Autumn, Crusty Bread and a Wicked Spinach Dip

We're still crushing on fall despite the fading autumn colours.  There are less fiery reds & golds brightening the landscape as the leaves fall from the trees and reveal shades of brown.  Combined with grey windy skies, it's beginning to feel decidedly more wintry and a lot less like the end of summer.  The warm & sunny fall weather of the past few weeks is giving way to cold & rainy days that are getting shorter as the nights grow longer.  The furnace has been turned on and the fireplace saw some action this weekend.

Hubby made some amazing pulled-pork in the crock pot on Sunday and as we were piling it onto fresh crusty rolls we were reminded of the spinach dip I often make and how amazing it is with fresh bread.  This is a dip I've made for years that everyone loves and asks for again and again.... even after filling up on pulled-pork sandwiches.

Knorr® Spinach Dip

Adapted from Knorr's Classic Spinach Dip Recipe

 1 package (10 oz / 300g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

        1 container (16 oz / 500ml) sour cream

        1 cup Hellmann's® mayonnaise

        1 package Knorr® vegetable soup mix

        1 can (5 oz / 140g) water chestnuts, drained and chopped

        ¼ cup finely diced red onion

A few things about how I prepare this:

Squeeze as much water as you can out of the thawed spinach.  I usually put it in a fine mesh strainer when it’s thawed and push it into the mesh to force out as much liquid as possible.  I do not cook the spinach.  Please make sure you use chopped spinach.  Frozen whole spinach will not work... trust me.

I use sour cream, but plain Greek yogurt can be substituted.  I have not tried this.  Someone might notice and I’d have a spinach dip mutiny on my hands.  My family really loves this stuff and it has to be just the way I’ve ALWAYS made it.

Mayonnaise.  Only MAYONNAISE.  Not Miracle Whip.  Miracle Whip is salad dressing.  It is NOT mayonnaise.  They cannot be used interchangeably.  Not ever.

Knorr brand vegetable soup mix is what works best in this.  I’ve tried other brands when the Knorr has been sold out (which happens a lot) and it just isn't the same.  This stuff is like crack and if it’s on the shelves, buy a few… one can never be too prepared for the next Knorr vegetable soup mix shortage.  I roll over the package a few times with a rolling pin before I open it to crush the soup mix into a powder… I think it helps to intensify the flavour.  I chop up the red onion and water chestnuts very fine for the same reason.  Some recipes call for green onion instead of red onion.   Again, I don’t dare mess with my version of this recipe and the red onion adds more flavour.

Once you’ve got it all mixed up well in a bowl, cover it and let it sit in the fridge for a while so the flavours can blend.  I usually give it a couple of hours and then let it sit at room temperature before serving as it tastes better when it isn’t ice cold.  If I’m worried about a nice presentation, I’ll hollow out a sourdough or pumpernickel loaf to serve it in, but usually they’re digging in as soon as the lid comes off the bowl.  I always make sure to have plenty of bread for dipping… a couple of sliced French baguettes are perfect.  Cut up veggies are yummy too!

Doubling this recipe is a very good idea… or it’ll be gone before you know it.

If you're feeling really ambitious, make a couple of baguettes from scratch.  It's easy and they're so much better than store-bought.... crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside.  I mix up this recipe in  my breadmaker and then divide it into two loaves, rise & bake.

Crusty French Bread Recipe from food.com

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