"dips" news and stories

Summer's a great time to pull out the chips and dips when entertaining. Here are three easy ideas that wil work with either Greek-style yogurt or sour cream

An appetizer that's lush, combines four food groups, and that you can dip? Sold! As fig season intersects with the height of steamy-weather cocktail-party season, this is one cool customer you want at your shindig. Blogger eddybles blankets the figs with mint and prosciutto, and serves them on bamboo skewers for easy picking. Get the recipe here. The rich dip is made with goat cheese, star anise, white wine, shallots and cream. If you feel the dip is overkill, just skip it and the figs stand beautifully alone.

And because it's the season, try this Kitchen Daily recipe for figs stuffed with gorgonzola.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

In a hummus rut? Swap out the chickpeas and come up with exciting new dips in a snap.

Thanksgiving or not, cranberries are invited to our table anytime, lending tartness to just about any relish, compote, jelly or chutney.

We love the way they form red carpets over New England bogs, the way they plump up and burst when they're cooked and, as the blogger who combined them with orange zest, honey, cinnamon and cardamom rhapsodizes in the caption to this photo, the way they "make the kitchen smell heavenly."

That cranberries are loaded with antioxidants and help fight infections are just two more good reasons to find yet another way to serve them, such as in a tart-and-creamy cranberry-horseradish dip.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Now that cookout season has kicked off, my healthy makeovers of traditional summer classics -- like creamy guacamole dip -- are in high demand.

It's true that avocados are high in fat, prompting people to call it the "butter pear." While a medium-sized avocado contains about 30 grams of fat, most of it is mono-unsaturated fat that actually helps to lower cholesterol levels. Diet experts have long steered consumers away from avocados, though the U.S. government revised its official nutrition guidelines a few years ago to encourage Americans to eat more of them.

Some people say it's impossible to mess up a guacamole recipe, but I beg to differ. In my book, there's no place for garlic. Yes, you heard right. Plum tomatoes are a must, with the seeds removed to keep from watering down the dip's velvety texture. I also think lime juice and cilantro are central to kicking up the flavor a notch, adding a nice contrast to the creamy texture of the avocados. I top the whole thing off with a pinch of heat from cayenne or other hot, ground dried chilies.

Get Jennifer's guacamole tips and Creamy Guacamole Dip recipe after the jump.