Spinach Artichoke Dip

Happy holidays! Just wanted to quickly squeeze this post in because, well...we're less than twelve hours away from 2010 (eekkkkk)! And I made this appetizer dish before Christmas. And I'm at work, you know, working this New Years Eve ;)


Anyway, what a whirlwind of a break (if you can call it that) we've had. My sister came home from NYC for the entire week, so we were literally commuting from SF to the East Bay almost every day: Monday was dinner with all the relatives at The Dead Fish; Wednesday was dinner at Moussy's, followed by a "Black Nativity" show with the parents (my mom's random idea!); Friday was Christmas in Berkeley; and Saturday was helping my dad build kitchen cabinets (AC) and post-Christmas shopping with mom/sis (SC) -- I think I got the better end of the deal!, followed by another family dinner at night. Oh, and AC and I were working the entire week as well. Not that you really care, but that was our holiday :D

And I'm totally NOT complaining -- Christmas wouldn't have been the same without all that family and food. It was soooo fun to have my sister back home for the holidays! There were lots of shared giggles and smiles that week.



Anyway, this warm, creamy, cheesy appetizer is my absolute favorite dish to both eat and make. It's essentially spinach dip with two key additions. Chunks of artichoke hearts, which transform the entire flavor of the dip. And shredded mozzarella, which when melted, makes the dish incredibly cheesy, stringy and gooey. The best part is how it's made. Just combine chopped spinach and artichoke with mozzarella, cream cheese, parmesan, and a little sour cream -- and dunzo! Heat and serve.

Have a great New Years, everyone. And here's to an amazing 2010! :)

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, September 2007

2 C (8-oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 C lowfat sour cream
1/4 C grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 (8-oz) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (10-oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
dash of Tabasco sauce, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/2 C mozzarella and 2 T parmesan with the rest of the ingredients (sour cream, salt, pepper, garlic, artichoke, cream cheese, spinach, tabasco) in a bowl, stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 8.5 inch pie pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 C mozzarella and remaining 2 T parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.
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Potato-Crusted Quiche with Smoked Cheddar and Canadian Bacon

With family events, we always seem to be running late. Granted, if something starts at 5 p.m. -- to my family, that really means 4:45 p.m sharp...which is why tardiness just so happens to be a perpetual trend for us.



For Thanksgiving, this was no exception. As we were madly putting the final touches on the banana cream pie, we were just starting to even think about the appetizer dish that we needed to bring. Luckily for us, we had already decided on mini quiches-- which like most egg dishes, are incredibly easy and straightforward (coincidence, eh?). Yup...good thing we had nothing to do with the main course this year! :P


Anyway, this variation on a quiche is especially delicious because it uses a hash brown potato crust instead of the typical pastry pie crust. Not only does this provide a nice contrast to the eggs, but it's also a much healthier alternative, which becomes somewhat more important during any holiday season of gluttony. Like most egg frittatas or quiches, you can essentially add anything you want into the egg mixture. We used Canadian bacon for substance (meat is king in our household) and a bit of saltiness, smoked cheddar for gooey cheesiness, and spinach, zucchini, red bell pepper, and onions for more color and flavor.



One thing to note is that this dish should be baked and served in a normal pie pan. Because we wanted to make it a bit more "finger-food friendly", we used individual cupcake trays instead. While the idea was cute, it altered the hash brown crust -- and instead of a nice crispy potato crust, the egg mixture leaked through the hash browns so that there was less contrast between the crust and everything else. The below recipe reflects the original pie pan method for a crispier hash brown crust. There's nothing like a warm, cheesy potato and egg breakfast...or dinner :D

Potato-Crusted Quiche
Adapted from Bon Appetit, December 1998

1 lb shredded potatoes, soaked in ice water (or frozen hash browns, thawed)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced Canadian bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup zucchini
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

8 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 10-inch glass pie dish with vegetable oil spray. Mix potatoes, garlic, and eggs together in a bowl. Firmly press the potato mixture into pie pan until it fully covers the bottom of the dish, and is halfway up the sides. Spray lightly with Pam olive oil. Bake about 15 minutes, until crispy.

Heat olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, red bell pepper, zucchini and thyme and sauté 5 minutes. Add Canadian bacon and spinach; sauté until heated through, about 1 minute. Spoon bacon mixture over potatoes in pie dish.

Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in large bowl to blend. Mix in cheese. Pour egg mixture over bacon mixture in dish. Bake quiche until set in center, about 35 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Cut into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Curried Scallop Cakes

As you can probably guess from my last post, we had my parents over for dinner the other night for my mom's birthday celebration. It was a great idea (and we had tons of fun)...only, the whole execution part of it was not planned so well :P



In hindsight, perhaps going for a long hike that morning/afternoon was not the best decision. Because between that and picking up the ingredients afterwards, we barely had time upon getting back home to prep, clean (absolutely necessary!), cook -- let alone shower. In my haste, I think I incorrectly measured an ingredient in the curried scallop cakes that we were planning to serve as appetizers; they completely fell apart in the frying pan from lack of enough binder ingredients. Poor AC had the lovely pleasure of discovering this oh, about five minutes before everyone started arriving (isn't that always fun?). As he was scrambling to salvage all of our loose, crumbly scallop cakes, I was scrambling to get the rice started, chicken in the oven, etc. Luckily, last minute chaos is a game we've unfortunately become experts at :D. And after the initial "flurry of activities," the remainder of the night went off without a hitch.



I don't think you can ever go wrong with beautiful, fresh scallops -- especially when they're mixed with cilantro, curry powder, green onions, and dry mustard. This unique combination yields a fragrant yet delicate flavor that makes your standard ole' crab cake seem terribly bland and outdated.


While these cakes were supposed to be creamy on the inside and crunchy on the outside, ours were slightly more "crispy" all around due to the fact that their lovely insides had decided to scatter themselves all over our frying pan.

...which, I think, is the perfect excuse to make these again sometime soon! ;)



Curried Scallop Cakes
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, December 2001

1 1/2 pounds fresh sea scallops, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 large egg yolks, 1 large egg
3 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 tablespoons dry mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 1/2 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)*

Mix first 9 ingredients and 1 1/2 cups panko in large bowl to blend. Cover mixture and refrigerate 1 hour.

Place remaining 2 cups panko on large plate. Form scallop mixture into balls, using 1 heaping tablespoon for each. Coat in panko, flattening slightly.

Heat enough vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat to come 1/4 inch up sides of pan. Working in batches, sauté scallop cakes until golden and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer scallop cakes to paper towels to drain. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat on baking sheet in 350°F oven 8 minutes.) Transfer scallop cakes to platter.
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