Email   Print   Share By Christie Vanover, Chief, Command Information

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Christie Vanover, Chief, Command Information

People often ask me what my specialty dish is. The truth: I don’t know.

I’ve enjoyed cooking and baking for years, but I don’t have that “one recipe” that I’m known for. In fact, I rarely make the same thing twice.

I enjoy experimenting with new ingredients, learning about cultural dishes and developing new recipes. I guess it adds excitement to the dinner table.

Instead of a specialty dish, I would say that I have a certain palette of flavors that I like to cook with. I like mixing sweet and heat. I enjoy cooking with honey, syrup or fruit and mixing those flavors with peppers, Creole seasoning or other ingredients with a kick.

One of the strangest dishes I like for lunch is a grilled peanut butter and raspberry chipotle sauce sandwich with Doritos or tortilla chips stuffed inside. My husband thinks I’m crazy, but it’s so good.

The bread gets nice and toasty, and the peanut butter oozes out. The raspberry chipotle sauce gives that sweet heat flavor, and the chips provide an added crunch.

While stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., there was a restaurant in Aggieville, So Long Saloon, that sold grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They didn’t use chipotle sauce or put chips inside, but it was still so good with a big basket of onion rings.

I miss the great chow in Aggieville.

Every time we visited So Long Saloon, I ordered the grilled PB&J, but only after I devoured the raspberry chipotle black bean dip.

This dip is creamy, has a sweet heat and is served with crunchy tortilla chips. It’s one of those dishes I’ll always think of when I think of Fort Riley.

But after nearly seven years, the Army had other plans for us, and it was time to leave the culinary Mecca of Manhattan, Kan.

For me, that’s one of the hardest things about Army life – leaving behind the restaurants that I’ve grown to love.

From Manhattan, I miss So Long Saloon, the wood-fired wings and bananas foster at Coco Bolos, the filet mignon at Harry’s and the sweet potato fries at Willie’s Sports Bar & Grill.

From SHAPE, Belgium, I miss steak on the rock at La Cervoise, salade au chèvre chaud (warm goat cheese salad served with honey balsamic dressing) at le Mercier and Belgian waffles from the Brico.

And to this day, I still crave soy garlic chicken wings from KyoChon Chicken in Taegu, South Korea.

A few restaurants in Central Texas have grown on me, as well, but this assignment, too, will end someday. Therefore, I try my hardest to recreate my favorite restaurant dishes, so I can have them no matter where I live.

That’s how this week’s recipe was developed. The time came for us to leave Fort Riley and its restaurants behind. Before packing up the truck, I visited So Long Saloon a few more times, this time tasting their dip as if a connoisseur.

I would taste small spoonfuls of the black beans to try to assess the spices used. I tasted a hint of cumin and more closely noticed the texture. The beans were partially mashed, but still chunky.

Next, I had to figure out the cream cheese center. You could see the bits of sautéed onions mixed throughout, and it was topped with a vibrant raspberry chipotle sauce.

Nowadays, it’s easy to find raspberry chipotle sauce in the barbecue sauce and marinade section of your grocery. Some varieties are sweeter than others. I prefer Bronco Bobs because it’s a little spicier and less sweet. It’s made with raspberries, jalapenos and chipotles (smoke-dried jalapenos).

Last, the dish was topped with melted shredded cheese, which was obviously pepperjack because you could see the bits of jalapenos.

Knowing the basic ingredients and how to construct it, I was ready to experiment.

First step, I sautéed some onions in a tablespoon of butter and creamed it together with the cream cheese. Then, I scooped the cream cheese onto the center of an oven-proof skillet and spooned a well into the center of the cheese.

Next, I dumped a can of black beans in a pot with some salt and cumin and let them cook down, until almost all of the liquid was gone. I smashed them as I stirred them to give them that creamy, yet chunky consistency.

The mashed beans were placed around the cream cheese, and the raspberry chipotle sauce was poured into the cream cheese well. A sprinkle of shredded pepperjack cheese and 8-10 minutes in a very hot 450-degree oven, and this bad boy was ready for a taste test.

I don’t know if this is their exact recipe, in fact, it’s probably not, but I was happy, my husband was happy and I was ready to leave Fort Riley with this recipe in tow.

Sometimes, we just eat this dip for dinner, and other times, I make it when company comes over. But every time I serve it, I’m always reminded of the great food and wonderful memories from Riley.



Raspberry Chipotle Black Bean Dip

1 T. butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 can black beans

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 block (8-ozs.) cream cheese

1/2 cup raspberry chipotle sauce

1/4 to 1/2 cup pepperjack cheese, shredded

Melt butter in small pan. Add chopped onion and sauté.

Dump can of black beans into a pot. Add the salt and cumin. Stir over medium heat, mashing the beans as they cook for about 10 minutes, until the liquid reduces and the beans have a smooth, yet chunky consistency.

Combine the cream cheese and onions.

Place the cream cheese in the center of an oven-safe dish.

Spoon the beans around the cream cheese.

Spoon a well into the center of the cream cheese and pour the raspberry chipotle sauce into the well.

Add pepper jack cheese on top.

Place in a 450 degree oven, until the cheese melts, and serve with tortilla chips.