Chips and dip make great football food.  They are easy to prepare and serve, easy to eat with one hand (so you don’t have to put your beer down), and best of all, they are very tasty.  I had never heard of Cowboy Caviar until my sister-in-law, Liz, shared this recipe with me.  According to Saveur Magazine, legendary Texas cook Helen Corbitt invented this black-eyed pea salad in the 1940s. Cowboy Caviar is  tasty alternative to the standard salsa or guacamole with its blend of black-eyed peas, corn, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. It is best made a day ahead to let all the flavors of the dressing and salad meld together.  I think all your guests will love this vegan and gluten-free dip.

Cowboy Caviar
Yields 12 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Tabasco Sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons salad oil
2 teaspoons garlic salt
ground black pepper, to taste
2 avocados, ripe, but firm, diced
1  15-ounce can black-eyed peas
1 11-ounce can corn
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 large tomatoes, diced

Method:
Make the dressing by whisking together the Tabasco, red wine vinegar, salad oil, garlic salt, and black pepper in a large bowl.  Add diced avocados to the dressing, stirring gently to coat.  Drain and rinse black-eyed peas and corn and add to the avocado/dressing mixture.  Add green onions, cilantro, and tomatoes.  Gently toss all the ingredients to coat well.  Chill for at least two hours or overnight.  If you are making this the day before, add avocados the day you are serving the dip, to keep the avocados from turning brown.  Serve with tortilla chips.