"Pete" was a married lady friend of mine. Pete was short for Pepita. She was not butchy. She was a real lady - except for one thing: she was an absolute alcoholic, but every Christmas would invite me over to their place for snacks and drinks. The snacks always included her special dip. I often asked her for the recipe, but she always kept it as her secret. I experimented for ages, but could never reproduce it. One night in the bar she pulled a piece of paper out of her purse, crumpled it up in her fist and passed it to me under the table. She was very drunk and motioned me to "Shh!" with her fingers to her lips. I put the crumpled ball of paper in my pocket. Next morning I found it there. It was the secret recipe! Only a week later, she and her boyfriend were found dead in a motel room. They had literally drunk themselves to death. Maybe she knew her end was near and wanted to pass her recipe on to me. Anyway, here is the amazingly simple recipe for the amazingly good "Pete's Dip."

Ingredients:
(Serves 12)

• 1 cup Miracle Whip
• 1 cup Heinz Chili Sauce
• A few drops Tabasco sauce
• A liberal sprinkle of garlic powder
• 1 can cocktail shrimp or crab meat (or if you really want to be decadent, both)

1. Stir all items together throughly.
2. Chill.
3. Serve with crackers or chips as a dip.
4. * Will keep for 4 or 5 days in fridge, but keep in a sealed container, because it will take on fridge odors.

Well, that's it. So simple and soooo good! Thanks, Pete!

Contributed by Ted