With the holidays coming and going my focus, of course, has been on creating and preparing dishes that could be part of a holiday meal. I mean, yes you really could use anything you want for a holiday meal but, I tried to stay along the lines of traditional with a new twist. This dish is one that I made for Thanksgiving 5 years ago from a recipe I found on Food Network. We loved it so I put it in the “recipe bank” for future use, but for whatever reason I associated it with a holiday meal only and never thought to pull it out for another night.

This year I went back through old recipes to get some ideas and came across this one again. I knew immediately  I wanted to make it. I knew Miss Picky Pants wasn’t going to eat it because it has artichoke hearts in it (if I had gotten rid of them should would have because she loves brie) but I figured everyone else would be game for it.

I also thought it would go well with the meal because I was making standing rib roast with a garlic, rosemary crust so it fit into the slight Italian theme I had going. You know, cooking is like getting dressed, you want everything to match and compliment each other. It sounds good at least right?

The meal was a bit hectic because I hadn’t planned the times as well as I had for Thanksgiving, plus the roast took up the whole oven so I couldn’t sneak things under or along the side. But this dish really comes together well. A few steps, but well worth it, trust me!! I can guarantee I wont be saving this for the holidays anymore. Special occasions maybe, but it is too good to only pull out once in a while!

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 pounds spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped)
• 2 cups chopped yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning blend
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 3 (8 1/2-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts, tough outer leaves removed
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 12 to 14 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old French bread (about 1 loaf)
• 1 pound Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes, optional
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

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