What about this?

Watching the great Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, and the Alou brothers play baseball at the infamous Candlestick Park, ranks among my favorite childhood memories. Back in the day when it was deemed safe for children to be out and about the city all by themselves, my cousins and I would catch San Francisco Muni buses to go watch Giants games. Because of the unpredictable weather at Candlestick, we either froze in the damp overcast or toasted in the bright sunlight. But bags of peanuts, tasty hotdogs, boxes of Cracker Jack, and chunks of Bazooka Bubble Gum more than made up for any discomfort we experienced.

To honor the great Giants players of the past and the current National League Champions, I present a dip that’s worthy of a Giants World Series party. It’s even the right color – orange! So . . . LET’S GO GIANTS, LET’S GO!

Buffalo Chicken Dip
As featured in How Sweet It Is

Ingredients:
2 – 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 cup Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce
3 cups shredded chicken
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese*

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, and buffalo wing sauce. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

3. Fold in shredded chicken and 1 cup of shredded cheese.

4. Pour into a baking dish. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheese.*

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until dip is warmed through.

6. Serve with tortilla chips, bread, sturdy crackers, and celery sticks.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Instead of buying chicken breasts and cooking them, I was lazy and purchased a rotisserie chicken and shredded the meat. Other versions of this recipe call for using canned chicken.

2. When this came out of the oven, small pools of oil sat on the surface and I blotted them off.

3. Next time, I will try adding blue cheese crumbles instead of blue cheese dressing. I think this would intensify the blue cheese flavor and cut back on the oiliness of the finished product.

4. *Also, the problem with baking shredded cheddar cheese on top of the dip is that as the dip cools the cheese hardens and creates a cheese crust that gets in the way of the dip. Next time I will omit the cheese topping and will mix in less fatty shredded mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar.

5. The heat in this recipe can be adjusted by adding a little more or a little less of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce.

6. Makes enough for a small gathering of snack-craving people.

Enjoy!