Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Baked Spinach Dip Cups in Mini Breadbowls

Remember the caprese dip I made for the Book Club I held in January? Well I promised in that post to review the other appetizer I made - spinach dip cups. I  pinned this awhile ago, and this was actually the second time I made them (the first was for Christmas Eve, but in all the holiday craziness, I didn't document the process).

Source: Picky Palate
I am pretty sure Shannon or I have reviewed one of Jenny's recipes before, but I can't think of one to point out. Don't these look delicious though? And they were pretty simple to make.

I prepped the filling earlier in the day so that all I had to do before the book clubbers arrived was cut up the dough, top will the filling, and pop in the oven.

I started by wilting the spinach in some olive oil and then add in the chopped garlic:

Then I dumped it into a mixing bowl with the sour cream, cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, and spices and mixed it all up. I threw a top on the bowl and popped it in the fridge.


About 20 minutes before everyone arrived, I preheated the oven and took out my filling and a tube of french bread dough. I cut up the dough into 12 even little disks and pressed them into the bottom of my muffin tin:



I dished out the filling evenly among the bread dough and topped with the shredded mozzarella:


And into the oven they went for about 20 minutes (until they started browning along the edges of the bread)


I don't really remember waiting 5 minutes before pulling them out, but I don't think it made a difference. Here they are all finished and ready to be consumed:

 
 
 


The Verdict: Clearly I enjoyed them if I made them twice. They are pretty easy and fulfill my love of spinach dip. The first time I made them they were a little bland so I jazzed up the spice ratio a bit the second time. They are definitely a great option for entertaining in small groups - it might be a pain to have to make a ton of them for a large party.

Things to Consider: First, I added more spinach than the recipe calls for. I probably used close to 3 cups. Also, I can never find Ancho Chile Pepper so I use regular Chile pepper (but sparingly, it sort of freaks me out that its used in spinach dip at all). Lastly, the original recipe says to cut the dough in 10 equal pieces but it seems silly to me to leave to spots open in the muffin tin, so I cut it into 12. I think the bread to filling ratio works out better this way too.

I have book club again tonight - stay tuned to see what app I decided to try out!


Baked Spinach Dip Cups in Mini Breadbowls:
recipe by Picky Palate, my edits in red.

Ingredients:
  • 13.3 oz roll of refrigerated french bread loaf, I used Simply Pillsbury
  • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Cups baby spinach, coarsely chopped
  • 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
  • 3 oz softened cream cheese
  • 1/2 Cup light sour cream
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Ancho Chile Pepper (I used regular Chile pepper)
  • 1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Garlic Salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon McCormick Gourmet Sicilian Sea Salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 Cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 10 muffin cups with non stick cooking spray. Unroll package of french bread loaf and slice into 10 (12) equal size slices, about 1 inch thick. Press each slice into about a 3 inch round, I did this by pressing in between my hands. Press into the bottom and up sides of the muffin cup. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes then add garlic, cook and stir for another minute then turn heat off.
3. Place cream cheese, sour cream, cooked spinach and garlic, Parmesan Cheese, Ancho Chili Powder, garlic salt, salt and pepper into a medium bowl. Mix until well combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dip into each of the centers of bread bowls. Top evenly with shredded cheese and bake for 15-17 (20) minutes until just turning brown on edges. Remove and let cool for 3-5 minutes (oops, I forgot) before removing from oven.
(10 (12) mini spinach dip bread bowls)

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