There are a lot of great things about living in Chicago including but not limited to:
-Friday nights out with my girlfriends
-Saturday visits from my parents

You might see the conflict here. Normally I would want to have a bunch of treats/snacks on snacks when my parents come over… especially when they bring two of my awesome cousins like they did last Saturday. Instead of waking up and baking my face off I woke up and wanted to order a pizza. Needless to say I was struggling and needed to make something insanely easy for their arrival.

This artichoke spread can be made no matter what state you are in or how much time you have. You might even have all the ingredients on hand (I didn’t but let’s be real I needed to pick up ginger ale anyway). Either way- this stuff is addictive.  In a lot of ways it is more like an Artichoke Tapenade and you know how I feel about Tapenade.

 
Recipe from Mario Batali
Combine in a food processor 1 garlic clove (peeled- do I really have to specify that?), 1 cup of large green pitted olives, 1 tablespoons capers (rinsed and drained), 1 15 ounce can of artichoke hearts (drained) and 0.25 cups of extra virgin olive oil.

Serve with carbs/veg/eat with a spoon.