About Me

My photo
I have 20+ years experience in Home Furnishings and Interior Design, specializing in Kitchen and Bath Design since '01. I work for Bilotta Kitchens in the A&D Building on East 58th Street in the Mid-town Manhattan. I have a passion for learning and love the opportunity to collaberate on projects of all sizes. My strengths in the field begin with my design background, use of color and texture to bring interest to a room, spatial relationships, organizational skills, innovation, decisiveness, and planning. I have had the thrilling experience of helping hundreds...?maybe thousands of people with their projects, and what I love is it never gets boring, and no two are ever the same. Thanks for reading.

Monday, November 30, 2009

New Holiday Tradition







As you know, by trade I am a kitchen designer, but the secret underlying passion that led me to my chosen path, was a love of cooking. This is a time in my family's life when completely new holiday traditions are being born one celebration at a time. So as I have seen my hosting responsibilities go on temporary hiatus, it's become all the more important that the "What Can I Bring To Your Party" item is a hit.

When
Emilie Barta asked for Tweets on what the favorites dishes were this Thanksgiving I shouted back "Spinach & Artichoke Dip, putting it in the oven now."

Emilie quickly asked how and how hard...I am here to tell you not very hard at all, and it always draws a crowd.


Recipe for Spinach & Artichoke Dip

What you will need:


Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Mixing Ingredients:

  1. thaw and drain frozen vegetables
  2. soften cream cheese for 30-45 seconds in microwave
  3. coarsely chop artichoke pieces (chunky)
  4. set aside 2 Tbsp of diced tomato for garnish
  5. in large bowl combine all other ingredients
  6. mix well and move to oven safe/microwavable serving dish
  7. heat in microwave on high for 12-15 minutes stopping (stir after 5 minutes) mixture should be creamy
  8. stir well
  9. sprinkle leftover tomato on top of dip for splash of color
  10. bake in oven 20-25 minutes

Serve warm with tortilla chips or other snack chip, great with garlic points!

Put your own twist on the ingredients, even try a different cheese, after all, that is the fun of being a chef in your own kitchen!

I hope that you add this recipe to your "What Can I Bring" list, and that your holidays are happy and spent with loved ones.




Follow Aston Smith