Welcome to Mythical Kitchen Picks, the series in which the culinary experts from Mythical Kitchen tell you all about their favorite foods and ingredients. This week, the team is letting you in on all their favorite cookout buys—from meats to grill to condiments to snacks. Today, Vianai Austin talks about the garlic dip that turned her from a garlic hater to a garlic obsessive.
Vee’s Pick: Trader Joe’s Garlic Spread Dip
Who are the five best rappers of all time? Garlic, garlic, garlic, garlic, and garlic…because it spits hot fire. And so does this dip. If you don’t know the reference of this joke, I might have to reconsider inviting you to the cookout. (Chappelle’s Show, duh!)
Let’s go back a second. I hated garlic for a LONG time. After eating four raw cloves in my abuelita’s kitchen from a mysterious jar, it burned and scarred me. Ten-year-old me was pissed. This sounds stupid, but I really didn’t like anything garlicky. It wasn’t until I was a “mature” little college student that I finally decided to woman the hell up and gave it a second try. I arrived back home from the spring semester of my freshman year with my family hosting a lovely summer cookout. Little did I know that my garlic eating destiny was waiting for me. My sister handed me a container of Trader Joe’s garlic spread dip, a nice crostini, and smiled. I took my first bite. Holy guacamole. Or shall I say garlic-ole. You know when the sun shines on you individually because something biblical just happened? Yeah, me neither, but damn was it good.
Now you’re probably thinking, “OMG, Vee, that’s just so much garlic all at once. Why the hell would I eat it like that?” Because why the hell not, Susan? This dip changed my life. Garlic needs to be a part of every single dish, especially at a cookout. And if I can dip into it? EVEN BETTER! Made with garlic, oil, lemon juice, and salt, it’s simplicity at its best. This delicious smooth, velvety, dip is great for meats, chips, fries, and who knows, maybe even a punishment for a child who is talking too much. Whatever you use it for, it satisfies the taste buds. But if you’re like me, you’ll end up just slurping it off a few crostinis. All I’m saying is not only will this dip keep the vampires away but it’s the answer to making everything taste better. With this dip, all the hard work is already done for you. Open, spread, eat. You’re welcome.
It’s Cookout Week at Sporked!
To kick off summer, we’re highlighting all the best foods and drinks you should be buying for cookouts, BBQs, grilling seshes, or any other type of al fresco partying and eating you’ll be doing this season.
Thoughts? Questions? Complete disagreement? Leave a comment!