I’m an insomniac. I’ve had trouble sleeping through the night off and on for the last six years. I fall asleep okay, as long as I drift off before Mr. Snoresalot. I wake up between 2:00 am and 4:00 am several nights a week. I wake up with a dog right where my feet should go. So I move my feet and contort my body, fully convinced if I could put my feet right where Summer dog is, I’d get comfortable and fall right back asleep.
But the dogs rule here, so instead, I position my feet so as not to disturb the dog. I think to myself ‘if I did yoga, this wouldn’t feel like a contortion’ then I add it to my mental list ‘start yoga (again) tomorrow’. And that’s how it begins. I’m a thinker, list maker, and I aspire to do more than I have time for. Woven in there is a little self flagellation, like ‘if you would have taken care of X right away, you wouldn’t be lying awake thinking about it’.
I typically sneak out of bed at that point and start my lists, then read hoping to get sleepy enough to doze off. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The next day I’m tired, too tired to start yoga, again. I pump myself with coffee, make myself believe that I’ll take a nap and/or go to bed early. None of which I’ll ever do. But Einstein didn’t sleep much either, right?
And so there I was the other night, waking up and the dog was at my feet, again I was thinking that I need to do yoga, maybe get involved with a Reiki circle, call the tax lady and oh my, Super Bowl is coming up and I haven’t posted a single recipe. After a little usual self flagellation, I get the idea for this dip. Out of my tired can’t sleep brain, I come up with what possibly could be the perfect dip.
Super Bowl has become a food holiday, even if you aren’t into football you are usually up for snacky foods, beer and the commercials. Dips play a major roll in any snack based party. Cold white based dips (mayo, sourcream + _____, exotic dips (hummus, baba ganoush), hot dips (artichoke, spinach, crab), cheese dips (queso cream cheese + _____), Mexican (salsa, guacamole, layered bean). Obviously this is not all inclusive but they are the usual’s. Why? Because they are good!
I didn’t mess with good, but I took the adored pizza dip (cream cheese +______) and combined it with the layered bean dip. Like the pizza dip it starts with cream cheese, rather than pizza sauce I used salsa, replaced the shredded mozzarella with shredded pepper jack, ditched the pepperoni for cured chorizo (not fresh), and used black olives for a nice salty briny contrast to the ooey gooey spicy cheese and meat mix. It’s then baked, which melds all those lovely components.
Although tortilla chips would go well with this, I recommend Frito scoops. The thick corn chips are a perfect compliment and hearty enough to scoop up copious amounts of dip. And we all know, it’s really all about the dip. Just like at my house, it’s all about the food and not the football.
Although I lost sleep, this time, it was well worth it. This may not be Einstein worthy, but then I doubt if Einstein ever desired to make the perfect dip. Do you ever have trouble sleeping? If so what do you do to help?
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 to 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese (or other cheese of your choice)
- 3 ounces cured chorizo (not fresh), diced
- 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
- Any other toppings of your choice (jalapenos, peppers, chopped cilantro)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread cream cheese evenly in the bottom of a pie tin or other similarly sized baking dish. Spread the salsa over the cream cheese, then sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese evenly over the top. Sprinkle the chorizo and olives over the top. Finish with the remaining cheese.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, serve hot with corn chips.
Mr. Snoresalot 🙂
Looks like a great dip! Happy Super Bowl eating!
Thanks Karen, those flavors are probably right up your alley!
That’s SIR Snoresalot, thank you very much!
Pardon me, SIR!
I am loving this. Marley’s, a great little pizza place in Tulsa, makes a great pizza dip which I have copied but your take on this is genius. What great flavors and so unexpected! (My mom would say the you need to go outside barefoot and get “grounded” to get back to sleep. However, I wouldn’t recommend this in Montana in February.)
When temps warm up, I’ll have to try getting grounded. Something about advice from mom’s that tend to be good!
that sleep thing happens to me every once in a while. More of a nuisance rather than a problem. I do the same thing, make lists, plan…. toss and turn as not to disturb the dogs. 🙂
Yay for superbowl. There’s most definitely a couple of dips planned for our table today.
It’s a cycle thing with me. It’ll go for weeks, sometimes month then go away. I’m sure if I exercised more it would be less of an issue…
I’ve been struggling with insomnia since my son was born – those first 3 months programmed me to wake frequently and now, though he’s been sleeping through the night for nearly 4 months, I still wakeup. No advice…but I wish I was half as productive as you in the middle of the night! This looks delish.
I used to suffer insomnia after each of my kids was born. I think it was a mother’s worry. I’d wake up in the middle of the night and have to check and make sure they were breathing. Then I’d have trouble going back to sleep. By the time they were 6 months old, I’d be so exhausted that I’d get over it!