When I was young, I discovered the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. Glorious, wonderful, read-yearly books that have influenced thousands, nay, millions of people worldwide.

Imagine my pure joy when I went to college at Michigan State University, and there was a (drum roll, please)... Bilbo's Pizza. Yes. Every Single Item on the menu...Tolkien-inspired. Genius. The best item there was Bilbo's dill dip, that came with breadsticks. Now the East Lansing restaurant is closed, although there's one in Kalamazoo. Food detective that I am, I had to recreate this extraordinary dill dip. Here's the recipe - you'll thank me. It's a very flexible recipe - equal parts base ingredients, and equal parts dried herbs, plus a little salt. The dried ingredients? A trifecta of goodness - parsley, onions, dill.

Now, do we know what hobbits eat? Not necessarily. But if one is smart, he's mixing up a triple batch of this delicious dill dip for a merry gathering.

Hobbit Dill Dip

Ingredients:

2 cups of base - you can use 1/2 sour cream, 1/2 mayonnaise. You can use 1/3 sour cream, 1/3 mayo, and 1/3 Greek yogurt - you want it thick and creamy. The mayo, while sounding gross, is critical.

1.5 T dried dill
1.5 T dried onion
1.5 T dried parsley

1/2 t salt
if desired: 1-2 T finely minced onion (optional)

Directions:

Mix together in a bowl, refrigerate for at least 20 minutes for the herbs and onions to bloom.

Serve with breadsticks, crudites, or on a spoon.

Homemade Breadsticks

(This dough can also be used for pizza or focaccia)

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c warm water
1 T yeast
pinch sugar
3 1/2 c flour
4 T olive oil
pinch salt

Directions:

Combine water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes, until the yeast starts getting puffy. Add in the flour, olive oil, and salt. I use a kitchenaid and let it mix for about 5 minutes. If you're doing it by hand, knead until the dough is soft and pliable.

Cover with a damp towel and put in a warm place to rise for an hour. Punch the dough down.

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease a 9x13 bread pan. Pat the dough into the bread pan, spread it to the edges. Poke the dough with your fingers to make little indentations. Put on 1 t olive oil, spread it all over the dough. Sprinkle with sea salt, smoked salt, and parmesan (if you wish).

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the breadsticks are puffy and golden on top.

Flip out onto a cutting board, cut into strips, serve with the Best Dip in the World.

Want to see it again? Yep.