain).
Combine steamed broccoli and water chestnuts or celery in an oven-safe dish, then dot with butter.
Sprinkle onion soup mix over the dish and toss slightly to coat.
Bake 25 minutes or until veggies are tender.

the ingredients:

2 heads broccoli, chopped into florets (or equivalent in frozen broccoli)
1 c water chestnuts or coarsely sliced celery
2 tablespoons butter (or 1 tablespoon olive oil/1 tablespoon butter)
1 envelope dry onion soup mix