Artichoke Bruschetta

I am a big fan of all different varieties of bruschetta. It's a relatively inexpensive, quick and easy appetizer to whip up for company (or a baby shower, as pictured below!) or as a snack for your family. It will even get die hard tomato-haters to give two thumbs up! You can change the flavors around by adding fresh basil, different vegetables or experimenting with cheeses (parmesan versus romano or even asiago). Try refrigerating the leftover tomato mixture and adding it to linguine with a bit of extra cheese~ delicious!



Yields 2 cups of tomato artichoke mixture

Ingredients:

1 good quality French baguette

4 cloves of garlic

4-5 roma tomatoes

4 artichoke hearts

Kosher salt, black pepper

1/8 cup finely diced red onions

2 tbsp. chopped basil (optional)

1/2 cup garlic vinaigrette (search the sidebar for this recipe)

1/4 cup good quality parmesan

Assembly:

Dice the tomatoes and artichoke hearts then combine them with the basil, salt and pepper. Toss with the vinaigrette and refrigerate 30 minutes. Slice the bread on the bias, then brush with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 6-8 minutes or until golden. Remove and rub a clove of garlic across each slice (the bread will be crispy, so the garlic should melt right into it). Sprinkle the bread with parmesan then top with the tomato-artichoke mixture. Serve immediately.

Popeye's Dream~ Spinach-Artichoke Dip

I am addicted to spinach-artichoke dip! This recipe makes enough for a party (or for one greedy person like me to enjoy as a snack all week!), so I recommend freezing half for later. It's great with chips, crudite, as a panini spread or just on plain french bread. If you're trying to justify making this full fat recipe, just remember that it has spinach in it. Lots and lots of spinach. Now how can that be a bad idea?!

2 10 oz. boxes of frozen spinach, thawed, drained and chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, chopped

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 of a yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 pint heavy cream

2 tsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. hot sauce

2 tbsp. dry white wine

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup parmesan or romano cheese

1/2 cup white cheddar or cheddar-jack cheese

black pepper

Saute onions and garlic in butter. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Cook flour, onion, garlic mixture for one minute. Add chicken stock, heavy cream and white wine. Bring to a boil. Add lemon juice, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Stir in spinach and artichokes. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Serve hot.