Hot and Spicy Artichoke Dip

I was reading one of my favorite food blogs, Aggie's Kitchen and she showcased a Hot and Spicy Artichoke Dip made by her friend Colleen. The recipe comes from the cookbook, Culinary Journey to the Mediterranean. It looked easy enough to make for our draft day so I looked in the pantry and actually had all the ingredients. It comes together fast and cooks in the oven for less than 30 minutes.

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, chopped, drained
1 cup mayo
1 cup (4oz) grated parmesan cheese
1 can (4oz) chopped green chiles, drained
2-3 cloves of garlic minced

Mix all ingredients in a shallow, ovenproof dish or 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Top with 2 Tbsp each of chopped tomatoes and olives.

This was fantastic as is or you could customize it to fit your tastes as well. I could see the addition of shredded chicken, making this a heartier dip. Green olives on top would bring a wonderful briny flavor to the dip. Add red pepper flakes or some form of jalapenos to make this a spicy dish. The green chiles I used were from the can and were very mild. Next time I would probably buy the HOT variety. Ohhh, if you by chance still have some hatch chiles in your fridge/freezer, they would be GREAT in this dip. Thanks Aggie for the recommendation!!!

I took the leftovers and topped baked chicken and roasted asparagus in the oven. The artichoke dip automatically elevated a simple chicken dish to something you would find in a restaurant. I pulled this dinner together in less than 30 minutes - delish!

With football season underway, I highly recommend this dip for your next pig skin gathering!

Antipasto Dip or Antipasto Orzo, your call...

Don't fret when you look at this photo. Yes, it may be a longer list of ingredients than I would usually cook with, but I swear that this combination is an Italian explosion in your mouth - I wouldn't lie to you. I first had this dip at a holiday party several years ago and then it reappeared last December at the same holiday party. The Antipasta Dip may have a lot of ingredients but the preparation turned out to be super easy - you just about throw everything into the cuisinart and blend.

You will need:
1 140z can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 7oz cans sliced mushrooms, drained and chopped
1 7oz jar roasted peppers, drained and chopped
1 cup pimiento-stuffed olives, drained and chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion or shallot (I used shallots)
1 clove garlic, minced (I used more garlic, surprise surprise)
1/2 cup olive oil
2/3 cup white vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper


Artichoke hearts in the cuisinart, I pulsed until finely chopped.

Mushrooms in the cuisinart, pulse until finely chopped. I wouldn't be using the mushrooms unless they were very finely chopped.

Roasted red peppers, chopped up in the cuisinart.

As I chop each ingredient I add it to a mixing bowl.

Pimiento-stuffed olives, chopped and into the mixing bowl.

Green bell pepper.

Celery.

Mix these first six ingredients in a mixing bowl.

I used the cuisinart to chop the shallots and then added them to a saucepan with the olive oil.

Add the minced garlic to the saucepan with the olive oil and the shallots. Saute until tender, about three minutes.

Now add the white wine vinegar to the saucepan.

Add the Italian seasoning to the saucepan.

Add the salt to the saucepan.

Add the sugar to the saucepan.

Add the pepper to the saucepan; bring to a boil, then remove from heat.

Add the hot saucepan mixture to the raw chopped veggies and mix well. Cover and set aside.


I stopped at this point in the recipe and served the antipasto dip alongside crusty french bread. It is really good with fresh flavors (you can't tell the mushrooms are there), great appetizer.

You could even spoon this on sliced baguettes and serve as prepared bruchetta. Oh, what about shaving some parmesan on top and putting them under the broiler for a minute or two? That sounds like an easy way to "fancy" up this dip.

OR you could cook a package of orzo pasta and mix with the vegetables. Chill this for a day or overnight and you have a very tasty chilled pasta dish. This recipe yields five cups, so you could serve this as a dip and then combine the leftovers with some pasta for another meal.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

1 10-ounce box frozen cut or chopped spinach, thawed
1 12-ounce jar artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup grated cheese
3 thick slices bacon
1/2 shallot
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper


Serve with Homemade Pita Chips


Heat your oven to 400° F. I drained the marinated artichokes and then pulsed them in my small cuisinart until they were roughly chopped.




I let the frozen chopped spinach sit on the counter for about an hour to defrost. Then I squeezed the spinach between paper towels to remove excess moisture.



Here is the key to great artichoke spinach dip. I fried three pieces of bacon, let cool on a paper towel and crumbled into my mixture at the end.



But wait! Don't clean that pan just yet. I had about a tablespoon (maybe a little less) of bacon grease in my saute pan so I chopped up half a shallot...




And threw that in the pan along with a tablespoon or two of chopped garlic. If the grease is super hot it will fry the shallots and garlic which isn't exactly what we are going for. I just want to soften the veggies so I turned the heat off and then threw the shallot and garlic in.


In a mixing bowl, combine the spinach, artichokes, cream cheese, sour cream, and cheese (whatever cheese you want to add.) Add the shallot and garlic mixture along with the crumbled bacon. Season with the salt and pepper. You can see in this picture below I used whipped cream cheese with chives in it. I also used Colby Jack cheese and a Pepper Jack cheese combo. YUM!




You could at this point scrape the mixture into a small oven-safe baking dish and bake at 350 until lightly golden and heated through, about 15 minutes. I've done it this way before and I like to sprinkle cheddar on the top and then bake, it browns and bubbles to make a beautiful dip.

I was having guests over and wanted to do a fancier presentation so I purchased a $3 round loaf of sourdough, cut the top off and hollowed it out a little. After mixing all the ingredients, I stored it unbaked in the fridge overnight. When guests arrived I scooped about a cup into a saucepan and heated it over medium heat stirring often. You simply want it heated through so all the cheeses melt together. This takes less than five minutes. Stir, stir, stir and then dump it right into your bread bowl.


We had a beautiful spread. The spinach artichoke dip with homemade pita chips was my "heavy" hors d'oeuvre. We had grapes, strawberries, cajun mixed nuts, spicy cashews, and a selection of cheeses: Manchego, Cheddar, Parmesan.