A new family- and friend-favorite in the McAdam household is all thanks to the culinary tinkering of my husband, Dan. Both of us love nothing more than a nice, fresh, crisp BLT. But what about when you can’t find that perfect, in-season tomato? Or for those times when the thought of assembling BLTs for a crowd feels like too much work?

For those occasions, I suggest trying Dan McAdam’s (Newly) Famous BLT Dip, which he whipped up on a fall football-Sunday not too long ago.

*Note: Because Dan’s tinkering rarely involves exact measurements, feel free to adjust these volumes to your taste.

• 1-2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1.5 – 2 pounds bacon
• 2 bricks (~16 oz.) cream cheese (softened to room temperature)
• 1 cup sour cream
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 1 bunch green onion (feel free to eyeball it based on your taste preference)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Romaine or iceberg lettuce for serving (or other crisp green of your choosing!)
• Baguette or other tasty cracker-type serving vessel

1. Quarter the tomatoes and salt them in a colander over the sink or a bowl. Set aside to drain (~20 minutes).
2. Chop up the bacon and cook until extra crispy (for this, we cook in a pan on the stove, but feel free to use your favorite method). Drain the grease and pat the bacon dry.
3. Chop the green onion.
4. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo in a bowl.
5. Once the tomatoes have drained away some of their water (~20 minutes), fold the tomatoes, bacon, and green onion into the cream cheese, sour cream, and mayo mixture.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For Serving: 

• For the tasting runs we’ve done so far, some folks preferred putting the BLT dip into a lettuce cup and eating that way.
• Others preferred placing the dip and a chopped up piece of lettuce onto a sliced baguette.
• When it comes to this dip, feel free to choose your own adventure in terms of serving vessel to get the dip from the bowl to your belly!