To Make My Awesome Spinach Dip

This is a super easy recipe that makes enough for sharing or for leftovers you can reheat the next time you're craving it. 

Warning: This is addictive, so if you're going to the store to buy the ingredients in the event you don't already have them on hand, you may want to double up on everything you buy so that the next time you want to make it (usually the day after all the leftovers have been demolished), you'll have the stuff around to whip it up again. 

This is the basic recipe. You can jazz it up with artichokes, crabmeat, spices, whatever you want to add. It's very flexible. 

What You Will Need:

8 oz of cream cheese (softening it is usually a good idea)

1-9oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of grated romano cheese

1 handful of shredded Italian or mozzarella cheese (I like the Italian blend of parmesan, asiago, fontina, and mozzarella)

1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and pepper to taste

basil (I'll explain the lack of measure in the directions)

1 clove of garlic, minced (or garlic powder to taste if you're in a hurry)

What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a small baking dish. 

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, parmesan, romano, handful of shredded cheese, salt and pepper. You also want to add the basil. Now, I have only used dried basil, but I'm sure it's phenomenal with the fresh stuff. The way I measure it is by eye - at this point your mixture is pretty much all white. I add the basil and stir until it looks like manicotti filling - a noticeable but not overpowering amount of green specks. It's probably like a half teaspoon, but I hesitate to give you a measurement and be totally off. Then you'll comment and be like, "Hey JLK, WTF, mate? All I could taste was basil in this damn dip." So go easy. 

Okay, once you've got all that mixed up, add the spinach and stir until it's well-blended. Pour the slop into your baking pan and spread it out. Top with 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella, but don't go nuts or you'll have to fight through a tough cheese layer to get to the dip. 

Bake for 25 minutes and then enjoy with your favorite chips, crackers, spoon, or finger if your craving is particularly strong. But be careful, it's hot!