pecan-crusted spinach artichoke dip

This recipe is one that I get requests for very often. It was always between this dip and my cucumber sandwiches for my honours society events. (I learned I like cucumbers when it was requested that I make hundreds of the little finger sandwiches. I spent about 7 hours preparing them, which is utterly ridiculous, but, as I've said before, I'm not so quick at the chopping.) The spinach and artichoke dip was also my main contribution to each years' Thanksgiving dinner; I'm not sure how they got on without it. It's not a difficult recipe, but the ingredients can run a bit expensive, so it's certainly a special occasion type of dish. Of course, you can decide what a special occasion is to you. I have typically served the dip with water crackers, but it is also delicious on sliced French bread. I also use a food processor for the artichoke hearts and the onion because I prefer smaller pieces to integrate into the dip. I'm not a fan of finding big, incongruous chunks, but some people like it.

Ingredients:

18 ounces frozen creamed spinach, defrosted (you can also cream your own spinach, but I like the shortcut)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup mayonnaise

14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/3 cup crushed herb stuffing

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I hold four pretty pecan halves back for decor)

Hardware:

large spoon

oven

large mixing bowl

food processor for chopping onion and artichoke hearts

2 quart glass baking dish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.

Add cream cheese and mayonnaise together in the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the creamed spinach, artichoke hearts, parmesan, onion, and cayenne pepper.

Transfer the mixture to the baking dish and level the top as much as possible. Pour the stuffing and pecan onto the mixture. Try to cover the entire dish with an even coating of the pecan/stuffing.

Place dish in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the mixture is heated through and the topping has browned. My tip for decoration is to remove the dish about 5 minutes before it is done and add the four reserved pecan halves in the center, then return the dish for the remainder of the cooking time. Rarely do I put any extra effort into making a "pretty" dish, but this is simple enough.

Serve the dip in the baking dish if possible.