Spinach & artichoke dip

Tonight, I attended the first meeting of the Tallahassee Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi! I was a Pi Phi all through college and LOVED IT, so I am so excited that they're starting an alumnae club here. It was a potluck dinner, and of course it turns out that everyone brought some kind of dip with some kind of cracker, myself included. And despite the overabundance of food, guess who brought home an empty dish?

I modified this recipe from The Bride and Groom Cookbook by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford, which is really wonderful--it has nice, creative renditions of classics. Our maid of honor (and my big sister in Pi Phi!), Allison, gave it to us for our engagement. The recipe was originally just artichoke dip, but I had to have spinach. I swear it tastes just as good as what you'd get at an Applebee's or somewhere. This is comfort food at its best. The cookbook also suggests thinning the recipe with milk to use over chicken, fish or pasta. Yum!

I made one and a half times the recipe so Andrew could enjoy it as well--that's the appetizer for tomorrow's dinner--but here are the original quantities. It will fit in a 8-inch square dish (or any baking pan that holds 4 cups). They say it serves 8-12. I'm still working on the whole take-pictures-while-you-cook thing, so the only picture I have is of the dip waiting to go in the oven. It was much more beautiful with the cheese all bubbly and golden brown, but at that point I was slapping foil over it and running out the door!

Spinach & artichoke dip
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine in a large bowl:

2 cans (14-oz) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

10 oz frozen spinach, defrosted and drained

1 cup mayonnaise (the recipe originally called for an extra half-cup, but I think that's too much)

1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup sliced green onions

2 minced garlic cloves

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Adjust the seasonings as necessary. Transfer the mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until heated through. Increase the heat to broil and cook until the top is bubbly and golden brown, 2-3 more minutes. Garnish with 2 tablespoons sliced green onions before serving.

Serve warm with tortilla chips (what I used), bagel chips, French bread slices or crackers.