Who doesn’t love a good appetizer? This artichoke dip is great for any gathering or just by yourself (no judgement please). If you want to step up your game you can also roast an artichoke and use it as the serving dish to be fancy. I simply make the dish the same both ways and roast the artichoke separately, then scoop the dip into the artichoke halves.

Ingredients :

7 oz artichoke hearts (canned, about 3 full hearts, then chopped up)

4 oz mayonnaise

4 oz (by weight) shredded parmesan cheese (about a cup loosely packed by volume if you don’t have a scale)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lemon juice

1 jalapeño (chopped)

Directions :

Assemble and mix all of you ingredients together in a mixing bowl. See above photo for how finely chopped it should be. Place in an oven safe dish (I use one that is shallow, 1.5 inches deep, to allow for more surface area for that nice toasty look) and bake at 375* for 20 minutes. Remove and serve warm with crackers, tortillas chips, pita chips, veggies or whatever. Serves about 4.

If you want to roast an artichoke :

Prepare a bowl with 2 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, stir to combine well. Take a whole artichoke, slice of an inch of the top and dip the exposed edge in the lemon water to help prevent browning. Cut of the bottom stem so that there is only about an inch left. Trim the outer leaves slightly so they aren’t pointy. Cut it in half and dip the exposed edges in the lemon water. Now remove the inside with a spoon, you might need a knife to help cut it away. Feel free to remove a few leaves to create a big enough cavity. Brush the inside and all the edges with olive oil then place face down on tin foil (the flat side down). Cover each half tightly in foil and bake in oven at 450* for 30 minutes.