During the summer at the cabin, we usually have a big dinner every Friday night–sometimes the crowd is big, but it’s usually just the two of us and Biddy and Paul over from Hornby for the evening. Bid likes a few things to nibble on before dinner is served, but I have to be careful because we’re all getting old, and, sadly, if we eat too much before dinner, we don’t have room for James’ inevitably fabulous feast.

For this reason, I’ve stopped serving my crowd-pleasing Baked Brie with Maple Syrup and Pecans with fresh baguettes because even strapping young athletes can’t eat dinner after a few scoops of this overly filling appetizer.

Instead, I’ll serve some hummus or guacamole, and, on special occasions, a parmesan-artichoke dip that’s just a little too good to resist. Last summer, we had a crowd of young people over and served up the artichoke dip alongside some red-pepper hummus. Within minutes, the bowl the artichoke dip was served in looked like someone had licked it clean. My sad little hummus remained untouched, however. Sigh.

Needless to say, the artichoke dip is full of mayonnaise and various types of melted cheese.

Anyway, I’ve been dying to try this artichoke dip from Thug Kitchen’s new cookbook Party Grub because it looks delicious, is actually healthy, AND because my niece, Sharon, served it to carnivores and they actually liked it! It’s surprisingly fussy (indeed, it’s much fussier than my usual crowd-pleasing artichoke dip), but it’s actually worth the fuss, and I’ll make it again (likely tonight!) with a few adjustments which I’ve incorporated into the recipe.

Thug Kitchen’s ADAPTED Artichoke Dip…

First you blend up the following in a food processor:

• 2 cans of artichokes, drained
• 1/4 white onion
• 4 cloves of garlic (I added an extra one to the original recipe)
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 TBS. soy sauce (I increased this from the original)
• 2 TBS. Sambal Oelek
• 1/4 cup almonds

Then you make a roux (over medium heat) with…

• 2 TBS. olive oil
• 2 TBS. flour

When it’s getting nice and thick, you add…

• 1/2 cup broth (I used BTB no-beef vegetable broth)

Let it get thick, and then add…

• 2 cups chopped baby spinach and kale (I added the baby kale because it was in my spinach mix)
• the artichoke mixture from the food processor

Let it thicken up again, and add….

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 TBS lemon juice

Let it cool and serve it with sliced raw vegetables and tortilla chips.

It’s REALLY good–James LOVED it, but thought it could use more artichokes. I thought it could use some heat. My niece confirmed this and said that she’d added some Frank’s for a nice kick, and it worked well.

So….my next batch will include a couple of tablespoons of Sambal Oelek and another can of artichokes.

Will report back with the verdict!

UPDATE:

Okay….here’s the update: I added another can of artichokes, another cup of chopped baby spinach and kale, a full TBS. of soy sauce, and two heaping TBS. of Sambal Oelek, and OH MY….IS IT EVER GOOD!!!

Here’s a picture of the updated dip (it’s less anemic looking than the earlier one because of the additional soy sauce and Sambal Oelek, I think):