This week is "February Vacation" for Boston Public Schools, something we never had back in Colorado. Sure, we had Spring Break in March, but Boston has that, too. February Vacation is just bonus week off. And while I should be doing my taxes or getting ahead on lesson plans and school work, I have filled my days off catching up on Top Chef episodes and dreaming of a warmer tomorrow (did I mention it's been cold here?)
We were able to take advantage of the wintery weather last weekend when we went up skiing to Killington, Vermont. The conditions were great (for New England- I will always be a ski snob partial to my Rocky Mountain moguls) and the town of Killington was very quaint (and crowded- I guess that's what people do for February Vacation in the Northeast). Aside from skiing (and the Aprés Ski hot tub), the highlights of my weekend were food-related (go figure). The first came in the form of Buffalo Chicken Dip (also Aprés Ski). If you've never had Buffalo Chicken Dip, go directly to the store, buy the ingredients, and make a batch- NOW. It's really that good, if you like Buffalo Chicken, that is. If you don't like Buffalo Chicken, then I'm not sure if we can be friends anymore. Because from now until eternity (eternity being the day I find a better dip) if you come over to my house for any reason- be it the Super Bowl, the Oscars, a Tuesday night- there will be Buffalo Chicken Dip.
The best thing about Buffalo Chicken Dip (BCD, from here on out) is how easy it is to make. All you need is 2 cups chicken (leftover, Rotisserie, canned, whatever you have) 8 ounces cream cheese (use low fat if you like. In fact, do use low fat because you will eat the entire bowl of dip and I don't want to be responsible for your weight gain. I have BCD related weight gain of my own to worry about.) 1/2 cup ranch dressing (see aforementioned low-fat comment) 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, any non-pretentious cheese will do- don't be throwing Brie into the BDC. No offense, Brie, I still love you and all of your pretentiousness. This just isn't your scene) and finally 1/2 cup FRANKS Red Hot Sauce (no substitutions, please. The BCD recipe is on the bottle of Franks. Do not betray him). Speaking of betrayal, the original BCD recipe calls for blue cheese dressing and blue cheese. I don't agree with cheese being blue, so I (an everyone I've met who makes BCD) uses good ol' ranch and cheddah'. We're not trying to impress anyone here.
Once all your BCD fixins' are mixed, bake it in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until bubbly. Use tortilla chips as your dippers. You could use carrots and celery, too. I'll let you make that call. Whatever you're dipping, prepare to be amazed.
You know what goes really great with Buffalo Chicken Dip? An ice cold beer! You know who makes really good ice cold beer? Long Trail Brewing Co. in Bridgewater, VT., conveniently located just 15 minutes east of Killington, making it the perfect end to your ski weekend (I should do their advertising).
All jokes aside, Long Trail does make great beer, supposedly with the "best water in Vermont!" We opted out of skiing on Sunday because it was too cold (note: third reference to how cold it is here) so we got a head start back to Boston and stopped in at Long Trail Brewing Co. on the way home. We weren't the only ones that had that bright idea, but it ended up being a great detour. The brewery is essentially a restaurant with an awesome waiting area. While waiting for our table, we took the self-guided brewery tour, enjoyed a beer by the outdoor fire, enjoyed another beer inside the heated tent...we were at a brewery after all. I can't say no to good, inexpensive brew. The food was good too, notably the soups. Mike had the chili, which was apparently really good (so good that I didn't even get to smuggle a bite!) And I had the Cheddar Ale Soup (made, of course, with Long Trail Ale). It was the perfect ending to a great weekend away. Cheers!
