This is a huge crowd pleaser. (But seriously, it's just as much fun to eat the whole thing yourself.
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Ingredients
- 1 cup cream cheese (8 oz)
- 1 cup sour cream (8 oz)
- ~1 cup of your favorite hot sauce (Franks would be standard for this but any hot sauce will do. Chipotle tobasco and Franks together is dynamite. So are dozens of other varieties and combos.)
- 2-4 cups of smoked or grilled shredded chicken (I prefer thighs personally, but white meat will do too)
- Chipotles or other chiles (jalapeno, Fresno, Hatch, serrano, guajillo, etc.), preferably smoked! (Optional--still good without these too!)
- Celery seeds
- Grated cheese
- Scallions, chives or red onion
- Blue cheese crumbles
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Instructions
A. Soften cream cheese on counter for an hour or two before starting recipe
B. Add cream cheese, sour cream and a good pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to a mixing bowl and stir until all are incorporated together well
C. Add hot sauce, chicken and optional peppers (if adding peppers, remove stems, seed and dice), and stir to combine well with other ingredients
D. Using a rubber scraper/spatula, pour mixture into buttered or oiled smoker-safe baking dish, scraping all of it out of the bowl and making sure that it doesn't come up more than half way up to the top of the dish, as you'll be adding more as you go and it can bubble up a bit while it cooks.
E. Use rubber spatula/scraper to smooth out the top of the mixture in the container, then sprinkle celery seeds over the top. It shouldn't look black, but there should be enough celery seeds that every scoop of a chip will pick some up! (The celery seeds absolutely make this dish IMHO)
F. Sprinkle a few blue cheese crumbles (again, as much as you want depending on your personal taste prefs) over the top
G. Cover entire mixture with grated cheese(s). My favorite is to use a combination of sharp cheddar and pepper jack, but you can let your imagination run wild here and honestly, anything goes. Key is to get it good and cheesy on top. No skimping!
H. Bake in smoker at 300F until cheese is bubbly in center and starting to brown.
I. Remove from heat, add some chopped scallions, chives or onions over the top and let rest for a few minutes before serving.
Serve with Frito Scoops (our favorite accompaniment) or other corn chips or tortillas. It will hold the heat for a while so you and your guests need to be careful. (Nobody likes the skin peeling off their mouth from too hot an appetizer!
![Embarrassed :oops:](./images/smilies/icon_redface.gif)
) Please be careful, especially if there are little ones around!