Monday, April 21, 2008

VTV #2: R-T-chokes rule

Posted by CB / 10 comments » / Vindicate the Veggie

I am a day late on this one so my apologies to our VTV host, Nina, but for some reason I thought I had until tonight to post. Ooops! I need to get better at my deadlines. LOL.

This week’s vegetable was artichoke. I have eaten artichoke-in-a-can but never fresh so it was my intention to taste it in all its prickly looking glory this week. Well… I admit that I have many excuses as to why I didn’t make it to the grocery store but let’s suffice to say, I used canned for my recipe.

Yesterday was the first round of NBA playoffs (basketball for all you non-sports junkies). T and I are huge basketball fans. Our #1 ranked local Lakers were playing against #8 Denver Nuggets. Since T and I invited a few friends over for a Laker par-tay I thought it would be fun to serve up some yummy chips and dip.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
(Recipe from GoodEatsNSweetTreats | photos from me!)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 sweet yellow onion finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 10 oz box frozen spinach
2 cans artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
2 packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
Few pinches of red pepper flakes
Salt, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil and set aside. Cook spinach according to package directions; drain. Mix spinach, onion, and garlic in large bowl.

Add cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, cheeses, red pepper flakes, and salt. Mix well.

Add artichoke hearts; mix; transfer to a baking dish and top with the Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. (I sprinkled some chopped scallions for garnish on top.)

Either store in fridge until ready to bake or bake at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly. (I baked for 10 minutes and switched to broiler for 5 minutes.)

Serve with tortilla chips and/or raw vegetables such as carrots and celery.

ENJOY! :)

Husband rating: A-
He’s not a huge fan of cream cheese based dips but he liked it in small doses.

Wifey rating: A+
I love this dip!

Other rating: A
Our friends were split on this dip. Some really loved it while others said they preferred the chicken nachos more.

Next week: Avocado

PS. Lakers won! ::flashing my Westside sign::

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10 comments

10 Responses to “VTV #2: R-T-chokes rule”

  1. 1

    NinaBeth — April 21, 2008 @ 6:25 am

    Looks delicious! I will have to add this to my “to make” recipe list. :) Thanks for entering VTV.

  2. 2

    Jj — April 21, 2008 @ 6:25 am

    Never was one too fond of spinach, but in a recipe like this it sounds great, thanks!

  3. 3

    Artichoke Round-Up « Vindicate the Vegetable! — April 21, 2008 @ 6:27 am

    [...] i heart food for thought [...]

  4. 4

    CB — April 21, 2008 @ 6:30 am

    NINA, thanks for hosting!

    JJ, I am usually not a fan of spinach but when you hide it under cream cheese, mozzarella cheese etc it tastes pretty darn good ;) Not the healthiest thing… but very yummy!

  5. 5

    mrsabybaby — April 21, 2008 @ 8:54 am

    Um, chicken nachos or the dip? The ones who chose the chicken nachos are the smart ones. HA! I like spinach artichoke dip but nothing can compare with my nachos…..YUM. Really though, this looks delish!

  6. 6

    CB — April 21, 2008 @ 10:12 am

    MRSABYBABY, T agrees with you 100%. He loves those damn chicken nachos! haha.

  7. 7

    Anne — April 21, 2008 @ 9:40 pm

    Wow that looks delicious… the onion and the pepper flakes, it sounds perfect, without being too mayonaise-y (is that a word?) Trying it for my next party!

  8. 8

    CB — April 22, 2008 @ 5:25 am

    ANNE, it wasn’t too mayonaise-y (its totally a word!) at all. More cream cheese. If you like cream cheese you’ll love this dip!

  9. 9

    Monica Lim — May 13, 2010 @ 6:57 am

    Hi again Clara! I’m anxious to try this.. just wondering how many grams is 1 can of artichoke hearts?

    • CB replied: — May 13th, 2010 @ 7:04 am

      On my! Going off pure memory here. I think I use 2-14oz cans so that’s about 400 grams per can? Let me know what you think! It’s one of my favorite dips. Yum!

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