Buffalo Wing Hummus

I pride myself on the fact that I eat relatively healthy. But I'm far from perfect as evidenced by the multitude of sugar-laden baked goods on this blog and the nearly-empty bag of chocolate chips in the fridge (none were used in any baked product). And I can't resist splurging every now and then. Buffalo Chicken Dip is one of those dips that I simply cannot resist and always save some room to splurge. We often serve it on game-days when watching the Steelers beat the crap out of other teams, like the Seattle Seahawks, who they shut out earlier this morning. . . (No comment about last week's ill-attempt at football from the Steelers.) But anyway, Buffalo Chicken Dip can certainly take its toll on one's waist! The average recipe has a minimum of 16 ounces of cream cheese, 1 cup of Ranch or Blue cheese dressing, and 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese. And most people enjoy it with Frito's! So, I normally limit myself to one or two pathetic little chips and sulk in a corner.

So, imagine my delight when I opened this month's Food Network magazine and saw this recipe for 'Buffalo Wing' hummus. Um, seriously? I pretty much schmear hummus on everything from vegetables to toast (it's second to my peanut butter addiction) so I was very excited, albeit skeptical, to try it out. But oh.my.goodness! This stuff is amazing! The magazine published two other recipes (from The Desert Cafe) - sour cream and onion hummus and pizza hummus - that I cannot wait to try! The company has over 175 versions, including kinds like pumpkin pie and butterfinger, but I'm not really into buying 6 x 8oz containers for one person. (At least not in daylight hours.) I might need to go to Baltimore... Anyway, this hummus tastes so good and any buffalo craving is absolutely satisfied. One word of caution though: this stuff makes nearly 4 cups of hummus. Looks like it's a hummus-fest for the next week!
Buffalo Wing Hummus
from The Desert Cafe, desertcafe.com, The Wild Pea, as seen in Food Network Magazine
Yield: 4 cups
Nutrition: Per 2 Tbsp: 39 cal, 1g fat
Ingredients

• 3 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed, plus 1/2 cup liquid reserved
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 Tbsp bbq sauce
• 2-3 Tbsp cayenne red pepper hot sauce (I used Red Hot)
• 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Instructions

1. Put the chickpeas, chickpea liquid, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, paprika, bbq sauce, hot sauce, vinegar and salt in a food processor. Puree until smooth and creamy.