Tasting Table is one of my favorite Twitter follows. I love browsing their website for restaurant reviews, recipes, new spins on classic drinks, and guides to cities I am planning to travel to.
I was surfing their website today and came across an appetizer that included 4 of my favorite tastes in a single dish: bacon, Buffalo sauce, spinach and artichoke hearts! Add to that the ability to make ahead, the reviewers rated it 100% make again, and it didn’t call for any hard to get ingredients and this girl who loves to eat was sold!
Note: I did adapt the recipe from the original:
- I prefer a bit more bacon (and I buy mine from the butcher case, never pre-packaged because we don’t have great options in my stores);
- I made the blue cheese optional (it’s not a favorite of mine) and offered some substitution options; and
- I added a bit more hot sauce to mine.
Buffalo Spinach-Artichoke Dip
- 3 slices (5 ounces) thick-cut bacon (I use 6 slices)
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 9 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and finely chopped
- 6 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 ounces smoked blue cheese, softened (I don’t care for Blue Cheese, so I substitute Gorgonzola. You can also use Goat Cheese, Feta, Stilton, or Brie)
- 1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- ½ cup sour cream
- 6 tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce (I like mine spicy so I add a couple TBLS more)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- In a large skillet, heat the bacon over medium-high heat. Cook, turning as needed, until the bacon is golden and the fat has rendered, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, then finely chop and set aside.
- Add the garlic and onions to the pan and cook, stirring often, until golden, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the artichoke hearts and spinach and cook until the spinach is lightly wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir the cream cheese, blue cheese (or whatever cheese you’ve substituted), 1 cup of the Parmesan, sour cream, and hot sauce until smooth.
- Fold in the spinach and artichoke mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer to a 1½-quart casserole dish and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan with the chopped bacon, panko crumbs and olive oil.
- Sprinkle the panko crumb topping over the dip and place the casserole dish on a sheet pan in case any cheese bubbles over.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes, then serve.
The recipe calls for serving with chips. I like to eat this dip with really thick, freshly made tortilla chips, Triscuits, carrot chips, thick bell pepper slices or celery.
If you use Facebook and are interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: things like health articles, my favorite recipes, fun drinks, food facts, nutritional information, restaurant reviews, photos and other things that make my mouth water, I have a very active page on Facebook you can visit too: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood
This Girl Loves to Eat! 