Holy guacamole! Winning Recipes for Super Bowl Dips

avocado-is4503910LargeAs the second largest U.S. food consumption day after Thanksgiving, Super Bowl comes at the perfect time for many seasonal fruits and vegetables. On this one day in particular, millions of people gather around the television to watch the championship game, but it is not just the game that makes this day so popular. In fact, the food associated with this day has become an American tradition. It is definitely not coincidence that the most popular food item of the day comes in season: avocados. One estimate is that Americans will consume over 50 million pounds of avocados on game day.

Holy guacamole!

To put it into perspective, that is enough guacamole to fill an entire football field waist-deep. Along with a lot of guacamole, avocados provide an excellent source of nutritional benefits including potassium, vitamin B, vitamin E and vitamin K. Another popular seasonal vegetable, spinach, is packed with iron, calcium, and other vitamins and minerals and is perfect for a game day spinach dip. There is plenty of seasonal, local produce to make Super Bowl as much about the food, if not more than it is about the game.

GUACAMOLE WITH CORN AND CHIPOTLE

Ingredients

  • 2 large ripe avocados (about 1 1/2 pounds), halved, pitted, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed and briefly pan-sautéed
  • 1 plum tomato, seeded, diced
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 1 canned chipotle chile, finely chopped*
  • 1/4 cup sour cream

Mash avocados with lime juice in medium bowl. Using sharp knife, remove corn kernels from cob and add to avocado mixture. Stir in tomato and green onions. Combine chipotle and sour cream in small bowl; whisk to blend. Stir cream mixture into avocado mixture. Season with salt.

SPINACH AND ONION DIP

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped (1 3/4 cups)
  • 1/2 lb shallots, chopped
  • 1/2 lb baby spinach, coarsely chopped
  • 3 ounce cream cheese, softened
  • 1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion and shallots, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to moderate and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes more. Add spinach and cook, stirring, just until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer spinach mixture to a bowl, then stir in cream cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper until combined well. Chill, covered, at least 1 hour.