What would a collection of SuperBowl dip recipes be without a little blue cheese, considering that it is held to be the gold standard of hot wing dips - excluding hot wing sauce itself, of course. Blue cheese (or bleu cheese, if you prefer) dip is made with a pungent, creamy cheese that cuts into the spiciness of hot wings by adding a new layer of flavor and a cooling sensation that dulls the heat of the chicken. The strongly flavored cheese, in most of these dips, is often combined with sour cream, mayonnaise or cream cheese, each of which contributes to the overall texture of the dip without bumping up the flavor to the point where it overpowers the hot wing itself.

This particular dip is a pretty standard recipe that you'll probably find in several different places. It calls for sour cream and mayonnaise in addition to the cheese, so "healthy" is not something that could be applied. You can always substitute low fat or nonfat sour cream/mayonnaise; using a good quality blue cheese will make up for any loss of flavor in either of those ingredients.

I adore chipotle peppers. They may be trendy, but that doesn't take away from the fact that they are very tasty. Chipotle peppers are smoked jalapenos and are usually packed in cans in an adobo sauce. The original process was developed to preserve the peppers, but the smoky flavor and lingering heat of the chipotle long ago caused it to become popular in its own right. That heat makes a nice background to the cool, creamy avocado in this guacamole.

You can choose to make it either creamy or chunky, depending on what you want to serve it with. Chunky guacamoles tend to work best with chips and crackers, as both provide ample surface area for scooping. Creamier dips are a better choice for veggies and pretzels, or other snacks that don't make for a good scoop. For a chunky dip, simply mince everything and stir it together to blend. For an ultra-creamy dip, use the food processor to combine everything.

Even people who aren't big fans of artichoke seem to enjoy artichoke dips. The mild flavor of the vegetable and is tender texture blend perfectly with cream cheese, mayonnaise or sour cream - at least one of which is almost always a component of artichoke dip. The dips are usually served hot, enhancing the smoothness and the overall flavor.

Hot dips require a little more maintenance than cold dips. You will either need to head back and forth to the kitchen to reheat them, serve them in a chafing dish or try to motivate your guests to eat them really quickly. I like to use two or three smaller bowls, that way one will be ready to go if I need to switch them out. I also try to choose dips that will still taste good at room temperature - and this one definitely does.

The recipe comes from Eating Well magazine and is a little lighter than most artichoke dips, with most of the flavor coming from the artichokes themselves and a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, which is among the lower-fat cheeses out there. Some mayo is included to enhance the consistency of the final dip, which is heated in the oven to produce a slightly crisp top and creamy interior.

Yogurt is a great base for dips because it is so versatile, like a blank canvas. You can add it to avocados for an ultra-creamy guacamole, use it tone down hot salsas and use it on its own, as I have done here, to showcase other flavors.

Like many yogurt dips, this one is incredibly easy to make. It has only a few ingredients and requires little more than a stir to bring it together, yet it as at least as satisfying as those "ranch-style" dips that often turn up at parties. It goes well with potato chips, pita chips, crackers and veggies.

Layered dips - whether you go for a total of five, six or seven - are fantastic complements to a big bag of tortilla chips and are always crowd pleasers. There is always at least one element that will appeal to everyone's tastes and, more often than not, it is the combination of everything that makes the dip a real winner.

There are a couple of different ways to make this dip and each results in a different number of layers. The basic version of the dip will have four layers: refried beans, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Additional layers of any of those ingredients, as well as cheese, black olives, green onions and even cooked ground beef can be added to increase the layering, with the most popular number being seven.

If, by chance, you're firing up the grill for game day, this corn salsa is too easy to not be on your menu. If you've made fresh corn on the grill before, you know how simple it is. Grilled corn is great on it's own, with some butter, salt and pepper, or better yet, mayo, Parmesan cheese, lime juice and chili powder (seriously, try it).

The ingredients in this salsa are easy to vary and I generally just eyeball the amounts as I make it. A good place to start is:
8 average-sized ears of corn
1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/2" to 1" thick rounds (A few tooth picks or skewers in each will help to hold them together on the grill.)
the juice of 2-3 limes
a good handful of cilantro, finely chopped
olive oil

Husk the ears of corn, giving them a rinse to get any last bits of silk off and grill them over fairly high, direct heat, turning them until the kernels begin to blister and darken all over. Brush the onion slices with a little olive oil and grill them as well. Once the corn is done and cool enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cobs with a sharp paring knife and put the kernels in a large bowl. When the onions have softened and taken on some color, pull them off the grill and chop them so they're about the same size as the corn kernels.

Trader Joe's sells some pretty good premade hummus blends in their refrigerated section. I am a particular fan of both the spicy hummus and the tomato and basil hummus, but since so many popular dips are of the spicy variety, I decided to recreate the tomato and basil here as part of our Super Bowl dip-a-day feature.

Since I am a firm believer that dips should be simple - especially if they're for a large party - I went with canned tomatoes. I used Muir Glen and if you use that brand as well, you have a couple of options. The recipe below calls for the plain whole peeled tomatoes (easy to find in other brands, as well), but if you prefer, you can opt to buy their Tomatoes with Basil and eliminate the need to buy fresh basil to add to the dip, streamlining the recipe a bit. The choice is yours, but it's easy and tastes quite addictive either way.

Super Bowl Sunday is just over a week away. Almost everyone tunes in to the main event, whether they're watching the actual football game or just the commercials, making it the most-watched few hours of television all year. The Super Bowl is also one of the biggest snacking days of the year, and while pizza, hot wings and chili all popular choices, nothing flies off the supermarket shelves faster than chips, salsas and dips. You're probably better off using those store bought chips if you're going to be entertaining a crowd, but homemade dips can be even tastier and not much more difficult to make than store-bought. Here are eight great ideas for your Super Bowl munchies from around the blogs, but we'll be counting down a Dip a Day until the big game here, too:

• The Quick and Easy Artichoke dip from Simply recipes has four ingredients, is served hot and is ready in under 15 minutes.
• Mango Salsa has a fresh, Southwestern flavor from mango, corn, red onions and chilies.
• Similar to the salsa above, this Black Bean Salsa has corn, onions and peppers mixed in with black beans, for a heartier dip.
• Roasted Strawberry and Tomato Salsa is another fruity, but savory, dip. It features deep flavors from the roasted berries and heat from chipotle peppers.
• Susan's Artichoke Hearts and Roasted Red Pepper Dip is almost like a variation on hummus, made with tahini and blended until smooth, though it includes no beans.
• Spinach Parmesan Dip is always a hit at parties. Serve it with crackers or blue corn tortilla chips.
• French Onion Dip (pictured) is made from packet mixes all too often. Even though it's easy to use the pre-mixed spices, those versions won't compare with this homemade one.
• Too Many Chefs' Spicy Peanut Sauce is a great choice for dipping crudites, providing something a little different from standard ranch-type dips. It can also double as a dip for chicken wings.