Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property OMAPI_Elementor_Widget::$base is deprecated in /home2/foodsoci/public_html/wp-content/plugins/optinmonster/OMAPI/Elementor/Widget.php on line 41
Creamy dips offer a world of 1950’s vintage charm. This one is bubbling with spinach, sharp cheddar cheese, cooked sweet onions and aromatic garlic.
“Once you have your basics down, you can start breaking the rules.”
– Chef Tom Colicchio
If creamy dips have an undeniably vintage feeling to you, there’s good reason for it. According to The LA Times, dips are an American staple that came out of the 1950’s. “Retro Ruth” at Midcentury Menu concurs, noting that the first of these was “California Dip,” likely created by a housewife who, on a whim, mixed Lipton Onion Dip with sour cream and ended up creating a whole new food craze. “Dips,” very broadly, have existed since ancient times. It’s likely that the Aztecs were eating Pico de Gallo and Moses may have eaten hummus. But dips based in cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, and cheese – that’s American all the way, baaa-bbby.
Mara Weinraub, writing for Food52, reports that the new 1954 “California Dip” wasn’t the first of its kind. An earlier version of the state-named dip called for cream cheese, blue cheese, sweet white wine, mayonnaise, salt, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, and garlic salt – add some tart cherry jam or a roasted fig on crostini, and that sounds incredible.
We’re used to dishes being tagged as “Californian” for one of two reasons – either they’re communicating a broad gesture toward a dish that’s healthier/lighter/vegetarian, or it has avocado in it. It may be that this dip was called “California Dip” for the state it was created in, though we don’t know the specific creator for sure. But Lipton also chose to popularize the name for its association with the avant garde. As strange as it may sound, in the 1950’s, this dip was posh. It was the dip to serve at parties. It’s even said to have been the thing that popularized sour cream in the U.S.
As of the last couple of decades, heavy dips may have fallen out of favor for the more health conscious among us. At the same time, as Weinraub offers, “if there were such a thing as a (French) Onion Dip Renaissance, we would be in it.” The trend now is to resurrect old standards and execute them with a higher panache. She details an admirable example from Chef Tom Colicchio’s Temple Court: crème fraîche, caramelized onions, garlic confit, hot sauce, soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce is garnished with espelette peppers, chives, and fried shallots. There’s a kind of nostalgia for heavy foods of a bygone era, before the fat-free craze of the 1990’s or the keto fat bombs of the 2010’s. Or maybe it’s a nostalgia for when party foods were simpler – before Pinterest boards or Tik Tok trends had to be consulted for a Saturday night soiree. After a call for abstention from something like a simple dip, whether it’s for health reasons or poshness, you can return to it because it’s retro – it’s fun because it’s kitsch. You can elevate it like Chef Colicchio or you can still grab some Lipton’s mix. They sell around 60 million packets annually, by the way.
The original intention of the dehydrated product was a soup helper, like its competitor product, Knorr Vegetable Mix. The latter would also eventually be used to make a famous dip – think spinach, water chestnuts, and bread bowls. Yesterdish accounts for the first mention of Spinach Dip in a 1979 edition of The Santa Fe New Mexican. It was offered as a recipe by Pamela Webster, wife of Steelers’ coach, “Iron” Mike Webster, who suggested it as a secret to get her husband to eat more vegetables.
Spinach Artichoke Dip seems to pre-date Knorr’s Spinach Dip, sharing 1950’s cohort status with Onion Dip. While the former doesn’t utilize any packets of dehydrated foods, both are a product of WWII. Lipton’s released their onion mix for soups in 1952, hoping to successfully market the food science that was utilized during the war. Oral food traditions suggest that Spinach Artichoke Dip popularized post-war because soldiers were looking to experience flavors they experienced while stationed in Europe: spinach, artichokes, garlic, lemon, Parmesan, Olive oil, and crusty French bread.
I made up this Spinach & Garlic Dip when I was around 15 years old. At the time I didn’t like water chestnuts or artichokes, but I did like garlic and red peppers, and I loved the way the kitchen smelled when you cooked onions and garlic together. Something about that step – frying the minced onion and garlic (with liquid) before adding it to the creamy mixture, makes this out of this world. Recently, a friend of mine said he could eat it with a spoon. Go ahead. I won’t talk you out of it, and I won’t tell anyone either.
Spinach & Garlic Dip
Course: AppetizersDifficulty: Easy8-12
servings20
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1 Vidalia onion
3-4 large cloves garlic
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
12 oz block extra sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded and divided
1 small red pepper, diced
12 oz frozen spinach
Salt & Pepper to taste
Crostini for serving
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Use a food processor to mince the onion and garlic. Both should be in very small pieces and you will see a lot of liquid. Add the entire mixture (including liquid) to a frying pan with a TBSP of olive oil.
- Fry onion and garlic mixture over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant, liquid absorbs, and you begin to see a color change to a light brown. Be careful not to burn the mixture.
- To the food processor, add: cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, the cooked onion garlic mixture, and 3/4 of shredded cheese. Blend until mostly smooth. Empty mixture into a mixing bowl to add the other ingredients by hand. (You don't want to blend spinach or red pepper.)
- Prepare spinach by package directions. Squeeze water out of spinach and add well-dried spinach to mixture.
- Sautée diced red pepper in a frying pan with a bit of olive oil until cooked, and some edges are charred. (You can also roast the red pepper, remove skin and dice, or used jarred roasted red pepper.) Add red pepper to cream cheese mixture and spinach.
- Mix all ingredients together. Spread into a greased 8x8 dish. Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is slightly browned on top. Allow to cool slightly (5-10 minutes.) Prepare your crostini while you wait [See note 1.]
Notes
- I suggest crostini to serve with this dip - slice french baguette, butter both sides and toast on a griddle or drizzle with olive oil and toast for 10-12 minutes at 350F (or ~8 minutes at 400F). I have also used un-toasted, fresh pumpernickel bread as an accompaniment - weird, but weirdly delicious. I think tortilla chips might be a little lackluster for such a hearty dip, but I support you if you prefer this route.
