Dip

For a salsa that won’t send smoke shooting from your ears, be thorough about removing the seeds from the chiles—and even scraping out the ribs, the hottest part.

Looking for a throw-together app that seems way fancier than it is? Look no further than this gussied-up goat cheese situation.

A fun way to get children to eat asparagus: roasted and paired with hummus and creamy melted Havarti cheese.

This velvety-smooth sauce uses real cheddar (not the processed stuff) and comes together in less than 10 minutes. Serve as is with chips, fries, or chili dogs, or transform it into the best queso you've ever had (see below for more on that). Pro tip: Skip the aged cheddar from the fancy cheese counter—the sauce will be even creamier with a block of no-frills cheddar from the dairy aisle of the supermarket.

Serve this lightly spiced, last-minute bean dip with tortilla chips and watch it disappear before half-time.

Complete your Super Bowl snacking lineup with this addictive five-cheese version of the classic Southern spread.

Many people enjoy chicken pho with a side of this zippy sauce. They dip the flesh into the sauce as they eat the soup. The fresh ginger bite adds a last-minute layer of flavor that some find to be scintillating while others find to be distracting. Try it out and judge for yourself.

Cauliflower is a magical vegetable. It’s tasty on its own, but it can transform into oil-free creamy sauces and even replace meat. In this recipe, it’s the base for a creamy, cheesy take on queso dip. This is great on chips but even better on top of burritos and enchiladas. Best of all, you can get the pickiest of eaters to eat their veggies this way.

This cultured coconut milk yogurt is lightly sweetened and perfectly topped with grain-free granola!

This sauce—developed for our #cook90 initiative—is a kitchen workhorse. Use it to marinate fish, season rice, top a pizza, stir into scrambled eggs, or to add a final punch of flavor to a soup.

Ah, Babybel cheese, the fancy French chef’s secret weapon for fondue—it keeps the molten mixture from separating, and its unassuming flavor lets the Gruyère shine.

When great dips get together, it’s magic. This recipe boasts all the beauty of a creamy onion dip with the irresistible appeal of queso.

This zesty spin on the old party classic matches hot-smoked salmon with beet horseradish, two kinds of soft cheese, and crunchy veg and herbs. Serve it with bagels or pumpernickel bread.

Traditional Greek skordalia is mostly garlic and olive oil with some potato or nuts added to thicken it. We flipped the ratio in this recipe: more potato, less garlic. Serve as a dip, or thin out with lemon juice and olive oil and use as a sauce for fish.

I’m sort of a snob when it comes to trying new recipes. I just seem to like my old tried and true ones best, and it takes a lot for something new to grab my attention. I had to have the recipe for this dip after I tried it on Super Bowl Sunday 2006. Garth is a die-hard Steelers fan, so it was an exciting day. Everybody always brings something for the party, and this was my friend Kim’s contribution. Being a good southern girl, I love anything with black-eyed peas in it, but for you folks who are right now turning up your noses at the idea of eating black-eyed peas, all I can say is just try it. In fact, maybe I should name it something else for those skeptics. How about Pea Dippy?