while pregnant with kai, i became obsessed with the spinach artichoke dip served at one of our dinner spots in boulder. to be completely honest, i was obsessed with it long before the pregnancy. the pregnancy just gave me an excuse to be openly obsessed. later, i took my mom's recipe for plain artichoke dip and reworked it to simulate. what came out is pretty close to an exact replica as far as i'm concerned. i tell myself this because i'm 2000 miles away from the real thing, but it is close::
spinach artichoke dip, the recipe:
2 14 ounce cans of artichoke hearts
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 of a block of cream cheese, room temp (6 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 clove garlic
1 box of baby spinach, fresh (5 ounces)
chop up almost all of the box (or bag) of fresh spinach. i usually have a couple of handfuls leftover to toss in my salad. chop up the scallions and saute them in a dab of butter. add in a few grates of the garlic clove (not the whole thing). saute until the scallions start to soften, then add the spinach and cook until the spinach has completely wilted and cooked down. put this mix aside to cool. chop up the artichoke hearts and grate the cheeses. in a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayo, parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, artichoke hearts, and the cooked spinach mix. stir thoroughly until everything is creamy and nicely intermingled. fill up your baking dish, or dishes, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. serve with tortilla chips.
my mom's recipe calls for no cream cheese at all and a full cup of mayonnaise. it is greasy, very greasy. but i felt i needed to disclose that fact because, the truth is, any combination of mayo and cream cheese will work as long as it adds up to a cup. i tried a few different ratios until i came up with what i use. i tried once with just a cup of cream cheese and it was missing that little tang from the mayo. but to each his own. go with what you know! this recipe lends itself well to being monkeyed with. i always add a few more pinches of grated cheese, sometimes an extra spoonful of mayo, etc. this one should win you some points!
