Random Recipe Monday - Black Bean and Mango Dip

On Saturday, my sister hosted a party celebrating my brother-in-law's graduation from college. It was a nice affair, with family and friends, and tons of Caribbean-themed food. My sister made enough chicken and shrimp kabobs to feed all of Jamaica, I think.

I like dip so I offered to bring one. In my usual fashion, I try out a new recipe and take my chances on whether it will be any good or not. I know, kinda risky when it is for an occasion, but that's how I roll. Using Google, as always, I found a Caribbean Black Bean and Mango dip. The recipe called for layering it in a pie dish - I'm sure for a more picturesque presentation. I said phooey to that and mixed it all together. I'm glad I did because I liked the flavors melded together. I made it early on the day of the party and that worked out just fine.

The recipe called for some chopped tomatoes, which I omited so as to not freak out the guests (some people are still worried about the recent salmonella scare). Now that I've tried the dip, I wouldn't use them anyway. I think I'd use corn kernels instead. It was fine as is, but the corn might add a bit extra to the mix.

So, give the dip a try if you have a bit of sour cream, cream cheese, black beans, mango, jalapeno, cilantro and various spices on hand - and heck, who doesn't always have those handy, huh? (yeah, right)