When I was living in Brooklyn as a twentysomething, my three roommates and I loved to throw parties. We all had varying levels of interests in the food spread. One year I was so Ina Garten I made my own mayo for homemade French onion dip. In a perpetual cycle of sleep deprivation with a 7-month-old and 3-year-old, I look back and laugh at that ambitious hostess now — who was I?!
My least-”foodie” roommate had a signature contribution to these parties: a cream cheese dip that you could easily throw together no matter how late you’d stayed out the night before. It’s brilliant in its simplicity, and it’s still a party appetizer I know by heart and make at least once during every college football season. (Go Ducks!) It’s a classic pub cheese dip, and there are two secret ingredients that make it so hard to stop eating: Guinness and caraway seeds. That combo might not sound like the most appealing one, but trust me when I say it just works.
How to Make Game Day Dip
To make the dip, you stir together a block of cream cheese, with shredded sharp cheddar — you can be flexible here: I’ve made this with a cup of cheddar for a more cream cheese-forward dip or up to 2 cups of cheddar if you want it thicker — 2 tablespoons of Guinness, and 1/2 teaspoon of caraway seeds. Bonus points if you want to top with chopped chives, but it’s not necessary. The anise-y flavor from the caraway with the cheddar and sweet beer is so special.
If I want a really easy something to throw together when people come over to watch a game, this is always it. It doesn’t need to bake or chill in the fridge — it’s ready in literally 5 minutes (more like 2 if you’re using pre-shredded cheese!). Everyone in my life knows it now as the Guinness dip. Serve it with pretzels, potato chips (here’s the brand chefs swear by), a baguette (especially if you up the amount of cheddar because then it’s more spreadable), the options are kinda endless — just serve it!