Sunday, November 16, 2008

Ugly Dip


Another hit of last night's party was some homemade salsa. I remember the first time I ever enjoyed this dish: Mike and I were dating, and he took me to a friend's dinner party. Instructed to bring a dip, he made this recipe, and I distinctly remember riding in the truck after he picked me up, carrying it in a hot pink plastic bowl in my lap. We still have that bowl.

Since then, Mike has made the dip several times, but since it's a time-consuming labor of love, and since he wanted it for last night's party, this was my first time to make it. The recipe comes from Sugar Beach: A Cookbook by The Junior Service League Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Mike's mom Judy had inscribed it "Merry Christmas, 1984," and the front page has "Granddoll's" (Mike's mother's mother) written in pencil. I never met Granddoll, but I can't help but think we would enjoy each other.

"Excellent, but UGLY!" (I don't agree with this statement at all - I think it's actually a very nice looking salsa. It just needs a good stir every now and then.)

4 large tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
4 green onions, minced
1 (4 ounce) can jalapenos, drained and finely chopped
1 (4 1/2 ounce) can black olives, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste


  1. Mix all ingredients and chill overnight.

  2. Serve with tortilla chips.

  3. Serves 10.

Lou Baughman

You know I can't follow a recipe to save my life. I had some fresh cilantro out in the yard, and as the weather is about to kill it off, I harvested as much as I dared, chopped it up, and dumped it in the dip. To me, you can't get too much cilantro in salsa. For more green, I also added a small can of diced roasted green chilies. Since we were serving more than 10, I added a few tomatoes and green onions, used a large can of black olives, and added jalapenos and the jalapeno juice to taste. I love the spicy! And lime juice is a must.

To chop olives, tomatoes, and jalapenos, I used the small chopping plate on the Vegetable Chop and Measure from Williams-Sonoma. The olives and jalapenos, I just dumped in the chopper and closed the lid. The tomatoes took the longest: I peeled them, then sliced them in half. I then sliced thinly those halves to result in a cubing effect when I put them in the Chop & Measure.

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