Introduction: CREAM CHEESE CLAM DIP

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About: I am a 82-year-old self-proclaimed Chef who has spent most of his life in the hotel/resort tourism industry. I have traveled up and down the east coast of the United States from New York to Key West, and from …

This easy-to-make cream cheese dip contains lots of "goodies;" foods like sun dried tomatoes, black olives, and fresh green chives - but no clams. A little clam juice is added for flavor and the dip really goes good with scoops (Tostitos new Fajita Scoops are featured), chips, or veges (and, of course, a frosted mug of your favorite beverage)!

Step 1: INGREDIENTS (recipe Makes About 2 Cups of Dip)

  1. 8 ounces cream cheese
  2. 4 TBS sour cream
  3. 2.25 oz black olives (1 small can)
  4. 1/3 cup Sun Dried Julienned tomatoes
  5. 1 TBS fresh chives
  6. 2 teaspoons minced dried onion
  7. 2 TBS lime juice
  8. 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional).
  9. 1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Salt Sense
  10. 1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  11. 3 TBS clam juice

Step 2: PREPARATION:

  1. Chop or dice the * sun dried tomatoes into small pieces.
  2. Drain, pat dry, and chop or dice the **black olives.
  3. Rinse, pat dry, and dice the chives.
  4. Set the above items aside and place the 8 ounces of cream cheese in a medium-sized mixing bowl (see next step).

  • NOTE: *I used Julienne-cut Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes from California. They are DRY (I.E. they are not preserved in oil). Dips containing oil-free sun-dried tomatoes are best refrigerated for a few hours (overnight is fine) before serving; this allows the tomatoes some time to soften in the cream cheese mixture. If you want to make this dip and serve it right away, you might want to softened the tomatoes in some warm water for about 1/2 hour before using them. After about 30 minutes, remove them from the water; pat dry, and chop or dice.
  • NOTE: **I used canned sliced black olives; then chopped them. You can just as easily chop up whole pitted black olives.

Step 3: INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Gather all of your prepared ingredients together.
  2. Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and blend in the 4 TBS of sour cream, one TBS at a time, until the mixture is soft and smooth (an ordinary dinner fork works fine for this step).
  3. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, black olives, chives, minced onion, cayenne pepper if using, and the 2 TBS of lime juice. Thoroughly blend all the ingredients together.
  4. Add the clam juice 1 TBS at a time and blend until the dip reaches the consistency that you desire. I used 3 TBS in this recipe.
  5. Add S&P to taste if needed.

Dip is best served after being refrigerated for 2 to 4 hours; then brought to room temperature.

Step 4: TIME TO DIP . . .

Like many of my recipes, this one is also very versatile. You can use the cream cheese and sour cream as a base; then mix in veges or other foods that you like (shrimp & clams are always a good choice). If you don't like clams or clam juice, you might try adding some mashed avocado or even a little salsa (I haven't tried these yet)!

In any case, Dip your chips and enjoy a snack!

NOTE: I have prepared the nutritional value of this recipe to the best of my ability using the MyFitnessPal Recipe Analyzer. Please note that I have suggested that this recipe makes enough dip (approximately 2 cups) to serve 16 people. If your family, or your guests, are "Big Dippers," 2 cups may not go very far. This dip is fairly low in calories. Remember, it's not the dip that adds all of those calories; in most cases, the calories come from the chips; vegetables might be a better choice here!

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