Fabulous Party Dip

Years ago my friend Steff gave me an absolutely ADORABLE cookbook called Mary Engelbreit's Let's Party Cookbook. Despite the fact that I’ve thumbed through the pages of this book a million times, I must admit that I have not made all that many of the recipes.

There is one recipe, however, that I latched onto early on, and have made it a hundred times since – Artichoke & Goat Cheese Dip. I LOVE goat cheese and this recipe is super quick to whip up.

Here’s the list of ingredients:

- One 14 ounce can of artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
(I never really bother to rinse them)
- One 10.5 to 11 ounce log of Montrchet or other mild fresh goat cheese at room temperature.
- 3 tablespoons light cream, half and half, or milk
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon or ½ teaspoon dried
(Just tarragon??? Please. Shake in a little of this and little of that, to taste. Whatever herbs your heart desires or happen to have—basil, thyme, rosemary, dill, oregano -- just go ahead and sprinkle it in! This past occasion I had thyme, so that's what I used. To further cheat, get one of the goat cheese logs that is already rolled in herbs and use that as a starter)
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
( I also like to use a spice blend G introduced me to called Cavender's All Purpose Greek Seasoning . It comes in regular and salt free varieties and goes great on a million things. Eggs in particular love this stuff)
- Crackers to serve (or bread, or crostini, or whatever you feel like serving the spread on)

1. Gently squeeze the excess liquid from the artichoke hearts. Cut them lengthwise into slivers and transfer them into a medium bowl. Add the cheese, cream, and tarragon and blend well with large wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24, to allow flavors to blend.

2. About 15 minutes before serving, remove the dip from the refrigerator. Serve with crackers and several small knives for spreading.


The majority of the times that I’ve made this dip, I have made it just like this. It’s quick and easy, but you can play around and tweak the herbs and spices to your liking. It also makes a good sandwich spread because it has a thick and chunky consistency, given the pieces of artichokes that are mixed in.

Recently, I made batch to take with me to an Oscar party. This is a great item to bring to a party because it travels very well – just put in a portable container, grab some crackers or a baguette and you’re good to go,

On this occasion, I thought I’d play around with the texture a little bit. I brought out my Hand Blender and simply blended until smooth. A blender or food processor would work fine as well, but the hand mixer gives you a little more control. The artichokes breakdown pretty quickly and the result was somewhat more liquid -- now more a typical dip consistency, rather than a spread. At this consistency, it could also work well with crudités. Both versions are good, but actually really different. Try them both and let me know what you think.