Spinach Artichoke Dip

Recipe

Description

A classic, creamy dip that perfectly highlights its veggie stars alongside cheesy goodness.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large garlic clover
• 1 12-ounce bunch fresh spinach, finely chopped
• Pinch of red-pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, torn or shredded
• 4 ounces sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan, finely grated

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring until it’s softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add spinach to pot one handful at a time, letting each handful completely wilt before adding the next. Add crushed red pepper, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid from the spinach has evaporated (no need to drain), about 3 minutes. Add artichokes and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, just to take the raw edge off the artichokes.
3. Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese and mozzarella. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir until all the cheese has melted, about 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream and pecorino, and season with more salt and pepper. You can certainly eat this dip straight from the pot (or transferred to a serving bowl), but running it under the broiler for a crispy top is also an excellent option. To do so, transfer dip to a small ovenproof skillet (6 to 8 inches). Place in oven and broil until the top is golden and the dip is bubbling, 5 to 8 minutes. Let sit a minute or two before serving.

Source

New York Times - Spinach Artichoke Dip

Sample Imagery

Website Inspiration

Recipe Websites

Yummly
Before bombarding you with large images of food and titles of recipes, Yummly welcomes the user with options of types of recipes. I find this to be a lot less overwhelming and if I went in with no idea what recipe I was looking for, I would have a much easier time, navigating to something I could make and enjoy through Yummly's initial questions for personalization.

The Pioneer Woman
The home page has many loud colors and patterns which initially might turn me off, but are rather on brand for the Pioneer Woman. However the recipes themselves are much more simplified in terms of design. Particularly the jump to recipe button stuck me as many cooking sites are known for long stories to scroll through before you reach the recipe itself.

Smitten Kitchen
I found the recipes tab on the site to be overwhelming as once it is clicked on the user is presented with a bunch of boxes, all the same color and similar size, that lead to categories of recipes. Some sort of hierarchy may make that clearer. Something that I really enjoyed though was how the recipes included step-by-step photos rather than just the finished product, which would really help the act of cooking along with the recipe.

Non-Recipe Websites

Parks Project
I like how the website has images that span the entire width of the page. They give a nice effect by breaking up the background and adding a sort of dimension as they recede while images with margins on that sides can look like they're sitting on top of the page.

Dossier
One thing I liked about this website was how reviews by publications were presented. The site uses buttons the rotate between these reviews, giving the user the choice to see more if this is information that they are interested in or not engage if it is not.

Firewatch
This website has a clear consistent color theme that makes it very satisfying to use. I'd want to work on how color can be used to convey a hierarchy of information in my designs.