Bacon Cheese Dip
By Tod Dimmick, cookbook author and editor of www.tastingtimes.com


Health food this isn’t, but for comfort it’s off the scale.

Prep time: 10 Min
Cook time: 10 min
Serves 4-6

3 TB olive oil
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 TB Madeira
8 ounces shredded mild cheddar cheese
2/3 cup light cream cheese, softened
2-3 scallions, sliced into 1/4” pieces (about 1/3 cup)
2 TB Cooked Bacon pieces
Salt and pepper

Dippers, such as 1 baguette, sliced thin and toasted, chips, or even thick slices of crisp bacon

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat, and cook the garlic, stirring, for 3 minutes or until garlic is light brown. Turn heat to low. Add Madeira and deglaze the pan, scraping up the flavorful bits of garlic. Add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese and stir until the cheese melts and forms a thick liquid. Turn off the heat, add the bacon and the scallions, along with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Scrape the spread into a serving bowl.

Some warm appetizers include normally solid ingredients such as cheddar cheese, for example, that solidify as they cool, meaning that your “dip” now requires a knife and fork. Be sure to serve warm dips, well, warm. This can be done by preparing them and serving them for immediate consumption, by using canned heat to keep temperature at the desired level, or even gathering around a stovetop, if your kitchen is conducive to such an arrangement.

A cold, sparkling white wine such as Prosecco perfectly matches the rich flavors of this dish.