Spinach Artichoke Dip

Spinach Artichoke Dip

The Perfect Partner for a Great Party

I love a good artichoke dip. My generosity isn’t in the making, it is in the sharing. It is a simple thing to do and it is easy to make a few days ahead of the party. This is easy to scale up as the items are the containers. If you can’t find the exact size jar of artichokes, get something which is close.

I will tell you that more is better than less when it comes to artichokes. If you have a choice, buy the hearts in oil. I find the flavor of the artichoke is better than that in water. Sometimes the hearts have a piece which is too hard to cut, so throw that away. If you like spicy food, red pepper flakes are a nice addition as are roasted red bell peppers. This is a recipe which can easily be adjusted to suit your preferences, so alter as you will.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

We make this as dinner for two!  It is so good and so rich, but we just can't help it.  Easy to make ahead a day or two, then about 20 minutes before you want it, just place it in the oven and get the chips ready.

Course Appetizer
Cuisine American
Keyword Artichoke, Dip, Party, Spinach, Superbowl, Tailgate
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 2 People
Author Dann Reid

Ingredients

Ingredients for Spinach Artichoke Dip

  • 8 oz Cream cheese
  • 12 oz Frozen chopped spinach
  • 14.75 oz Jar Artichoke hearts I prefer the oil packed
  • 1/2 C Small dice red onion
  • 1/2 each Clove of garlic Add more as you like
  • 1/4 C Grated Parmesean cheese
  • As needed Grated whole nutmeg
  • 1/2 t Fresh lemon juice
  • As needed Salt and pepper

Instructions

Make the dip

  1. Saute the onions and garlic together in a small dab of butter.

    Allow to cool. 

  2. Paddle all the ingredients together in a stand mixer. If you have not a stand mixer, slightly warmed cream cheese in the microwave will mix very easily. Check the dip for seasoning. Place in a sealable container and store in the refrigerator.

  3. To serve: Place the dip in a heatproof serving dish, cover with foil and heat at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until it is 150 degrees internal. For a browned top, remove the foil at 15 minutes.

Recipe Notes

The base is pretty accommodating to change.  Add diced tomatoes or more onions or add mushrooms to the onion and garlic mix or something else.

Serve with homemade wheat crackers or pita bread pieces or sit in the corner alone with a lime Tostitos and a beer.

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Dinner Rolls

Dinner Rolls

Little is better with dinner than bread, and for Thanksgiving, I really like soft yeasty dinner rolls. This dough is a great dough for dinner rolls or hamburger or hot dog buns. It can even be baked as a loaf for super soft sandwich bread.

Bakers, when given a choice, will often opt for fresh yeast instead of any of the dry versions. Fresh yeast acts quickly, is highly perishable, costs more and isn’t available in all places, such as Florida. I’ve seen it in stores in New Jersey and New York and also Oregon. The theme there is states which are not hot. Fresh yeast doesn’t like that. I’ve made these rolls with both fresh and instant and have seen no difference in rise. There is, to me, a “yeastier” flavor and aroma with fresh yeast.

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Between fresh, active, or instant yeast, I opt for fresh and if not that, instant. Both yeasts can be added to the flour and mixed as is. Take care to avoid putting salt in direct contact with fresh yeast as you are preparing your ingredients. Yeast and salt are not friends but are needed for flavor and controlling yeasts function. Additionally, active dry yeast requires “proof” of its viability. That’s an extra step which isn’t necessary.

I had an idea to make garlic knots a new way.  So, I tried it and it worked.  Oh, I was so excited.

Watch the embedded video below to see how I made those rolls.

So yummy when still warm and dipped into pasta.

 

Garlic knots
 

 

 

Dinner Rolls-aka Red Neck Rolls

It is not a bad term Red Neck Rolls.  It refers to the soft white bread which makes these yeast rolls so darned good.  They are simple rolls, but simple does not mean boring or uninteresting.  And, I've developed a twist, pun intended (you'll see) in the notes.

Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword Dinner rolls, Garlic rolls, Hamburger buns, hotdog buns, onion rolls, Soft rolls, Yeast rolls
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Fermenting 2 hours
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 12 People
Author Dann Reid

Ingredients

Milk Bread

  • 18.75 g Fresh yeast 7 g Instant
  • 240 g Whole milk, room temperature
  • 228 g Bread flour
  • 185 g Cake flour
  • 18 g Sugar
  • 8 g Salt
  • 56 g Whole unsalted butter, room temperature, diced

Instructions

Mix the dough

  1. Add the flours, salt, sugar, butter and yeast to the mixing bowl. Use the dough hook on slow, add the milk slowly to allow it to form a ball. As the dough mixes, the butter will blend into the dough. Mix the dough until all the ingredients are incorporated and the dough forms a ball.

  2. Place the dough into a lightly buttered bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a slightly warm area to ferment for about 30 minutes. Remove the dough to your work space and start portioning the dough.

  3. I like big buns. Yeah, that’s silly but it’s true. Dinner rolls I scale at 2 ounces and hamburger buns 5 ounces. Hot dog rolls I make 4 ounces.

  4. I prefer baking my dinner rolls in a cake pan so they are forced to rise high and I also like them touching so I get all the soft edges. If you prefer individual rolls, place them spaced on a sheet pan instead. In either case I brush them lightly with milk to help get the color. For an extra yummy treat, when they come out of the oven, brush the tops with Parmesan cheese and garlic powder mixed with melted butter!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

As rolls or burger or hot dog buns, these are good.

I've lit on an idea which makes perfect sense for garlic rolls and it worked.

I prepare the dough as if I were making Danish, but instead of cream cheese filling between the dough, I add garlic butter!  Then, proceed as if making Danish.

Boy, Howdy!, are those good.

Here's a link to a video of me making them.