“Award Winning” Briney Olive and Pickle Dip

Recently we had a “Chip and Dip” team event at work. Our organization supplied the dippers (various chips and veggies) and several team members brought dips and salsa to enjoy. Everything was super yummy! We also had a very informal contest on the best dip and mine won! I was super excited about this because I had made up the recipe myself.

I knew I wanted to bring something and I started thinking about what I had in my fridge. I love pickles and anything in brine, so I got the idea to really go with the briney flavor. Also, I’ve been a bit obsessed with Worcestershire sauce recently, so I threw some of that in there. And then all the salts, herbs and spices I thought would work with the pickles and olives.

I was a little nervous the night I made it because it seemed like no matter how much flavor I added, I only tasted cream cheese. Finally I decided to stop and just see what happened to it in the fridge overnight. That was the key - all the flavors melded together and I ended up with exactly my kind of dip - briney, pickly, salty, with a nice depth from the Worcestershire. This will be a go to dip for summer parties for sometime to come!

A Briney Olive and Pickle Dip

Prep time: 10 min

Inactive Cook time: Overnight

Makes about 2 ½ cups dip

Ingredients:

16 oz cream cheese, softened

4 green onions, white and light green only, sliced

½ cup chopped green olives

2 - 3 dill pickles diced

3 tbsp olive brine

4-5 tbsp dill pickle brine

6 oz sour cream (I used the light version)

¼ cup mayo (I used Vegenaise)

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp celery salt

2 tsp dill

1 tsp kosher salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper (or more or less depending on the spice level you want)

Directions:

Place cream cheese in large bowl and cream with fork or hand beater, just to get things started. Add the green onions, olives, pickles, and brines and mix thoroughly. Add the sour cream and mayo (I discovered that if you add these in the beginning, the cream cheese may get a little clumpy). Add remaining ingredients and mix till everything is combined.

Let dip sit in fridge at least overnight. Longer for more intense flavors.