We’ve all had good spinach dip. A little sour cream, a little cheese, some thawed frozen spinach and you’re in business. It’s the type of party dish you throw out on a table with a few crackers, maybe some slices of toasted baguette, and it’s guaranteed to be gobbled up in a matter of minutes. You may be used to seeing it served cold or at room temperature on most occasions, but those of us who take our dips seriously know that there is nothing quite like a hot version.

Somewhere between a french onion dip and everybody’s favorite green side dish, creamed spinach, this warm rendition satisfies in ways a cold version simply cannot. Just think — all those wonderful, rich flavors that are usually muted by the frosty interior of your refrigerator come alive when warmed through in the oven. Creamy, gooey and indulgent, this spinach dip is guaranteed to become one of your new favorite appetizers. Serve it to guests or bring it to your next potluck, but whatever you do, beware: I’ve seen a small group of people easily polish this off, so it may be worth doubling if you’re serving it for a party.

HOT SPINACH DIP

Adapted from Martha Stewart

This recipe is awesome as a dip and would be just as delicious as a side. While the original version of the recipe calls for three dashes of Worcestershire sauce, each time I’ve made this I find myself using double that — same goes for the hot sauce, too. But that’s my own preference; feel free to play around with flavors. I would even recommend mixing in some freshly grated nutmeg and forgoing the topping of mozzarella, if you’re serving it as a side. I’ve tried this using both fresh and frozen spinach — and a combination of both! — and honestly, the difference isn’t noticeable enough in the finished product to deem one better than the other. Thus, the choice is yours. The frozen spinach is definitely a bit easier — you’ll just add it, completely drained of excess liquid, directly to the cream cheese sauce and then add in the mozzarella cheese.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds spinach, cleaned, trimmed, and coarsely chopped, or 2 10-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained
• 1/4 cup stock or water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 6 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
• Worcestershire sauce, to taste
• Hot sauce, to taste
• 1 cup grated mozzarella
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• Baguette slices, breadsticks, or crackers, for serving

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion and garlic; cook until lightly browned and softened, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Add spinach in two additions adding a portion of the stock or water with each and cover with a lid. Let the first batch wilt before adding the next; cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander; drain, pressing to release all excess liquid.
3. In the same pot, warm milk over high heat. Whisk in cream cheese until melted, about 3 minutes. Add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/2 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a lightly oiled 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.
4. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot with accompaniments, as desired.

Makes 3 cups

Mac and cheese recipes are a dime a dozen on the net.  If you have a food blog and are even remotely tolerant of dairy, odds are you’ve posted a favorite recipe or unique rendition.  From bacon and blue cheese to truffles and lobster, there are countless offerings out there that claim to offer the ultimate mac and cheese experience. Whether it’s topped with breadcrumbs and baked in the oven or fresh from the stove top, oozing with a gooey melted cheese sauce, I’ve never met a version I haven’t liked.  That being said, in my mind one version stands out among the rest as a truly extraordinary and distinctive twist on the original: green chile mac and cheese.

I first had green chile mac and cheese on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona for Spring Training with my Dad where we dined at chef Robert McGrath’s flagship, Roaring Fork restaurant.  After amazing, back-to-back dinners we decided to buy the cookbook and attempt to replicate his signature riff on the comfort classic.  Needless to say, the results were a near perfect match.  Simple to prepare, this dish gets it’s deep, smoky flavor from the addition of a puree of roasted poblano chiles.  Add in some heavy cream, a confetti of red bell pepper, sweet corn kernels and a healthy dose of piquant pepper jack cheese and you have a mac and cheese dish worthy of a little excitement.

GREEN CHILE MAC & CHEESE

Adapted from American Western Cooking from the Roaring Fork, by Robert McGrath

Once you have the prep work out of the way, this recipe comes together very quickly.  For instructions on how to roast, peel and puree chiles, check out my recipe for New Mexico Green Chile with Pork. To make this recipe at a moments notice, do what I do and roast extra poblanos to keep on hand in your freezer. Cook the macaroni in a large pot of well-salted, boiling water until al dente.  I like to rinse the pasta under cold running water to halt the cooking process in an effort to maintain as much texture as possible.  This recipe can be doubled very easily and makes a great potluck dish for a large, hungry group of people.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup poblano chile, finely diced
• 1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
• 2 cups cooked elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup roasted, peeled, and pureed poblano chile
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup, grated hot pepper jack cheese
• Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

METHOD:

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add the diced poblano chile, red bell pepper, red onion and garlic and sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the corn kernels and sauté briefly.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the macaroni, poblano puree, cream and pepper jack cheese.  Stir gently until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and the cheese is melted.
4. Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  Transfer to a medium bowl and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side

Few dishes compliment the bold, spicy flavors of Mexican food better than a bowl of warm, perfectly seasoned black beans.  Thrown in a burrito in place of boring old pintos, these smoky black beans instantly add another dimension to your everyday Mexican repertoire.  In my opinion, this is a side that’s good enough to stand on its own as a main course.   Garnished with a bit of cilantro, some crumbled queso fresco and maybe a dollop of crema, this is Mexican comfort food at its best.  And, at a prep time of just over 30 minutes, this is great for a weeknight meal.

The main flavor component of this side dish is the earthy, smoky chipotle chile.  If you’ve never worked with the dried version before, this recipe is a great introduction; their inherent flavor shines through without being overshadowed by the tomato and vinegar based adobo sauce found in canned varieties.  For this recipe I used the morita chipotle but if you can only find canned chipotles in adobo, I definitely recommend going with La Morena brand.

SMOKY BLACK BEANS

Inspired by Cindy Pawlcyn’s, Big Small Plates

Toasting the chiles prior to soaking will help bring out their natural oils and amazing aroma. For another dimension of smoke flavor, I cook the onion and garlic in bacon grease that I save in a small jar in my fridge.  Finally, be careful when seasoning the dish with salt as some canned beans can already be a bit salty.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 14-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed well.
• 2 dried chipotle chiles, or canned
• 1 tablespoon lard, bacon grease, or olive oil
• 1/3 onion, finely diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 small bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon table salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 cups chicken stock
• Cilantro and queso fresco for garnish

METHOD:

1. If using the dried chipotle chiles, preheat an oven or a toaster oven to 350°.  Place the chiles on a baking sheet and toast for 5 minutes, or until aromatic. Alternatively, place the chiles in a dry  pan and toast until fragrant over moderate heat. Remove the chiles from the oven and submerge them in a small bowl of warm water for at least 20 minutes.  Once the chiles have reconstituted, drain, remove their stems and chop finely to a paste.
2. In a medium saucepan, heat the lard or olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté until lightly browned.  Add the cumin, bay leaf and chipotle paste.  Add the black beans to the saucepan along with just enough chicken stock to make the beans saucy.  Stir to make sure everything is well combined and simmer over low heat for 20-25 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.  Don’t be afraid to add more stock if the beans become too dry.
   
3. Season the beans with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve the beans warm, garnished with a few cilantro sprigs and a generous crumble of queso fresco.

Serves 6 as a side

If there’s anything better than the perfect baked potato, it would have to be a twice baked potato. I’m sure everybody’s Mom, Grandma or next-door neighbor has a recipe for double-stuffed potatoes; afterall, if you can bake a potato and make mashed potatoes, you’re pretty much halfway there. See, it’s not so much about how you make them, as it is about what’s inside.

Having eaten delicious versions that included blue cheese, fresh herbs, roasted garlic and even wasabi, it wasn’t until a recent trip to Cowgirl Creamery that I became inspired to make a slightly more gourmet version of a recipe I saw on PBS’s, Cook’s Country.

It was a taste of Cowgirl’s housemade, light-as-air, herbed fromage blanc that set me off. While the Cook’s Country’s version saw the addition of Boursin cheese to their super-stuffed baked potatoes, the bright tasting, herb-packed fromage blanc seemed like it might be able to produce a more sophisticated version of the dish. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of both Boursin and Rondelé cheese, but after eating it by the tub full on crackers as a kid, the lighter texture and slightly tart flavor of herbed fromage blanc seemed to taste a bit more grown up.

Needless to say, the end result was delicious. Topped with fresh chopped chives and a sprinkling of crispy bacon bits, the flavor was ironically reminiscent of savory sour cream and onion potato chips. So much for gourmet, I suppose. But what do you think? Is a homemade dish that recalls the flavor of your favorite packaged snack or fast food meal a good or bad sign? I’m leaning towards the former!

TWICE BAKED POTATOES

Adapted from Cook’s Country’s, Super-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Baking an extra potato will ensure that each finished spud is stuffed to max capacity. Because potatoes vary in size, you might need more or less half-and-half to reach your desired filling texture. As always, taste the potato-cheese mixture before filling the shells and adjust the seasonings to your own preference. If you’re strapped for time, you can always microwave the potatoes on a paper towel for 20-25 minutes, turning half way through.

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 large russet potatoes, scrubbed
  
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 tablespoons melted for brushing
  
• 3/4 teaspoon table salt
• 6 ounces herbed fromage blanc or Boursin/Rondelé cheese
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pieces smoked bacon, or more to fold in with cheese mixture as desired, cooked until crisp and coarsely chopped
• Fresh, chopped chives for garnish

METHOD:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Prick potatoes all over with with a fork, place directly on the rack of the oven and roast for 50-60 minutes or until tender and cooked through.
   
2. Carefully slice off the top quarter of each potato and allow to cool slightly for about five minutes. Scoop out the flesh of each potato into a large bowl being careful to leave behind a 1/4 inch layer of potato on the inside to form a shell. Brush each shell inside and out with the melted butter and sprinkle the insides with 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
3. Raise the heat of the oven to 475°. Place the buttered potato shells on a baking sheet fitted with a wire rack and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, or until they begin to crisp.
4. While the potato shells are baking in the oven mix the half-and-half with 1/2 of the cheese. Cook the remaining butter and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until garlic is lightly golden and aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add the half-and-half/cheese mixture to the garlic butter and mix thoroughly. Heat until just warm.
5. Press the reserved potato flesh through a ricer or food mill and gently fold in the warm cheese/butter mixture, remaining salt and pepper until well combined.
   
6. Remove the potato shells from the oven and fill them with the potato-cheese mixture. Carefully spread on the remaining cheese and bake for 15 minutes, or until warmed through and golden brown.
7. Sprinkle with chives and bacon bits and serve immediately.

Serves 5