Last weekend my husband and I had dinner with friends.  They were preparing the main course, so we brought the appetizer and dessert.  Chatting with my friend to determine everyone’s likes and dislikes, we concurred that a dip would work.  And as everyone liked at least slightly spicy food, something with a little heat would work.

At this year’s Super Bowl party another set of friends had brought Buffalo Chicken Dip, which we all liked, so I got a copy of that recipe.  While I could have made the dip exactly as her recipe directed, I decided to make some changes.  To intensify the spicy flavor, I cooked the chicken in the hot sauce.  Rather than having layers, I mixed almost all of the ingredients into one dip.  Thankfully the changes worked well, and we had a different version of this same yummy dip.

The dip paired well with both white and red wines and was a great start to our evening.  Followed by grilled-to-order steaks, roasted potatoes and asparagus, and carrot cake, it was a fabulous night of eating and chatting.  I am looking forward to both making the dip and visiting with these friends again!

All that was left for photo taking. . .

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 lbs. chicken breast, diced

1 5-oz. bottle hot sauce*

2 8-oz. packages low fat cream cheese, softened

4 oz. blue cheese dressing

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

tortilla chips & celery sticks

Place diced chicken and entire bottle of hot sauce in a small sauce pan.  Bring to boiling, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until chicken is fully cooked, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350.  In a large mixing bowl combine cream cheese and blue cheese dressing until smooth.  Add chicken and any remaining hot sauce, and mix well.  Pour into a large casserole dish, and top with shredded cheese.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and dip is bubbly.

Enjoy dip immediately with tortilla chips and celery sticks.

*I used Dave’s Gourmet Scotch Bonnet Hot Sauce.