Showdown

For Dip-a-Palooza, we scoured the web for a winning dip. There were cheesey dips, gooey dips, chunky dips and ewww-ey dips. There are so many dip recipes out there, it was completely overwhelming! The pressure of DAP was getting to me.

So I thought to myself, what if we chose a dip from each of my cooking idols? PDubs and Martha. (I also like Giada, don't worry Carol!) Joe would bring one and I would bring the other. I present you the dip showdown.

PDubs Hot Olive & Artichoke dip vs. Martha's Sweet Onion dip.

Ding. ding. ding. [They enter the ring]

PDubs steps into the ring with one of my fave ingredients: black olives. Add artichokes, cream cheese, parm and a whole lot of other no-so-good-for-you ingredients, then serve it warm, you have one tough dip.

Enter Martha. A LOT of grilled sweet onions, cream cheese, sour cream and chives and you've got a force to be reckoned with.

Jabs are thrown. Blocks are made and then, BAM! PDubs wins. Very little contest. Though, I admit, I think if I was fair, I would have tackled a much more challenging Martha recipe, but I was going for ease.

In other DAP news, the results of the dip-making contest. Drum roll, please?

Mr. Holden Tenenbaum took the crown with a chocolate chip pecan cheesecake dip! (Delish!) The first to ever win a second time and first to beat the dessert dip curse. I think congrats are in order. It was a fight not easily won because Stephanie's queso rocked my world too (Also a PDubs recipe). I now count queso at night instead of sheep. No, really, I do.

(For full recap post, including a picture of the coveted plaque, go

here.)

pics/Martha & PDubs

Dip-a-Palooza VI

[This is what happens when you win DAP - flag, champagne, french bread, DAP plaque]

This weekend is Dip-a-Palooza VI. A dip-making contest that draws people from far and wide. It's on Superbowl Sunday. Two years ago, I had a monumental win and now my names resides with other greats like Holden, Walker and Jaison.

This year, I'm not going to win, I'm going to eat. Think about it: 30 options of delectable dips? Yeah, I'm pretty sure I won't be watching any football. Who's playing again? (Just kidding, I'm predicting the Saints will take it, but I'm just picking them because I really want to go to New Orleans and their symbol is the fleur-de-leis which reminds me of my mom. Because she really likes them. And has them all over her house. They look pretty.)

Rules of DAP from the invite:
Everyone brings one dip
Everyone gets one vote for the best dip
The winner gets their name on a plaque and achieves dip immortality
Absolutely no dip lobbying towards friends, family or wives - it's not in the spirit of DAP

This year's trailer...

Last year's trailer...

We came, we dipped, they conquered.

Some like Super Bowl for the football. Some like it for the attractive players (ahem, Tom Brady). Many like Super Bowl for the commercials and the commercials alone. But to a few dozen people, Dip-A-Palooza is front and center on Super Bowl Sunday. The competitive dip-making contests brings in the best cheese dips, onion dips, jalepeno popper dips, cilantro dips, buffalo chicken dips, Snickers dips, curry dips - the list does on for miles.

This year, the competition was FIERCE. There had to be over 30 dips in total! We made Queso Blanco (thanks for the recipe, Steph!), which was very tasty, but by no means a winner. But even more impressive was the presentation of winners - Aaron impressed us all with his suit, top hat, booming music and scripted performance as he revealed the winners of Dip-A-Palooza VIII, one of the founding fathers himself (and wife!), Chris and Chrissy Barrows. It was well-deserved. Congrats, you two.

P.S. Past DAP posts.

DAPers. Many new faces this year, but still many old.

I was honored to be able to help tally the votes!

Aaron kept the crowd in suspense for a full minute before opening the envelope to reveal the winner.

Victory for the Barrows' - waving the flag and raising the DAP plaque!

The queso blanco. There is a whole lot of American White Cheese in this sucker. Healthy? No. Delicious? Yes.

Dip-A-Palooza VIII

You know what's right around the corner? Dip-A-Palooza VIII! Or DAP8, take your pick. And thanks to Holden, we have another video to jazz us up. I think I'll go on record by saying: best video yet.

It is hard to believe it's almost here - Superbowl Sunday is a mere 2.5 weeks away. I don't know about you, but I've been scouring recipes for MONTHS. I might just try to add another tally by my name. I have some tough decisions ahead of me. (I will not be making this dip, that's for sure) Savory or sweet? Fancy or classic dipper? If you know of any killer dip recipes, please send them my way!

P.S. For past year's DAPs.

Dip-a-Palooza VII

DAP teaser courtesy of Holden

The time is almost here, my friends. The most competitive dip-making contest known to man.

Dip-a-Palooza VII on Superbowl Sunday. (Last year's DAP post)

It's epic. Imagine the best dip you've ever had in your entire life, then multiply that by 100. The options can be overwhelming and stomach needs occasional timeouts, but you must try every dip to uphold the democracy of the voting system. (Or at least that's what I tell myself when stepping on the scale the next day.) Can't wait to see what deliciousness this year brings!

TGIF: Hockey style

I realized that I never shared my hockey game experience from last Friday. Here are my takeaways:

• Seattle Thunderbirds are terribly young. There was a 15-year-old on the ice!
• I must be getting old because every time they got into a fight, I would grimace instead of cheer. But don't tell the diehards that sat behind us.
• Kent and/or hockey attracts an odd crowd.
• I'm happy that America chooses football (or baseball?) as our spot of choice, unlike Canada.
• There are only 3 periods in the game, not 4 like I expected.
• On the JumboTron, they were welcoming groups and all of a sudden "Dip-A-Palooza" appeared. I quickly texted Holden and they were only a few sections away! (Speaking of, DAP7 post to come with video teaser.)
• I want to learn how to skate backwards. Or just go ice skating. And watch Kathryn do a triple-axel since she used to skate competively.

Hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing weekend!