Spinach and Artichoke Dip
How this dish caught on to the degree that it has surpasses my understanding, but one thing's for sure: no restaurant will tell the secret of the recipe. That is, I can assure you, because there is nothing to it, and they don't want you to know that. I predict that in years to come a network of pipelines will be built to deliver spinach-artichoke dip to chain restaurants and your favorite grocery store.
Levity aside, I point out that this version of spinach-artichoke cheese dip is much loved the stylish wife Mary Ann, who just a day before I published this made an enormous vat of the stuff for our daughter Mary Leigh's bridal shower.
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Spinach Artichoke Dip[/caption]
- 1 cup green onions, chopped finely
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/3 stick butter
- 2 10-oz. bags fresh spinach, washed and picked of big stems
- 1 can artichoke hearts packed in water
- 8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
- 4 oz. whole-milk mozzarella, shredded
- 4 oz. sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 2 dashes Tabasco
- 1/3 cup very finely grated Romano cheese
- 1 1/2 tsp. dill
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1. In a large saucepan over low heat, sauté the green onions and the garlic in the butter until the onions turn soft.
2. Add the spinach, still wet from washing. Cook until it wilts. Remove from the heat.
3. Drain, rinse, and break the artichoke hearts into small pieces with your fingers, and add to the pan. Add all the other ingredients except the Monterey Jack and combine well.
4. Turn the mixture into a glass baking dish. Top with the Monterey Jack. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted. You can also do this step in the microwave, six to ten minutes on 70 percent power, turning the dish every two minutes. (Microwave ovens vary greatly, however, so monitor this closely.)
Serves ten to fifteen.
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Spinach Artichoke Dip[/caption]
