Hot & Cheesy Artichoke Dip
Plunge a Chip or Pita into this Rich Appetizer Served Warm
Scrumptious appetizer? Yes. Dead easy? Yes. Low fat? Not. Worth it? Definitely. The Easiest Rave You'll Ever Get
Is it party time? Of course it is. Whether it’s your own party or you’re contributing niblicks to someone else’s, you’re sure to get raves with this dead-easy recipe. Just chuck it all in your food processor then hot it up in the oven.
Hot and Cheesy Artichoke Dip
You Will Need: Food Processor
Ingredients:
- 14-16 oz can artichoke hearts (in water, not the marinated ones)
- 3-4 oz can diced green chilies –or– diced jalapenos if you’re a heat seeker
- 2-3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled (see Notes)
- 8 oz pkg cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (preferably Best Foods or Hellman's)
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
- dill weed, fresh or dried, to taste (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Chop everything in the food processor until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
- Pour mixture into an ovenproof serving dish.
- Bake until hot through and bubbly, about 30 minutes.
Serving Suggestions:
Serve with any of the following:
- Pita bread, cut in triangles
- Baguette, sliced
- Crackers
Or, if you want to pretend to be low carb/low calorie (who are you kidding with all that mayo, cream cheese and sour cream?):
- Celery & carrot sticks
- Jicama slices
Or, especially if Christmas is the theme:
- Red & green peppers (capsicum), cut in 1/2-inch wide lengthwise strips.
Notes:
A word about heat: the peppery kind. Don’t be scared by that can of chilies. There’s enough dairy in this recipe to render it quite tame. In fact you may need to spice it up if you’re serving hotheads. That’s why tasting is so important in this recipe and cooking in general.
It almost always pays to be persnickety about using real Parmigiano Reggiano. It is, after all, the king of hard cheeses. In this recipe, you can probably get away with a domestic Parmesan, freshly grated, but please not that “cheese” in the green cardboard can which has all the flavor, not coincidentally, of cardboard. If your cheesemonger can’t get you the real article…
- You need a new cheesemonger; and
- You can get Parmigiano Reggiano online from iGourmet.
If you have a garlic press, use it if that’s fun for you. Or avoid the cleaning chore and do like professional chefs do: smash each garlic clove with the flat side of your chef’s knife. Once split that way, the peel comes away very easily. Then you can mince it as finely as you want with your knife, or as in this case, chuck it right into the food processor.
If you like a little more texture to your dip, hold out one or two artichoke hearts when you’re processing. Chop them separately by hand and stir them into the mixture before baking.
For more appetizing ideas, try one of these:
- Smoked Salmon and Rogue Blue Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms
- Cabrales Blue Cheese-Stuffed Medjool Dates
- Chicken Liver Pate Two Ways
- Easy Cheesy Sauce (as a Fondue)
And here's a similar recipe with [gasp], crab meat:
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