Super Bowl XVLI dips

Yesterday I did my dip picks for the Super Bowl, today we have the real contenders. I failed to mention on yesterday’s post that light cream cheese may be used in each and every one of the four dips, with virtually no taste difference. Please just don’t use the non-fat disgusting cardboard thing they call cream cheese. That stuff should be illegal! There are a plethora of lovely non-fat dairy products, but non-fat cream cheese is not one of them.

Thinly sliced and lightly toasted French bread, baguette, or sourdough work perfect for both dips.  For the pizza dip, the bread simulates a pizza crust and for the clam dip, it reminds me of enjoying clam chowder in a sourdough bowl on Pier 39 in beautiful San Fran. Which coincidentally, is where I am headed later today to visit my sweet Marissa – for a food and a shopping-filled weekend!

Happy Super Bowl Weekend!

New England Patriots Clam Chowder Dip

4 slices bacon, diced
5 green onions, thinly sliced
8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 (6.5 oz) cans chopped clams, drained
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium skillet, fry the diced bacon until crisp, and transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but about 1 teaspoon of the bacon dripping and cook the green onions in the same skillet on medium heat for about 1 minute.

Add the bacon and the hot green onions to the cream cheese and using a fork, combine well.

Stir in the drained clams, Worcestershire, Sriracha, and garlic salt. Taste and add more of any of the seasonings, if needed for your taste.

Serve with toasted French bread slices, or serve in a hollowed-out sourdough bread round (as you would clam chowder) and cube the bread pieces you take out of the round and use as the “dippers”.

May be made up to one day ahead, bring to room temperature before serving.

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NY Giants’ Pepperoni Pizza Dip

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1 1/2 ounces pepperoni slices (about 15 slices), halved or quartered
2 green onions, thinly sliced.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a fork to combine cream cheese with Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Spread cream cheese into the 9-inch glass pie plate.

Top with 1 cup of the Mozzarella. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the cheese, then sprinkle with the remaining cup of Mozzarella on top of the sauce.

Arrange pepperoni on top and sprinkle with green onions.

Bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot with toasted thin slices of French bread or bagel crisps.

*Please note: I ran out of green onions just before I made this dip, so I topped mine with some leftover caramelized onions I had in my fridge. And as much as I love caramelized onions… green onions would have been better.