Recipe: Chrissy Teigen's Artichoke, Spinach & Buffalo Chicken Dip

To give you a little taste of Chrissy Teigen's recipe repertoire, consider making her Stretchy Artichoke, Spinach, and Buffalo Chicken Dip for your next party from her first cookbook, Cravings. Teigen promises, "every single bite is the heaven we hope exists." [Buy Cravings on Amazon here.]

SERVES 6 to 8

PREP TIME: 20 mintutes

TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 30 minutes

for the CHICKEN

1⁄2 cup Cholula hot sauce

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

for the DIP

2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry (see Note)

2 (14.5-ounce) cans water-packed artichoke hearts, drained, squeezed dry (see Note), and chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3⁄4 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano or 1½ teaspoons dried

1 teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ cup blue cheese crumbles

Spiced Pita Chips (recipe follows), for serving

MARINATE AND COOK THE CHICKEN: 

In a medium bowl, combine the hot sauce, melted butter, salt, and pepper. Add the chicken, toss to coat, cover, and marinate for 2 hours at room temp or up to 8 hours, refrigerated.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, place on a baking sheet, and bake until just cooked through, 14 to 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, shred with your hands or 2 forks into bite-size chunks. Leave the oven on for the dip.

MAKE THE DIP:

Coat an oval ceramic 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray or butter.

In a large bowl, mix together the spinach, artichokes, mayo, mozzarella, Parm, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir in the shredded chicken. Spread the dip into the baking dish and dot with the blue cheese.

Bake until golden and bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with the pita chips.

note: To really get the extra liquid out of the spinach and artichokes, pile them in the center of a big clean kitchen towel and roll up the towel. Twist the ends toward each other and keep twisting until you've wrung out as much liquid as humanly possible!

spiced PITA CHIPS

MAKES 32 CHIPS/ SERVES 6 TO 8

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 30 minutes

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons olive oil

1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin

1⁄2 teaspoon paprika

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder

1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 pitas, cut into 8 wedges each

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, olive oil, cayenne, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper. Add the pita wedges and toss gently to coat. Spread in a single layer on 2 baking sheets and bake, tossing once, until the wedges are browned and crisp at the edges, but still very slightly soft in the center (the chips will harden as they cool), 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness of pita). Note: If you like a crunchier chip, bake for a few more minutes, until there is no softness in the center.

Cool completely before serving.

Buy the book on Amazon here.

Reprinted from Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat. Copyright © 2016 by Chrissy Teigen. Photographs copyright © 2016 by Aubrie Pick. Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.