Monday, December 31, 2007

Spinach and Artichoke Dip



I made this dip to bring to a family get together over Christmas. I had seen it on a food blog and immediately wanted to try it. I love this dip in restaurants and wanted to see if I could duplicate the taste at home. I had never worked with artichokes before so I was a little nervous, but this recipe ended up being very easy to make, though it was a bit time consuming. I will definitely make this again sometime because it was yummy!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
from Good Things Catered

2 (14 oz) cans of premium artichoke hearts
3 Tbsp olive oil
salt and ground black pepper
16 oz. baby spinach leaves
1 medium onion, minced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1/4 c. mayonnaise
4 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. assorted cheeses, grated (the original recipe called for pecorino, parmesan, asiago, mozzarella, and fontino but I only used parmesan and mozzarella)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced thyme leaves
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I didn't have cayenne pepper on hand so I substituted paprika)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese, grated





Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line baking sheet with foil.

Toss drained artichokes with 1 Tbsp oil, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Spread out over baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally. Roast about 25 minutes, or until artichokes are browned at the edges.

Let the artichoke cool and chop coarse. (I used the food processer here and probably overprocessed the artichokes).

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until just shimmering. Sauté spinach until wilted and drain thoroughly and transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to pan and add the onion. Cook until softened, about 5 -7 mins. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the onion and garlic to the bowl with the spinach.

Stir in mayo, cream cheese, cheeses, lemon juice, thyme, and cayenne until uniform. Gently fold in artichokes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer mixture to large baking dish and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. The dip can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days before baking.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake dip uncovered until it is hot throughout and the top is golden brown, about 20-25 mins. Let cool at least 5 mins before serving.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Gingerbread House


I can't take any credit for this gingerbread house as Shane's mom made it for us, but it's too cute not to post. I like it so much that I just might have to make one of my own next year!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies


I came across these cookies while browsing the Williams Sonoma website a few weeks ago. They looked easy, and better yet, I thought Shane might be willing to eat them! I made them for Christmas, but they didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped they would. They were flat and less chewy than expected. I gave them another try today and the results were much better. They were definitely a hit - Shane declared that they were his new favorite cookie! I also tried out my new Silpat for the first time and loved it. I'm definitely going to need to grab a few more of those.


Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

from Williams Sonoma



1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cookie sheets by greasing or covering with parchment paper/Silpat.

Place the confectioners sugar in a bowl and set aside.

Stir together the flour, cocoa power, baking power and salt. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer (I used the paddle attachment on my KA), beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and then add 1 of the eggs and beat on medium speed until blended. Add the other egg and vanilla and beat until blended.

Add the dry ingredients to the mixer and stir on low speed just until blended.

Using a tablespoon, scoop up a rounded spoonful of dough (I used my cookie scoop to make this easier). Shape the dough into a bowl and roll in the confectioners sugar. Place balls on prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cracked and puffed. Cool cookies on cookie sheet on wire rack for 15 minutes before moving the cookies themselves to the rack to finish cooling.

Yields 24 cookies


My first blog!

After a few months of frequenting various cooking websites and watching cooking shows, I have been inspired to start my own cooking blog. Cooking and baking have only recently become two of my favorite things to do so hopefully this blog will not only be a good place to collect and share my recipes, but also to document my journey as I experiment in the kitchen. Luckily, Shane is a good sport and willing to try my attempts at new dishes (ok, so maybe only the ones that don't contain fruits or veggies :-))



Enjoy!