Love and Cooking

I got this recipe out of the Thanksgiving cooking class I took. I made up a double batch for the annual NYE open house that a friend of mine throws, and it was well recieved. Unlike a lot of hot artichoke dips, it's light on the mayo. Most recipes call for 1 cup (!). The original of this, from Diane Morgan's Delicious Dips, calls for 1/2 cup of mayo and sour cream each, but I found it fine with 1/4 cup each.

I also made the mixture up a couple of days before, and transported it, and a baking dish, to the party for cooking up there. Hot dip!!

I served it with pita chips, which are a snap to make: cut pitas into eight wedges, and seperate the two sides of the pocket. Bake in a 350 oven for 10-12 minutes, or until crisp and dry.

Hot Artichoke-Parmesan Dip

Two 15 oz cans artichoke hearts in water
1 shallot
About 1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise (you could probably use reduced fat versions of both)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (this is one juicy lemon)

Optional topping (can be made ahead earlier in day):

1/3 cup unflavored bread crumbs
About 3 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh oregano, chopped

Drain artichokes, and chop up fine in food processor with the shallot(with a little olive oil to encourage the process). Add remaining ingredients and mix well. You can refrigerate for up to 2 days at this point.

Heat oven to 400 F. Put mixture in pan, top with crumbs if desired, and bake 20-25 minutes, till topping is brown and dip is thoroughly warmed. Serve with crostini, bagel chips, or pita chips.