Buffalo Hummus

It's been a hummus-filled week over here. I'm a bit distressed that my go-to store bought hummus (Sabra Classic Hummus) was recalled for possible LISTERIA. Sigh. These types of things do nothing to help my already hyper-vigilant craziness about possible food contamination. So, I decided to get back to basics and resume making my own hummus. I've done this before, but often I neglect to actually purchase tahini and just use olive oil. While this is fine, technically, it's a cardinal sin in terms of hummus, right? Anyway, having not fully decided on what my official house hummus recipe is, I dabbled a bit this week. First, I made one from Smitten Kitchen (promised to be "ethereally smooth"), and while I resisted the idea, I followed her directions and actually removed the skins from 2 cans worth of chickpeas, one by one. Yes. I wasted 15 minutes (I timed it) of my life popping little chickpeas from their skins. While slightly therapeutic, I didn't feel like the results were dramatic enough to warrant my effort. But, this recipe was tahini-heavy and my husband adored its nuttiness. Double batch gone in 3 days. Yesterday, as I was perusing my Pinterest files, I found a recipe for Buffalo Hummus. This brings me to the reason for this post. This stuff? Freaking awesome. All the glory of buffalo wings, none of the guilt. Fab-u-lous. Intensely flavored, spicy (but  not overly so--you're in charge of just how spicy), and smoky. I topped our servings with a bit of extra blue cheese and a drizzle of hot sauce for loveliness, but let it be known that this is not necessary. Make this one for your next par-tay.

Buffalo Hummus
-adapted from gimmesomeoven.com

• -2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
• -3 cloves garlic, peeled
• -1/4 cup water 
• -1/4 cup tahini
• -1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (I prefer Gorgonzola, I find it less offensive)
• -1/4 c. Frank's hot sauce (more to drizzle or extra if you want it extra spicy--your call)
• -2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• -1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika (smoked paprika is awesome and you should buy it. Do NOT. I repeat, DO NOT sub regular Spanish paprika. Not the same. That said, I think next time I might cut this to just 1 t. because it is quite smoky)
• -1 teaspoon ground cumin
• -1/2 teaspoon salt
• -1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

Whirl this all up in the food processor until smooth and enjoy with celery and carrots, or whatever floats your boat. Deeeeelish.