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.

Blog Contest Underway!

I'm having a CONTEST! In case you missed it, go back and read my second post back. Please enter Old Bay Seasoning's Basket of the Bay Giveaway. And you could win all this stuff:

All you have to do is leave a comment here or on my last post with your favorite Old Bay-inspired recipe. The deadline is Monday, July 27, 3:42 AM. And I will be embarrassed if I only have 1 or 2 comments since that would just make me look pathetic and not at all like the internationally known blogger you all know and love.

Happy Seventieth Anniversary Old Bay Seasoning And I'm Having A Contest.

I was recently contacted by Old Bay Seasoning's PR company. They noticed I occasionally use Old Bay Seasoning in my recipes, and in honor of Old Bay's 70th anniversary, offered me a Basket of the Bay gift bag containing Old Bay Seasoning, Old Bay Steamer Bag, 3 classic Old Bay recipes, a beach bag, a beach towel, a key chain/can opener, and my personal favorite, a temporary tattoo of a can of Old Bay Seasoning.

Whoot! Lookie here. My Basket of the Bay gift bag arrived today.

Junior really liked the beach towel.

Here are my goodies.

And thanks to Old Bay, I'm able to offer one lucky reader their very own Basket of the Bay gift bag. Ooooh. I'm excited. I've never done a blog contest before. All you have to do is comment here with your favorite Old Bay-inspired recipe. The deadline is Monday, July 27, 2009, at 3:42 AM. The accounting firm of Price Waterhouse will be assisting in the tabulation of votes. (Not really.) So, Dear Readers, get crackin' on your Old Bay recipes and comment here. One of you will win the Basket of the Bay! The winner will be announced Tuesday, July 28. 2020. Hah! Not really. Check back with me next week for the winner. Thank you very much, Old Bay, for my Gift Basket and your kind words. And here's the nice email I received last week from Old Bay:

Rosie,

Where do I begin! All your recipes look so good and I already have a few that I intend on attempting. Lobster bisque is my absolute favorite, so I am going to have to attempt your recipe when it’s not so hot out. What I do intend on trying out soon are a few of your oyster recipes. I have to say I have never had oysters any other way than raw, but your blog has inspired me to try them a few other ways!

I noticed that you used Old Bay Seasoning in some of your recipes and thought you may be interested in knowing that OLD BAY is celebrating their 70^th anniversary this year. In celebration of their 70^th anniversary they have re-created three of their classic recipes. I would love to send you these recipes to try out along with a “Basket of the Bay” gift bag that will include: Old Bay Seasoning, Old Bay Steamer Bag, beach bag, beach towel, keychain with bottle opener and a temporary tattoo.

I know you don’t offer giveaways on your blog, but if you would like offer one of your readers a “Basket of the Bay” gift bag of their own to help OLD BAY celebrate, all you would need to do is send me an e-mail with your winner’s mailing address and I will handle the shipping. Perhaps you could ask your readers to comment on their favorite Old Bay-inspired recipe.

If you would like to receive your own gift bag, please send me your mailing address and I will get it out to you right away.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Le-La