Hot Artichoke Dip

This was another of my appetizers for my Valentine's Day feast this year. Artichoke dip is one of Paul's favorite things, and this recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman's cookbook, so I just knew it would be a hit. :) It's nice, simple, and flavorful.

I served it with blue tortilla chips and some tiny bread slices (I think it's called cocktail size or something...I can't remember). I preferred the bread, and Paul preferred the chips. ;)

Hot Artichoke Dip

from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients:

2 cans (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 c. mayonnaise

2 green onions, chopped (the whole thing)

1 c. grated Parmesan cheese

dash of salt

cayenne pepper, to taste

black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place one can of artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mayonnaise, green onions, and cayenne pepper in a food processor (batches in a blender will also work). Pulse mixture 6 or 7 times until well combined but not liquefied. Mix in the Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Roughly chop the second can of artichokes into bite sized pieces. Stir chopped artichokes into the dip gently. Spread mixture into an oven safe dish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly.

Fruit Dip

This recipe goes way back to Valentine's Day. :) I wanted to have a fruit plate with dip as one of our appetizers (for some reason I thought the two of us needed three appetizers...who knows what I was thinking!). I did a quick search on allrecipes.com, and found literally hundreds of options. I knew Paul wouldn't like anything that had marshmallow fluff in it, so that narrowed things down quite a bit.

I finally settled on this recipe. It was very easy, very quick, and very yummy! I just tried to find the original recipe on allrecipes so that I could link to it, but I couldn't find it. Sorry!

Fruit Dip

Ingredients:

1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (smaller size, 3.4 oz)

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed

1 package cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. whole milk

Directions:

Whip all ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Chill until ready to serve.

I thought this dip was especially good with grapes and tart apples. It's not exactly good for you--ha ha--but it is definitely fun! :)

Salami Sandwich w/ Artichoke-Basil Spread

Another Chef Britta amazing recipe! This one is super easy and I've decided that you can use the sandwich spread as a pretty good cracker dip. Just warm it up. Again, I didn't have all the exact ingredients, so I'll include the orignial ingredients and in (these), I'll put what I used. Definitely goes well with chips and a fruit.

Salami Sandwich w/ Artichoke-Basil Spread

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts in water, drained
about 15 leaves of fresh basil (2 TSP dried basil)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (crushed red pepper a la dominoes)
sandwich bread (whichever you prefer)
fontina cheese, sliced (colby jack)
dark leaf lettuce
hard salami, thinly sliced (italian dry, pre-packaged)

Directions:

In a food processor (or blender), combine artichokes, basil, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and red-pepper flakes; pulse until smooth.

Season with salt and pepper; pulse briefly to combine.

To make sandwiches, top bread with artichoke-basil spread, layer with salami, a slice of fontina cheese, and dark leaf lettuce.