Wine & Dip Flight: Camping Edition
three dips, three wines, pure joy.
Most often my posts are inspired by a wine, or a fun recipe idea. This one was inspired by mini cast iron skillets. I mean for real though, how I could I not buy these? They’re so cute, and were the core inspiration for creating my first (hopefully of many) wine & dip flight!
This was completely spontaneous by the way. My family decided to go on a quick one nighter camping trip (Josie’s first one!) and I thought it would be a good opportunity to whip up a dip I had planned. But when I reached for my go-to 8 inch cast iron skillet, it just happened to be sitting right next to its little babies.
My first thought was “AH I’m gonna make a mini version”. But then I decided to overachieve as always and came up with a whole new, super ambitious plan. I was not as prepared as I could have been, but I think I did a pretty darn good job considering I had an hour to prep for it before we had to leave!
Wine & Dip Flight: Camping Edition
I wanted to make this one as “campy” as possible, so I went with 3 dips (let’s call them the appetizer, main, and dessert) that scream camping to me! For the appetizer, I went with a dip that my mum would make us on every camping trip growing up. And I had it prepared in the fridge! Meant to be? I think so. For the main I went with a dip that highlights a classic camping breakfast food, and for the dessert? A classic campfire treat, with a twist!
To prepare the dips, I didn’t have (or bring) much. Ideally I would have brought a can opener, a knife, more than one spoon, oven mitts or bbq tongs, paper towel, my butane torch, cooking spray…. A few things. But as I mentioned above, I rushed this one and wasn’t super prepared!
I heated all three on the campfire (we used this little propane fire pit), in my mini cast iron skillets. I forgot oven mitts, but luckily the hubs brought one just in case! He didn’t tell me we had it when I was putting them on so that was a little hot, but thankfully I had them to take them off the fire!
I plated my dips on my beautiful new resin terrazzo cutting board (that I can’t get enough of) with some gorgeous pink wild roses. For the wine I used simple plastic stemmed wine glasses and they got the job done! Full transparency, I only brought 2. So there was some pouring of the wine back in the bottles behind the scenes for the sake of the video. Whoops.
In the end, it all worked out! Maybe with a bit more chaos than intended, but that’s just how I roll.
NOTE: I’m keeping these recipes super simple! If you choose to make them mini or in a larger dish, use your heart to measure the ingredients. You really can’t mess this up!
#1 - Appetizer
Homemade Tostitos Queso Dip & Rosé
This one was easy peasy. I had leftover queso in the fridge and an open bottle of ‘The Beach’ by Whispering Angel Rosé in the fridge that we planned on bringing camping anyways.
Awesome pairing, little to no prep! All I did was bring some pre-chopped chives and shredded cheddar for the topping and some multigrain Tostito chips for dipping. Here’s the full queso post in case you missed it!
Homemade Tostitos Queso Dip
I don’t know about you, but I could straight up crush an entire jar of Tostitos Queso. You know, that bright orange deliciousness that no one seems to be able to replicate? Until now, that is.
#2 - Main
Maple Baked Bean Dip & Baco Noir
This is the dip I had originally planned to make, and with Canada Day around the corner, I made it super Canadian. The main ingredient is canned maple baked beans - such a classic camping breakfast and so so nostalgic - and I paired it with the Canadian Henry of Pelham Old Vines Baco Noir. I wanted a wine with enough sweetness to match the sweet maple beans and enough weight to not be overpowered by the richness of the dip, and this one was perfect! Bonus that it has some smoky notes to it to really match those campfire vibes.
Ingredients
Cream cheese
Maple baked beans
Grated Cheddar cheese
Toppings
Crispy maple bacon
Crushed Ketchup chips (optional but highly recommended!)
Dipper
Ketchup chips (SO GOOD)
Original or barbecue flavoured kettle chips would also be great!
Directions
Spray cast iron skillet with cooking oil
Spread a layer of cream along the bottom of the skillet, followed by a layer of maple baked beans. Top with grated sharp cheddar cheese.
Cover with tin foil and cook on the campfire (ideally not directly in the fire like I did) for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, or until the dip is heated through and the cheese is melted.
Remove from the fire (using oven mitts please!) and remove the tinfoil. Top with crispy chopped maple bacon, and if you have them, crushed ketchup chips! For real, this is so so good. I used the Miss Vickies Sweet and Spicy Ketchup Chips for the topping and as the dipper. Extra Canadian, extra delicious.
#3 - Dessert
Skor Maple Bacon S’Mores Dip & Tawny Port
I was going to just make a classic s’mores dip for this one, but I made some impulsive changes while buying the ingredients and making the dips that turned it into a very Canadian s’mores dip! Turns out Skor is a Canadian chocolate bar (so proud of us for that one), so when I was buying chocolate for the dip and saw the little Canadian flag next to the Skor bars, I had to get it!
The next twist was the maple bacon, and I was not planning on doing this until I was adding the toppings to each dip! I had brought some for the Maple Baked Bean Dip, happened to have some leftover, and just couldn’t resist adding some to this dip for that sweet and salty perfection.
The Wine
When it comes to pairing a dessert dip with wine, you want to go sweet. Dry wine just won’t cut it, unfortunately. But as controversial as it might be, sweet wine can be absolutely amazing. I went with a no-brainer pairing for S’mores dip: Tawny Port - a rich, high alcohol, fortified wine from Portugal that tastes like toffee, dried fruit, and toasty warm spices. It’s absolutely delicious - kind of like dessert in a glass - and perfectly matches and complements the sweetness, flavours, and richness of this dip.
I picked up a bottle of this Portal 6-Barrel Tawny Port and it was fantastic, BUT if you have access to Costco Liquor, the Kirkland Signature 10 year Tawny Port is always amazing and so affordable in comparison.
Ingredients
Salted butter, soft/room temperature
Graham crumbs
Chopped Skor bar
Mini marshmallows
Topping
Crispy chopped maple bacon
Dipper
Graham crackers
Directions
Spray cast iron skillet with cooking oil.
Combine soft, salted butter and graham crumbs to form a thick paste (approx 1 tbsp butter to 2-3 tbsp graham crumbs if using the mini skillets).
Spread butter/graham crumb mixture over the base of the skillet, then top with your chopped Skor bar, followed by mini marshmallows.
Cover with tin foil and cook on the campfire (ideally not directly in the fire like I did) for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, or until the dip is heated through and the marshmallows are melted.
Remove from the fire (using oven mitts please!) and remove the tinfoil. Top with more marshmallows, and if you have one, torch them to get that roasted marshmallow top! (I forgot mine, sadly). Finish it off with crispy chopped maple bacon, and enjoy with graham crackers!
Should I make more wine & dip flights?! I would love to hear your thoughts!
Maple Baked Bean Dip & Baco Noir sounds so yum!
Omg these all look so good, especially the one with the beans! I may have to make these with brats for the 4th.