Dip Day!
For several days in early June, the weather was hot, over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and what was forecast as an “occasional thunderstorm” kept kicking us out of the pool in the late afternoons. When this happened again on a Sunday, I had chips and dips on my mind after our neighbors brought over so many wonderful guacamoles and quesos the night before. I decided to whip up a couple quick dips when our “dip” was interrupted by thunder, lightning, and a downpour. We ate and played Monopoly until the storm passed. Both recipes below are from the “Appetizers & Beverages” section.
Shrimp Dip
I was intrigued by the many recipes calling for canned shrimp (dips and salads), and settled on making the recipe by Dorothy Slotsve, assuming it must be good because it is printed twice, on facing pages 4 and 5 😊. After searching three different grocery stores for this elusive item, I had to give up my dream of strict adherence to the recipe and buy frozen cooked salad shrimp instead of canned shrimp. After the shrimp thawed, I chopped them and put them into one of my beloved vintage Pyrex bowls (I love vintage Pyrex and serving ware in general, because, well, why wouldn’t I? Chef’s kiss!) so that the dip would look beautiful. In the spirit of using what I had, I used the sambal oelek in my fridge, though I imagine “chili sauce” meant Heinz to most of the original ND cooks making the dip in the 1980s.
I then added sour cream, which Dorothy clarifies should be “cultured” in the instructions (not acidified sour cream—see https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/sourcream.pdf and https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/sour-cream, among others, for distinctions). However, she provides a clarification that is less obvious to me in the ingredient list, calling for the use of “1 carton sour cream.” Since I’ve been buying most of my sour cream at Costco over the past few years, my mental image of a carton is probably not what she had in mind. I settled on a pint, since that is what seems to be the most common size in the grocery store when I looked.
This was delicious! While the instructions say to mix and serve with chips, I decided to put it in the fridge to allow the flavors to blend for a while after our initial snack. It was even better later, and Luke and I agree that more shrimp would be appealing, to both the eye and the taste buds. We tried it with crackers, tortilla chips, carrots, cucumbers, and sour cream and onion chips. The latter is what we recommend if you want a chip dip. I will make this again, very soon.
Dorothy (Rauk) Slotsve was married to Roger Slotsve, who was superintendent of Velva Public School for much of the 1980s. She was born in 1943 and passed in 2002, which I was able to learn from searching online, but she not listed in the McHenry County history book. I intend to speak to some Velva residents who will know more about her and her life. Dorothy also contributed recipes for chocolate cake, peanut brittle, and the eponymous dish, “Turkey Slotsve.”
Hot Tomato Sauce
When I read this great recipe title, I knew I had to make it, right then. It’s the precursor of “Hot Girl Summer” and “Hot Vax Summer,” clearly. Our contributor, Lois Wunderlich, was prescient.
Luckily, I had the ingredients or variations of them in the pantry. Rather than separate cans of diced tomatoes and chilies, I used a can of Rotel, and since the can was only 10 ounces, I added the rest of the leftover fresh tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos I had diced to serve with the tacos the previous night. While others might be surprised by the inclusion of a teaspoon of sugar, I was not, having grown up sprinkling sugar on sliced tomatoes with my father. The sugar also adds a pickling element.
Lois indicates that we should “let set a few hours so flavors mix well,” which I decided to do in the fridge, though it wasn’t completely clear to me if refrigeration was necessary. Also, “let set” strikes me as an interesting usage; is it an idiom of which I’m not aware? I’ll have to do some linguistic research.
Doritos are specifically listed as the chip to dip, but I used tortilla chips because we had them. It was fine, but when you like spicy salsa, filled with cilantro, garlic, peppers, and lime juice, this did not hit the spot. I’m open to the possibility that it might be nice with the Doritos, given their flavor.
Lois Wunderlich is currently living in Velva, after moving from the farm she lived upon with her husband Glenn, southeast of Voltaire. Glenn and Lois lived a few miles southeast of my family’s farm, and her grandson, Chris, is one of my high school friends; when I moved to Fargo-Moorhead after graduate school, I was pleased to be able to catch up with Chris and his family. Lois was born Lois Hammer, in 1932, in Velva, the daughter of George and Anna Hammer, and attended Velva High School and Minot State College before teaching in rural schools in the area. She and Glenn have five children: Dale, Dennis, Debbie, Donna, and Deneen; the list of their civic activities in the McHenry County history book is impressive, though I’ll just share some of Lois’s here—she served as president of the ALCW at Oak Valley, the Velva Music Mothers, and in 1985, was the current president of the Souris River Conference ALCW. When I mentioned I planned to make a few of Lois’s recipes, my mother recalled how eagerly the church community awaited Lois’s donuts during the church-wide Granny Day rummage and lunch days every year. She was an active contributor to The Joy of Sharing with eight recipes: “Mini Puffs,” “Water Chestnut Appetizers,” “Black Bottom Bars,” “Potato Salad,” “Onion Pie,” “Quick and Easy Spaghetti Sauce,” and “Sweet and Sour Sauce.” More from Lois’s kitchen is to come!
This post is part of an ongoing series in which I make and reflect on recipes and the people who contributed them to the 1985 Oak Valley Lutheran Church compiled cookbook, The Joy of Sharing.
