Spinach Artichoke Spread, WMC Style

True, it is hard to find a recipe collection on the web that doesn't have a spinach artichoke dip/spread and true, most restaurants offer them as a matter of course at some point. But I'm still going to join the ranks with my favorite version--just how I like it of course--maybe it will become one of your favorite versions as well.

WMC Spinach Artichoke Spread
8 ounces lite cream cheese
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup light mayo
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 cup lightly packed chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup roughly chopped artichoke hearts, water packed,  drained well
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons pine nuts
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an oven proof serving dish. Mix cream cheese, Romano, mayo and sour cream in a medium size mixing bowl until smooth. Stir in spinach, artichoke, salt and pepper. Top with pine nuts and bake uncovered until hot and gently browned, about 25 to 30 minutes. Serve hot with sourdough bread, tortilla chips or with your favorite cracker.

Hints: Using full fat cream cheese, mayo and/or sour cream will be fine. (I am just trying to decrease the fat content and calories because I always want to eat a lot of this!) Adjust salt and pepper to suit your tastes. I prefer the Romano to traditional use of Parm but you can use either or a combo. Lightly buttering the dish will help with the serving. This mixture would also work as a crostini topper quite well.

I have served this quite a bit and always gotten rave review and requests for the recipe--I really think you will like it, too. It comes together quickly, makes people happy and warms up the party!