Party Food: Zesty Corn Dip
A party is not complete without dip. Make that dips. Plural. I’m a fan of dip, but who isn’t? Well, okay, Eli is NOT a fan of any dip that contains mayonnaise or sour cream (with the exception of French Onion Dip), so I guess there are some anti-creamy-dip people in the world. But I digress. Back to the real purpose here: Zesty Corn Dip.
This past weekend, I helped throw a baby shower for my best friend, Amanda (no, maid-of-honor duties do not end when the wedding reception is over, in case you were wondering). So anyway, we had a hen party. And what do you feed fifteen women of varying ages in the middle of the afternoon? I’ll tell you: dip. With, of course, various things to dip into the dip.
So we had dip. Hummus with pita chips. Spinach dip with crackers. Salsa with tortilla chips. Ranch dip with crudites. And…drumroll, please…Amanda’s mother Barbara’s Zesty Corn Dip. I have one word in response to that dip experience: yum. And it’s tres simple to make. Open a few cans, do a little chopping, give it a few stirs, put it in the oven, serve hot half an hour later.
It has a creamy texture thanks to the cream cheese, and could conceivably be made with fresh corn, tomatoes, and chiles in mid-summer. The flavor is rather Tex-mex thanks to chili powder and fresh cilantro, and it is best served with sturdy tortilla chips. I’m now wondering how it would serve as a topping for burritos…
Barbara’s Zesty Corn Dip
2 cans sweet corn, drained
10-12 ounces diced tomatoes, drained
small can chopped green chiles
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature, cut into dice
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 cloves garlic, minced very fine
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir all ingredients together and pour into small casserole. Bake 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Here’s a printable version of the recipe.
Enjoy!