Last night was Oscars Night and we headed to Carol’s house to watch the festivities and to compete in the family predicting-the-winners sweepstakes. This is a long tradition at Carol’s, and we have been invited each year since our move to California. Carol had planned to have steak and cold boiled shrimp for what was our usual Sunday family dinner, but she has been under the weather lately. I suggested that I make some odds and ends of thing so that she could stay off her feet. She insisted on the steak and shrimp – which was alright by me – but I went ahead and made some snacks that we could enjoy in front of the television. I tried to make the food simple so that nobody had to do too much cooking. This dip is simple. It takes about 30 minutes to assemble and with store-bought tortilla chips makes an attractive party platter.
The seven layer taco dip turned out to be a big hit. The first time that I ever enjoyed it was over fifty years ago at a family gathering. Susan’s sister, who was famous in the family for no-fuss party foods brought a huge platter that was devoured in short order. Like so many classics of fifty years ago, taco dip has faded into obscurity. I’m not sure why because it is tasty, a crowd pleaser, and easy to make. It was popular last night. As an aside, I was nowhere close to winning the sweepstakes. Just like last year, the teen-age film buff walked away with the prize, although she was tied by her dad, who is also a movie fan. Susan, who is oblivious to movie stars, always gives the two champs a run for their money. How does that happen?
RECIPE
Seven Layer Taco Dip
Ingredients
- 14.5 ounce can refried beans
- 1 envelope taco seasoning
- 2 ripe medium avocados
- juice of 1 lime
- 8 ounces (1 brick) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 16 ounce bottle salsa
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, chopped
- 3 snacking peppers seeded and chopped
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced, green tops included
- ¼ head iceberg lettuce, shredded finely
- 2 cups grated cheddar/Monterey jack cheese (packaged pre-shredded is great)
- 4 ounce can sliced black olives, drained
- salt and pepper
- hot sauce (optional)
Method
- Layer One: Combine the refried beans and taco seasoning. Spread on a 12-16 inch serving platter.
- Layer Two: With a fork, mash the avocados, along with the lime juice, in a small bowl to your preferred consistency. Spread on top of the refried beans.
- Layer Three: Combine the cream cheese and sour cream until they are smooth and completely blended. Spread on top of the avocado.
- Layer Four: Pour the salsa over the cream cheese mixture. If the salsa is too runny, you may wish to drain it in a strainer over the sink before pouring it over the cream cheese.
- Layer Five: Combine the tomatoes, chopped peppers, and green onions. Arrange on top of the salsa and then add the shredded lettuce.
- Layer Six: Sprinkle the grated cheese over the vegetable layer.
- Layer Seven: Top with sliced black olives.
- Serve with tortilla chips. Adjust seasoning of each layer as you go with salt, pepper, and optional hot sauce.
From the Family Table 