I recently attended the Mud Party of the Sons & Daughters of Hawley, my town’s historical society. The Sons & Daughters are a fun bunch despite — or perhaps, because of — the fact that they tend to be a bit historical themselves. The average age of the members is at least 75.
I have often wondered whether the fact that membership is free for people over 70 affects the group’s demographics. I’m generally too tactful to mention this at the Sons and Daughters’ meetings, however.
The Mud Party started many years ago in March as a way to inaugurate the social season in Hawley and to celebrate the time of year that New Englanders of yore used to call “the fifth season.”
Originally, this potluck event focused on brown foods — a lot of chocolate was served — to pay tribute to the less-than-colorful landscape outdoors.
In recent years, it has become a standard bring-your-own-favorite-dish party, in part because the event was moved from March to April to avoid ice underfoot. There was some mud outside at this year’s “do,” but there were also blades of grass and daffodils.
The host — this year, my neighbor Ruth Gillan — often supplies something in the line of a protein or main course. Ruth made lovely roast chicken.
Ruth is the sort of hostess who always worries that there won’t be enough food so she also dished up an appetizer board, deviled eggs and much more. Her offerings were joined by a nicely balanced array of foods.
I was on the lookout for something to write about that would work with the mud-party theme. I originally planned to feature something chocolate, but when I saw Liz Sears’ dip, I decided to go with that.
After all, mud is goopy and so was the dip. That’s where the resemblance ended, however. Happily, the dip tasted nothing like mud.
Liz’s offering was called Jalapeño Popper Dip. It had a lot of the flavor and some of the texture of the popular stuffed peppers but entailed far less work; I have always found stuffing peppers — well, stuffing pretty much anything — awkward.
To suit the time of year, when we rely a lot on our pantries instead of our gardens, Liz used canned peppers.
I asked her how long she has been making this creation. She estimated that she has made it for at least 15 years. She often brings it to family get-togethers.
“My family’s pretty health-conscious,” she remarked. “Everyone is always making healthy things to bring to these things. I bring the jalapeño dip, and it goes right away.”
That was Liz’s gentle way of reminding me that the dip — like most dips — isn’t precisely a diet food. It’s a really fun and delicious special-occasion food, however.
Liz’s husband Ryan Brownell told me that Liz generally serves the dip only at parties. He sounded a bit aggrieved about it.
“He often doesn’t get to it before it’s gone,” Liz confided in me. “That’s why he’s aggrieved.”
Luckily, because there was so much food at the Mud Party, Ryan got to take home a little dip. Liz noted that he does get to consume the dip at home once a year. The two eat it during what journalists are supposed to call “the Big Game.”
“We don’t often watch the Super Bowl, but we always make a bunch of snacks on Super Bowl Day,” Liz explained. The dip is one of their favorites, even if it’s a lot for two people to eat.
I don’t plan to make it anytime soon for just me … but I’ll definitely serve it at a party, for the Super Bowl or any other occasion. It’s easy and appealing.
As is often the case, there were a few people at the Mud Party who found the dip a little too spicy, even though Liz toned it down a bit by removing the seeds out of many of the jalapeño peppers. Those of us who like a little spice were in heaven, however.
The recipe is below. Liz told me that she likes to use heaping quantities of the cheese and the panko crumbs.
Mud Party (or Any Party) Jalapeño Popper Dip
Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature so it is soft
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 (4-ounce) can pickled sliced jalapeños, drained (Omit some or all of the seeds if you want to reduce the heat.)
1 small can (4 ounces) green chiles
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Thoroughly combine the softened cream cheese, the mayonnaise, the cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup of the parmesan, the jalapeños, and the green chiles in a bowl. Pour this mixture into a baking dish.
Mix together the panko crumbs and the remaining parmesan. Sprinkle this combination over the dip.
Bake the dip until the sides are bubbling and the cheese has melted and turned golden brown on top, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Accompany this dip with chips, vegetables or crackers. Serves a crowd.
Tinky Weisblat is an award-winning cookbook author and singer known as the Diva of Deliciousness. Visit her website, TinkyCooks.com.