Artichoke and Spinach Dip

*Post by Angela.

I headed to my friend Annie's place for Oscar watching last night, and while I wanted to be really creative and make appetizers to match each Best Picture nominee, I was just way too lazy (see endlesssimmer for more of an effort).  Instead, I decided to go with a tried and true artichoke and spinach dip, with some of my expected modifications.  The result?  A really quick and easy recipe you can take to any future shin-dig!

List of ingredients for the dip:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 or more (to taste) shakes of Frank's Red Hot sauce
• Juice from half a lemon
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

First, I preheated oven to 350 degrees, and lightly greased a small baking dish (in this case, a pie tin).

Next, I prepped all the ingredients that needed prepping - thawed, drained, and squeezed out the spinach, grated the cheeses, combined the seasonings, drained and chopped the artichokes, and minced the garlic.

In a medium bowl, I mixed together the softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheeses (including the mozzarella), seasonings, and garlic.  At this point, I also added about 8 shakes of Frank's Red Hot and the juice from half a large lemon.

I gently stirred in artichoke hearts and spinach, then transferred the mixture to the greased pie tin, and topped  it all off with a little more mozzarella. 

I threw it in the oven for about 25 minutes, until heated through.

While this isn't the healthiest dip, it is delicious!  I also whipped up some mascarpone-stuffed Medjool dates (sans prosciutto) to take with me.  I probably could have shown up with a six-pack of beer and been warmly welcomed anyway, but bringing my dip and dates put an extra smile on my hosts' faces...