The Covered Dish - Spinach Artichoke Dip

Over the last 2 weeks I’ve made this dish twice. Originally, I found the recipe on line, but over the years I felt I’ve made substantial enough changes to run it for you in the column. The flavor is good, it makes an ample amount of dip, and your guests will appreciate your efforts!
I usually serve mine with tortilla chips, but there are other options like corn chips and dried pita shells. This week my nephew called and said he made a new grilled cheese sandwich that had spinach artichoke dip in it. He said it was worth doing again. Oh yes, speaking of my nephew, Brandon, he won a soup competition at his school last week and the recipe was creamy ‘dill’ soup. He stated everyone loved it. The answer is yes, yes, I’m going to try it, sounds like so much fun! Not to mention he took top honors.
Our Valentine dinner went great this past weekend, the conversation was great, and everyone was in misery when they left! OK, this chef was a bit tickled and amused!
I took Sunday off and settled for coffee and a warm robe for most of the day. I did make time to stir up a batch of this dip for the family to take to the big NASCAR Party on Sunday. They even brought a bit back home with them. A few years ago a good friend of mine gifted me a traveling cooker for the car. I cannot begin to tell you how handy it is for ‘foodie’ events. On Christmas it carried a casserole, often it totes soups, and today an appetizer.
Originally this recipe did not contain any garlic, and I’m not sure about the cayenne pepper. I have changed around the cheeses a multitude of times, usually because I simply forgot one or the other! Let’s talk about the spinach first. I have a very hard time stirring 10 ounces of spinach into this recipe, seems like it’s all I can do just to stir it together. It takes a very strong hand. So, take note on how I now do the spinach portion. I’m setting you a single batch which is ample for 10 persons.

Spinach Artichoke Dip
10 ounces of spinach, 5 oz .wilted, 5 ounces chopped into strips.
1 red pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 cans of artichokes, drained and chopped
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1-2 teaspoons garlic
1 cup shredded pepper jack
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 cup shredded Swiss
Extra Parmesan for the top
Prepare all vegetables, and set to the side while you soften the cream cheese, mix it to the sour cream along with all the cheeses, garlic and spices. The cream cheese needs to be very soft or you will struggle bringing the dip together. Notice that I soften half of the spinach to make it easier to coat with the cheeses. Bring all ingredients together and bake until the dish is nice and bubbly. I bake mine at 350. You don’t want the top to be over browned and hard. This should serve up to 10 persons. Look at around 45-50 minutes bake time. Spray the pan first!