Continuing with our summer fun, happy hour, and stupid easy theme.  This is my GO TO dip.  I usually have all the ingredients at hand, it comes together in minutes and someone will invariably ask me for the recipe. That’s a triple play in my book.  I found it a long long time ago in Gourmet Magazine.  Whenever I make this dip it reminds me of a favorite book I read with my kids, A Cake for Herbie.  Hoping to win a poetry contest where a cake is the prize, Herbie writes a poem that starts with Artie chews, Artie swallows, Artichokes.  Ya gotta love poetry about food by a duck named Herbie.

When I was a kid I had a friend whose mom was super young.  While my parents listened to Sinatra, her mom listened to the same music we did, used words that we used, wore jeans and giant hoop earrings, in short she was so cool. Well, I liked to say that’s me now BUT it is not.  Definitely not the young hipster mom but having my kids later than many of my friends has kept me young.  I am way cooler by virtual of being around them…I even have a Spotify account, lol.  Ok, I admit I haven’t quite gotten the hang of snapchat and I cannot text at light speed.  As my kids read this I’m sure they’ll roll their eyes and groan but I’m here to say that this artichoke dip is HELLA EASY and DANK.

Crackers, crostini and breadsticks are a no-brainer plus this dip goes well with veggies like carrots, sugar snap peas, slices of cucumbers or bite sized sweet tomatoes.

Starting with canned artichokes hearts is fine.  I always keep a couple of cans in my pantry.  Be sure to drain them well. I will squeeze the artichokes by hand to remove additional moisture.  Here’s the hard part, throw the artichokes and the rest of the ingredients, except for the parmesan cheese, into a blender or food processor.  Whirl until smooth.  Fold in the parmesan cheese. Dunzo.  You can substitute sour cream or low fat mayonnaise for the yogurt.  Salt and pepper to taste.  That’s it, ready to serve.

I hope this becomes a go-to munchie for you too.

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Artie Chews, Artie Swallows, Arti-chokes (Artichoke Parmesan Dip)

Ingredients

• 1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts drained well
• 1/2 cup parmesan grated
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt you can use non-fat or low fat or sour cream
• 1 garlic clove minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice or to taste
• 1 scallion chopped
• Tabasco to taste
• breadsticks or lightly toasted french bread
• Vegetables such as carrots sugar snap peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes

Instructions

• In a food processor puree the artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, yogurt, garlic paste, lemon juice, scallion and Tabasco until the mixture is smooth. Fold in Parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the dip with vegetables, breadsticks or toasts. Makes 2 3/4 cups.