Muzzie’s Dip

I’ve been trying and coming up short of what exactly to write for this post. So let me start by copying and pasting what I wrote on social media not long after her death.

Yesterday, we celebrated the life of my amazing grandmother. She was a mother to seven, grandmother to 23, and great-grandmother to 17, with 3 more arriving soon, and foster mother to dozens more. She was a wonderful cook, a prolific knitter (especially of our beloved “Muzzie blankies”), and an excellent dancer. She was a baby-whisperer… She LOVED babies and they loved her. Apparently she was a bit of a dare-devil too, surprising us all by diving down a slip n slide into a lake at her 80th birthday celebration! She patented the two-handed wave and never missed calling AND sending a card on each of our birthdays. She loved seeing our pictures on Instagram and probably is not particularly pleased about me going on about her in this post 🤍

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While my grandmother was a wonderful cook of many things – she could (and did routinely) cook a feast for about 50 people and was an excellent baker – somehow she became most associated with her eponymous dip. Somewhere along the way, Muzzie’s Dip became the absolute favorite. Literally every family gathering has a bowl of Muzzie’s Dip. General consensus is that it goes best with Fritos, but there are other options. I like cucumbers and carrots with it. My dad is an advocate of plain Lays. Some might even suggest spreading it on a Triscuit.

So many non-family members heard about Muzzie’s Dip, that we actually made a few vats of it and served it at her funeral, so everyone could see what the fuss was about.

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I’ll be honest. It’s a basic chip dip. I actually think she got the original recipe, though this version is my tweaking of her tweaking, off the side of a cream cheese package a few decades ago. But it takes all of five minutes to bring together and is YUMMY. What’s not to love? No one else may have the memories that are associated with it, but hey, who doesn’t need a delicious chip dip in their repertoire.

Muzzie’s Dip

Ingredients: 

• 8oz package (full-fat) cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 large lemon, juice & zest
• 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp mustard with horseradish
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions:

1. Using a hand-mixer, mix all ingredients together until smooth & well-combined. (If you’re having trouble, wait longer for the cream cheese to soften.)
2. Chill until serving.