Food Memories: Dip Night!

I've written about dip night  before , and have been writing about making multiple  dips   for   years . But I can tell the story again...

I've written about dip night before, and have been writing about making multiple dips for years. But I can tell the story again in case you haven't heard it. My mom and dad would make dinner for my brother and I (and our friend and semi-adopted sibling Tom!) pretty much every night for our entire childhood. They had a decent repertoire and it's fun thinking back on all of the recipes my mom pulled out of some seriously retro cookbooks to make for us. Once in a blue moon, maybe once a year, she would be too tired to cook and need dinner on the table in less than five minutes. Instead of ordering a pizza, or going to McDonalds, she would make dip night! Dip night was usually some sliced cucumbers, carrot sticks, maybe some chicken nuggets, or pepper strips, whatever was on hand, layed out to dip in various salad dressings! My family was big into Catalina french-style dressing, so that was always a part of dip night, and my dad would make his own honey-mustard, mixing together stoneground mustard with honey and maybe a touch of brown sugar, I'm not sure of his exact recipe-- but it felt special when he made it for us. I don't know what it was about the interactivity of dipping stuff, but we went completely wild for dip night. My mom was so pleasantly surprised at how much we loved it, since it required such minimal work to prepare. I still yearn for dip night, and make it sometimes! I never remember to do the "no work involved" part, though. 


In Thug Kitchen Party Grub, there are a zillion good-looking dip recipes. One night, I decided to make... All of them at once. I made breaded tofu cubes and cornmeal roasted potatoes to dip, as well as chopped cucumber, pickles, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, crackers and chips. The idea of dip night runs wild through my veins and I can't be stopped. No carrot stick is safe!



I'm glad we had such a fun little family tradition and I'm glad I still recreate it in my own way.

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2 comments

  1. This sounds so much fun! You may have deviated away from the no work aspect of dip night, but it definitely looks like it's worth it. When I was kid we used to have a "party tea" every Christmas Eve, which was bags of crisps, little shop-bought cakes, frozen sausage rolls, etc, and we loved them so much. We still have them now and there's so much effort involved in making all these extravagant little nibbles, but I still love it! Would you recommend that Thug Kitchen book? And for someone who almost never entertains (except at the Christmas Eve Party Tea)?

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    1. I really love the recipes in the Thug Kitchen cookbooks, and I have posted a review on them. I don't care for the ridiculous jargon and language used, and don't find it cute or funny or clever, but I do think if you're able to disregard their writing, the recipes are actually fantastic. I think even if you don't entertain, the party grub cookbook would still suit you and I do want to pick up their newest as well. That's funny how we go to great lengths to recreate traditions that were born simply to be easy!! Nostalgia is strong with food <3

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