C@P Cooks: Nat's Deliciously Divinely not-so-healthy Spinach & Artichoke Dip!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Nat's Deliciously Divinely not-so-healthy Spinach & Artichoke Dip!

This is one of the only concoctions I can actually pride myself with. I usually burn, undercook or manage some other way to mess all of my cooking up. But it's relatively simple and its SO delicious. Everyone will think you're SO gourmet.

you need - Artichokes (whole or halved, you need to chop them up finely anyway) 1 can is plenty
Spinach! I love fresh spinach and put it on EVERYTHING! There can never be enough. use at least half a bag.
cream cheeeeeese!! and lots of it. one block!
1 cup (ish) sour cream
2 TBLspoons mayo
a lot of more cheeeeese! Mozzarella for the top when you broil it, but when i'm feeling funky (and when I have enough money) I like to use Asiago cheese (yum!) fresh Parmesan, and Ementolle
ground black pepper (as much as you can!)
chili flakes (or fresh chilis are even better!)

Step one:
chop artichokes and spinach to your desired chunky-ness. (I like super chunky but some people like theirs a bit finer) throw into a big mixing bowl and mix it up!
in a seperate bowl, mix all of your cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, pepper, chilis (put to desired spicyness) and if you're using awesome special cheeses, grate them up finely and throw them in too. Mix it all up! If you have a food processor that's cool, you can use it. But I don't and I think it turns out great without it. more.. rustic. :)
add your artichokes and spinach mixture to the big bowl of delish mayo-y-cheesy-goodness
- Have you noticed I never measure anything? :)
Step .. 4?
put into a lovely casserole dish. layer a decent layer of mozzarella on top!
cook for about 10-15 on 400C then for the last 30 secs to 1 minute broil the cheese to it gets nice and brown and bubbly!

I like to use blue corn chips because they have a great juxtaposed colour compared to the greenish yellow tint of the dip. And I think they taste better. But That's just me!

Once you have your tortillas, dip and everything else all set, garnish with a few cloves, or a whole chili.
Voila!

This is my favorite thing to make, it brings your favorite people together, to laugh, eat and drink!
Enjoy! :)

1 comment:

ColleenJuly 15, 2011 at 3:10 p.m.
Yum! One of my fave appetizers :)
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Introduction

There are many great chefs in the world: Ina Garten (my all time favourite), Michael Smith, Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Todd English, and I could go on and on. Each of these chefs has their own unique flair for developing recipes that many have come to enjoy and savour. This is what has made them famous!

My mother, Marjorie, was a great cook – she could take a pound of hamburger and turn it into a wonderful dish that all would enjoy. Her hands were magical when putting together recipes or altering some passed down through the generations or from friends near and far. I and my sixteen siblings are a testament to her great cooking.

Well, I believe, out there in the Province of Nova Scotia we have an endless supply of great recipes that have been tried, tested and enjoyed by Nova Scotians lovingly prepared by mother and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, etc. We need to “capture” the down home goodness that we all have enjoyed over the years and we can do these through our “C@P” blog.

By the end of the summer we could have a wonderful collection of traditional fare and maybe not so traditional fare for all of us to savour. Nova Scotia has a great heritage and ties to not only the rest of Canada, but also world-wide. So, let put our taste buds to the test and start sharing recipes through the blog.

It is my hope through friends, that we can publish the first “C@P Cooks” cookbook before Christmas. What a great gift and what a great way to support C@P.

All I ask, before you start, is that you ensure that when you type in a recipe that you are accurate with measurements and spelling. It would also be helpful if you could identify whether the dish is an entrée, main course, dessert, etc. Don’t forget to include that favourite lemonade or cordial recipe as well. A picture of the finish dish would also be nice, if available.

I don’t have the resources or the test kitchen to try them all out, but I shouldn’t have to because they will be a reflection of the food and drinks that we all have grown up with.

Let’s get cooking …..