spinach artichoke dip

I love a good dinner party.

When I first moved to the city, my surrogate family would get together at our apartment and throw a binge on a weekly basis.

Even before we had furniture. (We didn’t have the fancy strip club chairs that adorn Kuffel’s apartmansion)

We lived in a relatively large apartment and had no items of real value, so ours was the place elected to house the feast-fest.

I make a spinach-artichoke dip that appeared at several of these dinner parties, always a hit (though it could have been the tequila talking). It uses fresh spinach and has a ton of cheese. Prepare yourself for an apporgasm.

2 packages fresh spinach, rinsed and stemmed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 oz cans of quartered artichokes, drained and rinsed
Drizzle of olive oil
1 package cream cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Splash of milk
6 slices provolone cheese
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in the olive oil on low.
Add handfuls of spinach (stir quickly so they don’t wilt too much) follow with artichokes. Salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, combine cream cheese, parmesan, cayenne pepper and milk. Mix until creamy and combined.
Add cheese mixture to the spinach artichoke mixture.
Pour into an 8×8 baking dish. Cover the top with provolone cheese.
Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, until the top is bubbling.

Serve with (or in) crusty sourdough bread. (or if you’re a pussy, tortilla chips).
It also pairs well with tequila, wine, and vodka.