This Mexican-style dip is decorated as a special Halloween treat, but it's a year-round favorite.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 (8-ounce) pkg cream cheese
- 1 (1.25-ounce) pkg taco seasoning mix
- 1-1/2 cups sour cream
- 1 cup guacamole (from your grocery's deli section)
- 1/2 cup fresh chunky salsa (from your grocery's deli section)
- 1 (16-ounce) can black refried beans
- 1 (12-ounce) pkg shredded Mexican cheese
- 1 (2.25-ounce) can chopped black olives
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole black beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 to 6 bags blue tortilla chips
Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix cream cheese and taco seasoning with one cup of the sour cream (hold the rest of the sour cream to decorate). Set mixture aside.Spread a thin layer of refried beans in the bottom of a microwaveable serving dish.
Add a layer of shredded cheese. Heat dish in microwave for 20-25 seconds, until cheese is slightly melted.
Drain the salsa and layer it over the cheese.
Drain the olives and layer over the salsa.
Add a layer of the sour cream mixture.
Add a layer of guacamole.
To decorate the top, spoon a medium sized dollop of sour cream in the center. This is the spider's "nest."
Spoon the rest of the sour cream into a Ziploc® bag. Cut a very small piece out of one of the bottom corners of the bag and, starting at the outer edge of the dip, pipe a thin circle around the perimeter. Create another circle half way between the perimeter circle and the center dollop, creating three circles.
Using a knife blade, toothpick or skewer, drag a thin line of the sour cream from the "nest" outward toward the edge of the dish. Continue making lines all around the "nest" to complete the spider web design. Position whole black beans onto the sour cream "web."
Embellish with plastic decorative spiders.
Serve with a bowl of blue tortilla chips, and watch your guests scurry to get a bite!
Yield: serves many
Source: Semi-Homemade Cooking by Sandra Lee (Miramax Books; Hyperion)
Reprinted with express written permission.
