We just had our annual Iron Chef party – the challenge was to use ONE of the following ingredients in a dish: crab, chocolate or cranberries. I picked crab and made this dip. Guess who won the iron chef challenge!? Yep, that’s right – Hot Artichoke & Crab Dip! 🙂

This dip is everything you would expect from a hot creamy artichoke and crab dip – plus more! The 1/2 tsp cayenne adds a fabulous kick. Spicy but not too spicy. If you’re not into spice and heat – omit! Definitely not recommended for kids, but a wonderful “grown up” dish. I served this with cucumber and red bell pepper slices, but toasted baguette or pita would be great if you prefer!

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
• 1 1/2 cups cooked crabmeat
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese + 1/4 cup for topping
• 1/3 cup chopped green onion + 2 tsps for garnish
• 1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper + 2 tsps for garnish
• 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Serve with

• 1 hot house cucumber, sliced (for dipping)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced (for dipping)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
• Combine cream cheese and mayonnaise in a large bowl until smooth; stir in garlic and cayenne. Gently stir artichoke hearts, crab, Parmesan cheese, 1/3 cup green onion, 1/3 cup red bell pepper. Transfer the dip to a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle top with rest of cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until topping is golden brown and dip is hot, ~30 minutes. Garnish with 2 teaspoons green onion and 2 teaspoons chopped red bell pepper.