I’m calling this a schmear.  But, you can call it whatever your little heart desires…a dip, a spread, a condiment…you get the picture.  If you enjoy dill pickles, you’re going to love this.  It is THE perfect “special sauce” to schmear on a burger!  Think about it….As I’ve mentioned in past posts (at least I think I have!), I’ve been cruising through my mother’s recipe box, revisiting some forgotten recipes and I ran across this one.  It came to my mother, by way of one of my aunts, who hailed from Texas.  I think this it may be a “Southern” thing.   Maybe it’s just a Texas thing.  It matters not, because it is really quite tasty and just a little different.  It’s great to dip pretzels in, and it makes a terrific sandwich spread, particularly on a roast beef or roast pork sandwich, and it wasn’t horrible on a BLT, either.  Options!!

Without further ado, you just pretty much toss everything into a bowl, stir it up and store in the fridge for a bit, or longer.  It will keep for at least a week to ten days.  But, do make it at least a couple of hours ahead to allow the flavors to bloom.  I’ve made a few changes to the original recipe.  We’ll call it “updating”, okay?  I thought maybe dill pickle relish would work and it does.  Sort of.  When I made this with well-drained, hand-diced dill pickle slices, I liked it much better.  I liked the consistency better, but it was still very tasty with the relish.  I find it works best if I stir together the cream cheese, Greek yogurt (this is one of the changes!), and the herbs and spices.  This loosens the cream cheese up.  I prefer to use garlic granules, rather than fresh garlic, as fresh garlic tends to overpowers everything else.  I stir in the shallots, then fold in the pickles  and pickle juice; stir the whole thing together.  This so much better when you make it ahead, cover it and chill it for at least a couple of hours.  This keeps well, for at least a week or ten days.