Artichoke dip favorite of teachers at BGHS, potluck crowd at St. Al’s

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Judy Hudson serves her
‘signature’ Dallas artichoke appetizer in the favorite green ceramic bowl she found at the Black Swamp
Arts Festival a few years ago. The red pimentos ‘look so nice in it!’ (Photo: J.D.
Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)

The year was 1985 and Bowling Green resident Judy Hudson was visiting a friend named Karen in Dallas.
"She had been at a catered event and they were serving this in chafing dishes," Hudson said,
describing what is now her all-time favorite appetizer – Dallas Artichoke Dip.
"She had thought it was very good and asked the caterers if they would consider sharing the
recipe." In what was a pleasant surprise, they were glad to grant her request.
Hudson brought the aforementioned recipe home with her from the Dallas sojourn, and in the quarter
century since has made it her own signature dish.
"I have tweaked it in a couple ways."
First, she doubled the amount of artichoke in the dip, from one to two cans. "Because I think most
people – if it’s called an artichoke dip – want at least some artichoke on their cracker! And it doesn’t
hurt to be generous that way."
Conversely, "I cut back on the jalapenos because I felt it was too hot for my family, and the heat
interferes with the flavor of the dip."
The original version called for two or three tablespoons of jalapeno. "It was a lot!
"When I got home from Dallas I tried it with one tablespoon, and felt that was still a lot.
Sometimes, more of the heat is just not pleasant."
She finally settled on just two teaspoons.
Satisfied she had the proportions right, Hudson served the dip for a holiday gathering at her sister’s
home. The response was highly enthusiastic.
Since then, "I’ve taken it to baby showers, bridal showers" and a variety of social activities
involving fellow staff at Bowling Green High School, where Hudson was a longtime English teacher.
The Cleveland native first came to Bowling Green in September 1970 as a freshman at the university, where
she earned a B.A. in English. She was teaching at Liberty Center High School when an opening came up at
Bowling Green Junior High, where she had student-taught, and the school called Hudson and asked if she’d
be interested in it.
She made the move from the junior high to the senior high school when the ninth grade was transferred
there, in 1990.
Three or four years ago "I was still teaching at the high school and 25 female members of the
faculty and staff" decided to rent a cabin for an overnight getaway at Hocking Hills State Park.

"We brought all our foods in coolers, on ice" and Hudson was ordered to contribute her
artichoke dip. That was fine since "it’s a good dish to travel with. I just brought the almonds in
a baggie" and added them after baking.
Several of the woman had gone hiking and when they returned it was still too early for dinner, so Hudson
served the dip.
"I think they liked it, because there was nothing left! They were cold, it had been raining and it
was just the appropriate thing to serve. Nice and hot."
More recently the group made her bring the dip to the retirement party of fellow English teacher Diane
Vogtsberger.
That’s understandable enough, but the others even begged Hudson to bring the dip to her own retirement
party in 2009!
Since then, another whole group of people has fallen in love with the dish.
Last spring, her church, St. Aloysius, started holding a monthly potluck for people over 50. The
gathering quickly caught on "and now it has a life of its own" with everybody rotating the
category of dish they donate in a given month.
Everyone agrees it’s the best artichoke dip they’ve ever had. Maybe the best vegetable dip, period.
For a while, Hudson worried that it wasn’t healthy enough.
"I have tried making it lighter and that did not work," she said of her experiments with
lighter mayo or low-fat cheese.
Since she doesn’t make it more than three or four times a year, she now refuses to feel guilty about
calories.
After all, at the buffet-style events at which she serves it, "there are other things to eat. People
get one or two servings" of the dip and that’s not going to bust anybody’s diet.
She loves it because it combines "crunchy with creamy; the creamy of the mayo, the crunchy of the
almonds. I’m a texture person in my cooking."
One thing the recipe calls for the cook to do is to drain the artichoke hearts, pimentos, and chiles
overnight.
Don’t try to skip or shortcut here.
"The night before I put all those things in a colander and drain them, and I drain the chiles alone.
That is key. Otherwise, (the dip is) too soggy."
Her favorite choice among the five or more types of cracker with which she has served the dip is the
large Dare Cabaret, which she said happens to be on sale at Kroger’s this week.
"I think the Dare tastes best."

Dallas Artichoke Dip
Body: 2 14-oz cans of artichoke hearts (in water)
1 4-oz jar of chopped pimentos
1 4.5-oz can of green chiles (chopped)
2 teaspoons of bottled jalapenos (minced)
1 cup of mayonnaise
4 oz of shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of sliced almonds (toasted)
Halve/quarter the artichoke hearts depending on their individual size. Drain the artichoke hearts,
pimentos, and chiles overnight. Add the minced jalapenos and combine with the rest of the ingredients
except for the almonds. Spoon into a shallow serving dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until
bubbly and golden. Toast the almonds. Sprinkle with the almonds after removing from the oven and just
before serving.
I serve this dip with Dare Cabaret crackers. It is a larger, sturdier cracker with a buttery flavor.

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