I’ve eaten so much today they’re going to have to roll me out of the office. I’m going to have to move the seat back from the steering wheel and I don’t plan to eat again until late Sunday night.
The problem was that our dear friend and coworker Heather Cass is heading off to a new job (sniff), and, as is our normal course of action in observance of just about anything, we had a food day. Everyone brings a dish and we chow from bagels at 8 a.m. until brownies at 5 p.m.
These soirees make the features department very popular with the rest of the newsroom. Even the most taciturn hard news people make their way over to the trough at some point.
It’s always fun to see which pot-luck dish “sells out” first. This time around it was Fiona Branton’s Chicken Wing Dip. The spicy, cheesy chicken dip is a staple on the office party menu, and several of us make it. It’s won the First Sellout title more than once. This time around, Fiona put in blue cheese dressing instead of the regular ranch and it disappeared in record time. I hope Heather got some.
If you’ve never had Chicken Wing Dip, this is a culinary tragedy that should be remedied as quickly as possible. Even non-spicy-food-lovers are known to nod their heads once or twice on their first bite.
There are a thousand ways to make it, but this was the most recent rendition:
FIONA’S CHICKEN WING DIP
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese
1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot
1 (12-ounce) can chunk chicken, shredded with a fork
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1. Combine the cream cheese and Red Hot in a medium saucepan and stir over medium heat until cream cheese is melted.
2. Stir in chicken, heat through, and add blue cheese. When the concoction is good and hot, stir in the cheddar cheese until melted.
3. Some people bake the dip at this point, to bring the flavors together and serve hot, but it’s fine served fresh out of the saucepan or even cold.
Tostitos Scoops make the best dippers.
Heather has been a joy and inspiration to work with, and her conversational writing style has fans all over the city. If you get a chance, check out her new family-oriented blog at www.atouchofcass.wordpress.com.