Recipe: Best Artichoke Dip
There are a million and one artichoke dips out there, but this is the recipe I created and have used for a long time. It's the perfect spring appetizer, with the splash of lemon and lovely artichokes. You can serve it with any of your favorite dippers like toasted French bread, celery sticks, assorted crackers and probably even Fritos.

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (there aren't many ingredients here, so use the best you can find), 2 tbsp reserved
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pinch of cayenne
Zest and juice of one medium to large lemon
Salt and white pepper to taste
1 12 oz bag of frozen artichokes hearts cooked according to package directions and cooled under running water or one 16 oz can of artichoke hearts in water, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a food processor, combine the first six ingredients and run the processor for a moment to combine. Add half of the artichokes and process until beginning to turn into a smooth spread. Add the other half of the artichokes, and pulse until they are combined and coarsely chopped. This gives you a dip that is smooth, but still has a little bit of texture to it.

Transfer the dip to a cute, Pyrex casserole lightly coated with olive oil. The recipe doesn't turn out right if you skip this step, so if you don't have one be sure and stop into Goodwill before you start. Top with the reserved Parmesan cheese. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until warmed through and nice and bubbly on top. Serve warm.

This spread also makes a delicious filling for little tartlets to serve as a slightly fancier appetizer. I'll provide directions for those for you soon.

Mangez!