New England Clam Chowder Dip – Because Great Soups Make Even Better Dips

Truth be told, this New England Clam Chowder Dip is actually the first soup I’ve ever turned into a dip, but I still stand by my title. After all, what are soups, if not really thin, hot dips you eat with a spoon? 

The point is, while this may be my first soup-to-dip conversion, it’s probably not going to be my last. I’m looking at you, Mulligatawny.

I thought I was inventing something new here, but of course, like everything else, many people had already given this a go. The funny thing was, every recipe I looked at called for this to be served with sliced bread, which I thought was odd. To me, potatoes are like the second or third best ingredient in a chowder, so why not serve this with chips?

Besides that, my other big improvement was to up the bacon content. Some recipes called for as little as two slices. Two slices of bacon? What am I supposed to do with that? So, I went with three times as much, and it turned out to be a very good decision. While quite “bacon forward,” the clam flavor still came through, and all in all, this really was very chowder-like.

The only semi out-of-the-ordinary ingredient used was a spice blend called, “Old Bay.” This is not very hard to find in the big grocery stores, but just in case, here is a link to make a your own. Besides, even if you have some in the pantry, it may have been there for quite sometime, and while Old Bay works well, old, Old Bay may not, so it might not be a bad idea to make a batch anyway.  Either way, I really do hope you give this a great hot dip a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one small casserole dish:

6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1/3 cup diced celery

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed

1 pound cream cheese, room temp

4 ounces white cheddar

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2 cans (6 1/2 ounces) chopped clams, drained

2 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley

pinch of cayenne for the top

potato chips to serve alongside

Philly Cheese Steak Dip – Fly Eagles, Fly

I was going to say this Eagles-inspired cheese steak dip would be great to serve at your Super Bowl party, but I just remembered we’re not allowed to use the term “Super Bowl” anymore, since that’s aggressively protected by the National Football League’s lawyers. So, instead of saying, Super Bowl, again, I’ll just say “Big Game.”

Regardless of what’s printed on your invitations, this easy to make hot dip would make a handsome addition to your snack table. Like all great party foods, it’s wonderful hot, warm, room temp, and, I’ve heard from a reliable source, even delicious cold. By the way, never print invitations to your Big Game party.

As I mentioned in the video, there are several approaches for preparing the steak in this. You can chop it up raw, and then brown it, or brown pieces of steak, and then chop it up, as we did here, or, if you really want to save some time, you could brown up some ground beef, which should also work pretty well in this.

For a vegetarian version, you could do this with well-browned mushrooms, which I’m guessing would be very tasty. I’ll never know for sure. Anyway, stay tuned for some kind of party food celebrating the other city in this contest, but in the meantime I really do hope you give this Philly cheese steak dip a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 24 portions of Philly Cheese Steak Dip:

1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into inch thick slices (any beef should work)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon butter

1 1/2 to 2 cups diced peppers (use a mix of sweet, hot, and/or pickled peppers)

1 pound cream cheese, softened

8 ounces shredded provolone cheese

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

touch of cayenne

- sliced baguette to serve alongside

Sticky Garlic Pork Chops – What Do You Think, About Slightly Pink?

This sticky garlic pork chop recipe seems too good to be true. It only takes a few minutes of prep work, requires no tricky techniques, and doesn’t call for any hard-to-find ingredients.

And for the last time, Asian fish sauce is not hard to find. It used to be, but it’s now carried in every major grocery store, and I consider it a must-have in anyone’s kitchen.

Above and beyond the sauce, which is also our marinade, the other key to this recipe is finding some nice, thick, bone-in pork chops. While this will theoretically work with thin, boneless “chops,” we give ourselves much more room for error when it comes to achieving the perfect doneness.

Speaking of which, I shoot for about 140 to 145 F. internal temperature, which will produce a very juicy, tender piece of meat. Sure, you may see a subtle, pale pink hue, but it’s still perfectly safe to eat, and you’ll be amazed at how much nicer the texture is, especially after sitting in the brine-like marinade.

Of course, if you’re one of these people who always cooks pork well done, because your grandparents told you about the horrors of trichinosis when you were a kid, then fine. Go ahead and cook it all the way through, until it’s nice and dry, but you really are missing out. You’re still not convinced? Either way, I really do hope you give these sticky garlic pork chops a try soon. Enjoy!

For the marinade/sauce mixture (would probably be enough for 4 chops):

1/3 cup light brown sugar

6 to 8 cloves crushed or very finely minced garlic

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 thick-cut pork chops, bone in (about 10 to 12-ounce each)

The “Hot Brown” – Kentucky’s Favorite Bourbon Absorbent

As I joked about in the intro, for something to be called a “Hot Brown,” and still become so wildly popular, is a true testament to just how amazingly delicious this really is. 

Invented at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, to help late night partygoers keep going, this hot turkey gratin may be my all-time favorite, fork and knife sandwich.

And for something that seems so decadent, I don’t actually find it to be all that heavy of a meal. Of course, that could be the bourbon talking. I guess you could use milk instead of cream to lighten this up, but unless you’re going to start eating these several times a week, I think you should stick to the original formula.

I’m sure this would be okay with some thickly sliced turkey from the deli, but roasting your own is pretty easy, and you can use the leftovers for a few less extravagant sandwiches. Either way, I really do hope you give this Kentucky classic a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for the sauce (enough for 4 small or 2 giant portions):

2 tablespoons salted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for grating on top

pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and cayenne to taste

For the turkey (enough for 4 portions):
1 teaspoon oil or butter to grease baking dish

2 pound boneless turkey breast

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon herbs de Provence, or other dried/fresh herbs of your choice

- Roast at 350 F. to an internal temp of 148 F.

For each Hot Brown:

2 pieces white bread, toasted

6 ounces roast turkey breast (3 thick slices)

3 slices of tomato

enough prepared cheese sauce to cover

grated Pecorino Romano for the top

paprika or cayenne for the top

2 slices bacon, precooked

chopped Italian parsley

- Finish under a low broiler, or in 475 F. oven until the sauce is bubbly and browned, and the bacon is cooked. To cheat, you can cook bacon crisp separately, and just top the finished dish, but I think it tastes better if you brown with the bacon on top.