Spinach Dip... With A Different Twist

Party Line with Dan & Steve quickly became a new favorite show to catch on The Food Network. On a recent show entitled: DVD Night - episode DS101, they made a wonderful Spinach, Artichoke and Bacon Dip.

We were invited to play cards that upcoming weekend and I thought what a perfect excuse, like I needed one, to give this a try. Personally, I loved it. Because it contains artichoke hearts, I think some people shyed away from it. But the lemon zest does give it a nice fresh flavor. However, next time I think I will use a little less as it can be so strong.

I doubled the recipe as I wanted some left over since it is very low-carb! Although it pairs very well with a good dipping chip, cracker and even torn bread, I wanted to keep within the low-carb range and took one of my carb chopper tortillia's and made it into a wrap. I like to cut them into slices, as shown in the picture on the right. It makes them easier to eat and it also makes a great appeitzer for guests.

And like any good dip, it thought it got better after 2 days in the refrigerator.

There recipe follows, and here is the link which also contains a recipe for crispy pitas, which for some reason they didn't do in the show. I guess they ran out of time. Enjoy!

Spinach, Artichoke and Bacon Dip
from Party Line with Dan & Steve

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (6-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
10 bacon strips, fried until crisp and crumbled
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups sour cream
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Crispy Pitas, recipe followsHeat the vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium low heat. Add the garlic and shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallot softens and the garlic begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Put the spinach in a colander and squeeze out all of the excess water. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and add the artichoke hearts, crumbled bacon, cooked garlic and shallot, lemon zest, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix well with a rubber spatula, and transfer to a decorative bowl. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before serving so the flavors can blend. Serve with crispy pitas.