Lemony Zest :: Kim Lewandowski

Archive for March 20th, 2008

Several years ago, Dan gave me a copy of “The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” by Rebecca Wells for Christmas, and I absolutely *LOVED* it. It’s a wonderful, can’t-put-it-down kind of book. Toward the end, I started reading it more and more slowly – I didn’t want it to be over.

This past Christmas, I bought “Ya-Yas in Bloom,” Wells’ latest book, and it was just as much fun.

So that’s what came to mind when I saw that Lisa of Champaign Taste and Simona of Briciole were co-hosting Novel Food as a food blogging event. I did a search and amazingly enough, found this site dedicated to all things Ya-Ya, including recipes compiled by book club members.

I’ll definitely be going back to that site for more recipes, but for this, I decided to start with a starter – Artichoke Dip. The Ya-Yas are always having great parties, and artichoke dip is always a hit at parties.

I did tweak it slightly – the novels are set in Louisiana, so Dan and I thought a Louisiana Artichoke Dip was screaming for some hot sauce. Shhhhh – I didn’t have Louisiana Hot Sauce, so I used Texas Pete. I also left out the bacon.

Artichoke Dip

1 can (14 oz.) artichoke hearts, drained and diced
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz.) carton sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350°, mix all ingredients and spoon into a 9″ quiche dish. Bake for 20 minutes and let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with toasted French bread slices.

You can also cook this in the microwave until bubbly.

For a delicious variation, add a package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained) before cooking.

– submitted by Sister Mary Bad Girl, tweaked by Kim

btw, the Ya-Yas all had pet names for each other, and there’s a Ya-Ya Name Generator on the site. If I use my married name, the Ya-Ya name doesn’t really suit me – Duchess Jokes a Lot. But if I use my maiden name the Ya-Ya name is this: Queen Loves to Cook. It’s karma, man.