Mr. Hawthorne Wanted A Spinach And Artichoke Dip And Don't Forget About My Old Bay Seasoning Basket Of The Bay Giveaway.

The other day, Mr. Hawthorne was musing about a spinach and artichoke dip. He'd seen somebody making one on TV and now he had to have one. Not a problem.

I started out with a 9-ounce bag of fresh spinach. I rinsed the spinach off, steamed it, drained it, and squeezed out as much water as I could. And I ended up with that sad little ball at bottom right in the next picture.

My ingredients: 2 4-oz. jars artichoke artichokes, rinsed, drained, and chopped 4 oz. cream cheese, softened 1 scallion 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 1/4 cup Mozarella cheese 1 garlic clove 1/3 cup mayo and sour cream combo (1/2 and 1/2) (I used 1/6 cup mayo and 1/6 cup creme fraiche) Handful of basil leaves (About 2 TB chopped) spinach, drained, squeezed and chopped

I mixed the cream cheese, the mayo, and the creme fraiche, and stirred in my chopped spinach.

Sliced onions and minced garlic went in.

Grated Parmesan cheese got mixed in. Along with the basil.

Carefully mix in the artichokes so as not to break them up. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

Spread into a buttered dish and top with Mozzarella.

I added Texas Pete over the top for good measure.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 25 minutes until nice and brown and bubbly.

Serve with chips or crackers.

I loved all the flavors here - the spinach, the cheeses, the artichokes, and the occasional heat of the Texas Pete. Mr. Hawthorne described it as "palate soothing." This would make a great appetizer for a party. It can be prepared ahead of time and heated up right before serving. And once the Little Hawthornes got to it, there was nothing left.

Here's some counter art for you. My first heirloom tomato on top of my cell phone on top of a paper towel tube. Yeah, I was bored.

And don't forget about my Old Bay Seasoning giveaway. You could be the lucky winner of all this:

Old Bay is celebrating their 70th Anniversary so go to this post or this one and leave me a comment with your favorite Old Bay-inspired recipe and you'll be in the running to win the Basket of the Bay. Deadline to enter is Monday, July 27, at 3:42 AM. One lucky winner will be announced Tuesday. Please, do me proud folks and enter. If this giveaway goes well, sponsors will look up and take heed, knowing that Kitchens Are Monkey Business is a blog to be reckoned with. Offers will just pour in. Money, I tell ya! This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks.