• Bad Photo Sunday – Spinach Artichoke Dip

  Filed under Dips/Sauces
  May 4
  
  I missed out on my Bad Photo Sunday last week because of the Daring Bakers Challenge – but I’m back this week! And last time I did this, a couple of people mentioned they might be interested in doing this as well – go for it!! I’m not going to make an official event out of it or anything, but if you want to participate (no matter what day you post your “bad” photo), just email me at tasteandtell (at) gmail (dot) com and I will link to your post on Sundays.

  Now this photo is not exactly horrible, but it’s not great, and it’s kind of boring. In fact, from just looking at the photo, you would probably never know that it is spinach artichoke dip. This comes from way back from the Superbowl. I tell ya, I have a lot of these ugly photos just hanging out!! But this would be good – Superbowl or not. Chips and dips are probably one of my favorite snacks, so something like this is good for me at any time.

  A couple of hints on this recipe that the book suggests:

  1 – Only use canned artichokes. Marinated or frozen won’t work.
  2 – Do not substitute nonfat mayonnaise.
  3 – Full fat items will give you the most flavor, but if you do want to cut back, low fat sour cream, cream cheese and mayonnaise will work.
  4 – This can be made ahead! Do everything up to the baking part, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Before baking, put it in the microwave and microwave on high until the edges start to bubble – 2 to 5 minutes.

  Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

  From The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
  4 ounces cream cheese
  12 ounces mozzarella, shredded
  2 cups sour cream
  3 ounces Parmesan cheese, shredded
  1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped coarse
  1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
  2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon Tobasco
  1/4 teaspoon pepper
  1/8 teaspoon salt

  Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400F. Microwave the cream cheese in a large bowl on high power until very soft, 20 to 30 seconds. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Transfer to a greased 1-quart baking dish.

  Bake until browned and bubbly, about 35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

  Makes about 3 cups

  UPDATE
  **It was just brought to my attention that there is not any mayonnaise in the ingredient list for this recipe. Hmmm, I double checked the cookbook, and sure enough, it looks like they left it out of the ingredient list. I’m pretty sure when I made this that I followed the recipe exactly, and it was delicious – so maybe it doesn’t even need the mayo!!
  

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  25 Comments

25 Responses to “Bad Photo Sunday – Spinach Artichoke Dip”

1. 

   noble pig said on May 4th, 2008 at 3:10 pm

   It sounds good, I love dips like this but I agree they are difficult to photograph!

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2. 

   glamah16 said on May 4th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

   I just think you needed to take the photo a little further. Like fuffing up the dip a bit with the spoon to see the creaminess. Or the dip on a chip or cracker. Nebertheless it sounds yummy.

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3. 

   PheMom said on May 4th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

   I’ve been looking for a really good recipe for this ever since we had it in Boston several years ago. I’ve been making a version that I layer in with more cheese, chicken and no bake lasagna noodles to make an awesome lasagna I keep meaning to post too. I’ll use this one for dip from now on.

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4. 

   Vicarious Foodie said on May 4th, 2008 at 4:09 pm

   I’m so glad to see another installment of bad photo Sunday! I was hoping you’d keep up with this. Some things just aren’t photogenic, but I’m sure this is delicious.

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5. 

   AnticiPlate said on May 4th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

   America’s Test Kitchen Cookbooks are AMAZING! I also don’t know if spinach and artichoke dip could ever really photograph well. It is very colorless, and it will always taste better than it looks:)

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6. 

   kristen said on May 4th, 2008 at 5:46 pm

   oh thislooks cheesy good!

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7. 

   Kelly-Jane said on May 4th, 2008 at 5:55 pm

   Some things are just so good, and they just won’t come through for the avid blogger in a pic! I don’t think this is a bad pic though!!

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8. 

   Emiline said on May 4th, 2008 at 6:09 pm

   I love spinach artichoke dip.

   This is from the super bowl?!!

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9. 

   Melanie said on May 4th, 2008 at 7:52 pm

   This looks delish! I love spinach artichoke dip and am tired of my old recipe so I’ll have to give this one a try next time.

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10. 

    jasmine said on May 4th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

    Hey…it’s not a bad photo…just mysterious.

    We think it’s baked and probably creamy…there are also little bits of green popping through…very enticing way to get to the recipe.

    j

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11. 

    Peabody said on May 4th, 2008 at 11:43 pm

    MMM, artichoke dip is so good. I would not call that a bad photo either.

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12. 

    Bonnie said on May 5th, 2008 at 12:00 am

    THIS LOOKS WONDERFUL !!!! I think it will make it to next weeks menu !!

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13. 

    Elle said on May 5th, 2008 at 2:18 am

    That is one of our favorite dips! It looks nice and cheesy!

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14. 

    KJ said on May 5th, 2008 at 2:59 am

    I love dips and this one sounds great. They are hard to photograph, so I think you have actually done well.

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15. 

    eatme_delicious said on May 5th, 2008 at 5:37 am

    Ooo yumyum I am totally going to be making this. I’m a sucker for spinach artichoke dip or just artichoke dip.

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16. 

    giz said on May 5th, 2008 at 8:43 am

    Maybe it doesn’t look so good but it has a great personality

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17. 

    Grace said on May 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am

    isn’t it funny how people who wrinkle their noses at spinach and artichokes will absolutely devour spinach artichoke dip? i wonder if the cheese has anything to do with it…

    although you mentioned it in the write-up, i don’t see mayo in the ingredients. i’m anti-mayo, so i don’t mind a bit.

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18. 

    mimi said on May 5th, 2008 at 2:30 pm

    looks delish, “bad” photo and all! funny because this weekend i made an artichoke dip that is to die for!! yumm.

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19. 

    jj said on May 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

    Sounds like a delicious way to get some spinach in the diet, thanks!

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20. 

    Patricia Scarpin said on May 5th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    I don’t see anything ugly in here, but that’s fine .
    I love the idea of having artichokes and spinach together, Deb!

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21. 

    Tartelette said on May 5th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    Good or not it made me hungry! I am surely not going to wait for the next Superbowl!!

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22. 

    Bridget said on May 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

    That’s such a great idea! I have so many recipes built up that I’ll never blog because the pictures just don’t cut it.

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23. 

    Kevin said on May 7th, 2008 at 12:17 am

    This sounds so tasty!

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24. 

    The Bentley Family said on February 4th, 2009 at 5:59 pm

    I want to make this tomorrow. I have the Anerica’s Test Kitchen Cookbook and it says to definately NOT use canned Artichokes but to only use frozen. I’m worried now about following the book if you said using frozen ones won’t work. Why is it that they don’t work? Help!!!

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25. 

    Deborah said on February 9th, 2009 at 7:20 pm

    the Bentley Family – I’m actually confused now, because I went back and looked in my cookbook (ATK Family Cookbook) and it says not to use marinated or frozen. I used canned for this, and it worked, so I’m not sure if they have conflicting information in different cookbooks???

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