Fugging Awesome Dips

Spinach Dip

Though this may have a slight Semi-Homemade aura, it’s extremely delicious. And it’s easy to make, as evidenced by the fact that one of us once made it after stumbling home on New Year’s Eve and it still turned out great (note: do not try this at home unless you’re really good at drunk chopping). It’s best served in a hollowed-out loaf of sourdough with cubes of bread and veggies—chips may not be sturdy enough to stand up to this. Adapted from the back of a box of Knorr soup mix. Classy!

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 packet of Knorr “Spring Vegetable Soup” mix
• 1/2 packet of Knorr “Leek Soup” mix
• 1 can water chestnuts, chopped
• 3 green onions, chopped (the whole onion, both white and green parts)
• Splash lemon juice (optional)

Squeeze all excess water from the spinach and combine with sour cream and mayo. Add soup mixes, water chestnuts and green onions. Stir really well and refrigerate at least two hours, but ideally overnight.

Before serving, add lemon juice to taste (you can also substitute a splash of the juice from a container of green olives if it’s New Year’s Eve, you’re drunk, and you’re out of lemons. Seriously, that actually worked. But we don’t advise it).

Babaganoush

Fresh, deceptively easy, and basically the polar opposite of the spinach dip, though no less delicious. Serve this one with pita chips. Adapted from Claudia Roden’s New Book of Middle Eastern Food.

• 2 pounds eggplant
• 4 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Dash of salt
• 2-3 crushed cloves of garlic, depending on how much you like garlic
• Juice of 2-3 lemons, depending on your feelings about lemon (we use the maximum garlic and the maximum lemon)

Roast the eggplant(s) under the broiler until they’re very soft. (Don’t forget to stab them a few times before you stick them under there, or they’ll explode and your dip will be toast, so to speak.) Let them cool a bit, then scrape the insides into a fine mesh colander. Mash the eggplant in the colander so that all the bitter juices run out.

Once the eggplant mash is de-juiced, scoop it into a bowl and stir in the tahini paste. Then add the cumin, salt, garlic, and lemon a little bit at a time, until you get to a flavor you like. It’s tempting to use the food processor for this, but don’t: It’s much better texturally if you use a fork. This also needs to sit for about an hour or so before serving.

Pumpkin Hummus

Because it doesn’t actually taste heavily of pumpkin, this is just as light and fun during the warm weather as it is ingredient-appropriate for autumn and winter. We make it in the tiny Cuisinart, which just fits it. Don’t measure the tahini with too heavy a hand, because every little extra drop packs a punch.

• As many packets of pita bread as you like, cut into wedges
• olive oil or cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (lime juice will work, too)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree (not canned pumpkin pie mix; you don’t want the extra spices in there)
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1) Preheat the oven to 425˚, and while it’s heating, scatter the pita wedges on a baking sheet and brush them with olive oil or spritz them with cooking spray. We also like to season our pitas at random, usually with garlic powder and a dash of salt.

Bake for six minutes or until toasted; ours take longer, but that’s because when we cut the pitas, we tend not to pull apart the top and bottom layer, which makes a thicker chip. Do as many batches as you want, and set aside. Or buy a bag of them. We won’t tell.

This is super complicated, so get ready: In a food processor, combine all the other ingredients and puree until very smooth. Add a bit of extra lemon juice if the mixture is too thick to blend thoroughly.