Spin Dip Pizza

Aaannnddd, I'm back!

Did you miss me???

Wanna hear a funny story?

About 3 months ago, we moved...  and I had this whole big blog dilemma - my blog's name is Kitchen Hell because cooking in my tiny kitchen was hell!  But the new apartment?  we pretty much bought it 50% for the kitchen, 30% for its proximity to the Greenmarket and 20% for the view...  Notice that means that 70% of why we bought this particular apartment is food related...  which means hell no more, right?

Yeah, that's what i thought...  Turns out, I was a bit too optimistic in that full elimination of hell...
because now we have a whole host of new problems to deal with...  Cabinet shelves that fall down, cabinet hinges that all need to be replaced (unless we enjoy having our cabinets held closed by packing tape), cabinets that were poorly designed...  (I mean, I love my huge pantry, but, um, if i put a box of pasta 21" back, i'm never seeing that pasta again...  why would someone build something that deep without roll-out shelves???)

And then there's the one that makes me want to smack myself in the face for even thinking it, but...  I've learned that i really, really liked having all of my pots & pans hanging on the wall behind me...  it was SO easy!!!  now with all of this cabinet space, things are buried and getting to that frying pan requires that i disassemble the entire cabinet...  which will need to be done again when we want to put it away...

first world problems, i know...

but those first world problems combined with a longer commute (and therefore a later getting-home-time) and not having the greatest grocery store on the planet just a block away (oh fairway, how i miss you!) means my motivation has been lacking, to say the least...

However, in the past week or two, the entirety of tumblr has been talking about this spinach artichoke pizza from How Sweet Eats...  And since last night was my shift at the co-op (oh yes, we ARE those people, thankyouverymuch!) I knew that i'd be motivated after seeing everyone else's purchases, plus I'd be right there at the best grocery option around and could pick up everything I needed...

And it didnt require too many pots & pans...

Finally, the perfect storm of possibility...

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Spin Dip Pizza
courtesy of me, as adapted from How Sweet Eats
Click here to import directly into Pepperplate

1 whole wheat pizza crust

1 (14 oz, pre-draining) can of artichoke hearts
2/3 c ricotta cheese
8 oz fresh mozzarella, chopped/crumbled, divided
4 oz grated parmesan cheese, divided

2 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 shallots, minced

3 to 4 plum tomatoes, diced
5 oz baby spinach

salt & pepper

***

Preheat oven to 450°.
Prepare pizza tray and set aside.
Toss/stretch crust to desired size/shape and place on pizza tray.

Place ricotta, 1/4 c parmesan and 1/2 c mozzarella in a medium mixing bowl.

Drain artichokes and roughly chop. Wrap in paper towels and squeeze to eliminate moisture.
Add artichokes to cheeses and stir to combine. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet w/ 1 tbsp olive oil over med-low heat.
Add in shallots with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add in tomatoes and allow to cook for another minute or two.

Add spinach, tossing to coat and cook until spinach is wilted.

Remove from heat and add spinach mixture to the bowl with the cheese/artichoke mixture. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

Drizzle pizza dough with 1 tbsp olive oil.

Spread cheese/spinach/artichoke mixture evenly over top.

Cover with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is golden and bubbly and crust is a bit crispy.

Allow to sit 5 mins before serving.