Name: Cast-Iron Baked Artichoke-Spinach Dip
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Elizabeth Poett is passionate about preserving and maintaining her family’s ranch while growing healthy, fresh foods to share with loved ones.


Elizabeth Poett

I have always been a fan of appetizers. I could have a whole dinner made of them and be completely happy. The reason I love this spinach dip so much is because it is easy to make and always a crowd-pleaser. I make this when there is an abundance of fresh spinach in the garden. It is a simple recipe, but the spinach and artichokes are so satisfying and flavorful when combined with cheese and spices. I bake it in a small cast-iron skillet because the dip stays warm and cheesy even when we drive miles to a party.

Elizabeth Poett's Cast-Iron Baked Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Cast-Iron Baked Artichoke-Spinach Dip

Meet The Creator

Our children’s book, We Are the Gardeners, is finally here! The kids and I have been working on this project for a little over a year, and I’m excited to be

The Making of We Are the Gardeners

When we were dating, Chip would often say that there are about five foods that he really, really loves, and one of them is scalloped potatoes. The sliced potatoes make this a pretty dish, and the cream and cheese mixture tastes like heaven. When we serve steak for dinner and I don’t have much time for sides, I’ll make mashed potatoes, but anytime I have a few extra minutes, I like to make this one especially for Chip.

Scalloped Potatoes

As much as I enjoy doing my own thing in the kitchen, I love when the kids are happy to jump in and help me make a meal. In this episode, I have a couple of

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 4

I am always super-excited when fresh cherries show up at the markets! These little stone fruits burst with flavor and are only here for a short time, so I love to enjoy them as much as possible. Scones are an easy, quick way to make something special for breakfast, and I think they are best with fresh fruit in them.

Elizabeth Poett's Cherry-Almond Scones Drizzled with White Chocolate

Cherry-Almond Scones Drizzled with White Chocolate

This episode is an ode to all things biscuits—because this is a food that epitomizes so much of what I love about getting creative and having fun in the

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines: Episode 6

The Market really shines at springtime. We love it in every season, no doubt about it, but there’s something so fresh and inspiring about our garden when

Spring at the Market

Roasted mushrooms are one of my favorite dishes to make when hosting friends for dinner because it's so easy to throw them on a sheet pan and let the oven do the work. You can really build on the richness of the mushrooms by pairing it with a simple vinaigrette. As with the Honey Mustard-Glazed Pork Tenderloin, this was inspired by a dish in The Fresh Honey Cookbook by one of my dear late friends, Laurey Masterton. Laurey was wildly passionate about a lot of things, and one of those was bees and honey. It was an honor to be able to recreate some of Laurey's dishes for a dinner on From the Source, incorporating a few of my own touches along the way.

Katie Button's Roasted Mushrooms with Honey Vinaigrette

Roasted Mushrooms with Honey Vinaigrette

I love to cook with fish—especially after Austin goes fishing—and I developed this recipe because I was looking for something that would be rich tasting but also really simple to make. For this recipe, I make a sauce out of white wine, cream, and fresh dill, then just slip the fillets into the pan and put the whole thing in the oven until the fish is tender and infused with the bright, creamy sauce. I like to serve it with saffron rice, which has a flavor that reminds me of food that I enjoyed when I studied in Spain as a student. Put the kettle to a boil while preheating the oven and the rice and fish will be ready about the same time.

White Fish with Dill Sauce and Saffron Rice

The first step to this recipe is to make a rich mushroom stock, which packs enormous mushroom flavor intensity, adding depth to any recipe where stock is used. When sourcing the fresh mushrooms, look for larger ones because they’ll hold up to the braise. Clusters of lion's mane, oyster mushrooms, and maitake mushrooms can often be found at specialty grocery stores (but white button mushrooms can be substituted). To prep them, pull apart the clusters into 3-inch chunks. The final product is an umami-filled dish with brightness from the orange juice. Enjoy it as a veggie-forward main or a hearty side dish.

Katie Button's Orange and Honey Braised Mushrooms

Orange and Honey Braised Mushrooms

This cake is light and airy and fresh! It’s lemony but not overwhelmingly so. I love buttercream frosting and I love lemon curd, and so I decided to try combining them. The result was a frosting that is a dreamy blend of these two favorites: a fresh lemon flavor and a smooth, buttery frosting all in one. If you don't have time to make the lemon curd, it can be store-bought, but it’s fun to make. If you make it you’ll end up with a little bit of extra curd to enjoy on toast. My dad loves everything lemon so I make this cake for him on his birthday every year.

Elizabeth Poett's Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream Frosting

Lemon Cake with Lemon Curd Buttercream Frosting

These are, hands down, my kids’ favorite breakfast. Who am I kidding? They’re my favorite, too, especially when served alongside eggs—I can’t get enough of that combination of sweet and salty. These are definitely a labor of love, but honestly I think we all enjoy preparing them almost as much as we like to eat them. I’m in my happy place anytime I get to work with dough. Mixing the ingredients together into a cohesive whole, draping a towel over the bowl and letting the dough rise, punching it down, and then rolling, filling, and shaping it—the ritual of every step brings me pure joy. Whenever I bust out the ingredients for these squares, the kids know it’s a good day. I make these a lot during school holidays when there’s time in the morning for them to help. Duke and Emmie stand at attention with the measured ingredients waiting for the sign from me that they can dump them into the bowl, and then the older two help me roll out the dough and compose each layer. Drake loves that he’s finally allowed to use a big knife to cut the squares before they’re baked, and then he and Ella apply the egg wash to the tops of them. The kids understand that the bit of extra effort required for these squares makes them something really special.



I think it probably helps that these squares are the best iteration of a cinnamon roll that any of us has ever tasted. It can be hard to get a good balance with cinnamon rolls—they either have too much bread or too much cinnamon. The way I make these, rolling and folding them repeatedly so that the filling is between several thin layers of dough, results in a square that has a perfect amount of both bread and cinnamon, so every bite is balanced.

Cinnamon Squares

My mother and I love making these empanadas together! We make a lot of different kinds of empanadas, but this sweet dessert is the perfect way to celebrate the apple season. The pastry is crunchy and flaky, the cinnamon sugar adds wonderful texture, and the frying process makes them absolutely decadent. People think they are a fancy food, but they are easy to make ahead, freeze, and then fry the day of a party. I like to serve them with small jars full of the bourbon whipped cream for dipping.

Elizabeth Poett's Apple Empanadas with Bourbon Whipped Cream

Apple Empanadas with Bourbon Whipped Cream

We serve this burger at Magnolia Table, and I have to confess that it’s one of my favorite things on the menu. My boys love burgers of just about any kind, so I could probably get away with serving something a little plainer to them (and, of course, you can leave any part of this out if you have picky eaters—or let everyone pick their own toppings). I just love how a grilled buttered brioche bun holds a savory burger, sweet drip jam, creamy melted cheese, and peppery fresh arugula, so that every single bite is an amazing combination of flavors and textures.

Gaines Brother Burgers with Drip Jam

During strawberry season, I often make strawberry shortcakes around the same time that I make my classic strawberry jam to put up for the year, because I like to use the fresh jam in place of fresh strawberries in this classic dessert. The warm jam soaks into the biscuits, helping hold the two sides of the cakes together, and it also gives the dessert a sweet, decadent flavor. (If you’re not making your own strawberry jam, buy a good-quality jam that has a bright, fresh flavor and will loosen up nicely when you heat it.) These shortcakes are best eaten warm, so if you’re planning ahead, steep and chill the whipped cream ahead of time, and reheat your jam so it is warmed through and the cream is cold enough to whip right when the biscuits come out of the oven.

Strawberry Shortcake

"An easy way to gather vegetables for this recipe is to keep a baggie in the freezer and whenever you have leftover vegetables you can just toss them in. That way, as soon as you cook a recipe that leaves you with chicken bones, you have what you need to make the stock—you can just put it all in a large pot on the stove and let it simmer. I always try to make as much of this stock as possible so that I can freeze at least half the batch. There is satisfaction in using every last bit of food you can, and knowing that nothing is going to waste." – Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Homemade Chicken Stock

One of the great things about living on a farm is that we always have a surplus of fresh eggs in the barn. Gathering these colorful beauties never gets old. Our family eats fresh eggs at almost every breakfast, so I’ve got to change things up for them every now and then. Quiche is simple to make and tastes so good—plus it uses up a lot of eggs—so I have a bunch of great recipes for it. I love its versatility and the fact that it surpasses the sum of its parts. Whether it’s served at an elegant brunch or at the breakfast table, a beautiful quiche makes the moment seem a bit more celebratory. Depending on how much time I have, I either make my own pie crust or use a store-bought one.

Photograph by Carson Downing. Produced by Scott J. Johnson. Styling by Billy Jack Brawner. Food Styling by Charles Worthington.

Mushroom, Spinach & Swiss Cheese Quiche

This is my dad’s favorite pie. There are lemon people and chocolate people, and he is a lemon person, so I love to make this pie for him. The lemon filling is bright and fresh, and the meringue is fluffy as a cloud. It is a beautiful dessert, with a crust that is flaky and delicious but holds the pie together so well.

Elizabeth Poett's Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

Inspired by this season’s theme, this video is a call to nurture all that is before us and share it with the people we love. Using some of the gardening

From Jo's Garden Shed, Pt. II: A Look At Our Spring Theme

"An antipasto salad is meant to be enjoyed, quite literally 'before the meal,' and I love to use this recipe as an introduction for what's to come in the courses that follow. It also works well for lunch, since the mix of meats, cheeses, and greens make it pretty hearty—something that can stand alone." - Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table, Volume 3

Antipasto Salad

Chicken Marsala is one of my dad’s favorite dishes. I learned to make this recipe by cooking it for him over time. This recipe has a really delicious balance of Marsala, mushrooms, garlic, and lemon. It’s an easy stovetop meal that can be made quickly, but is satisfying and rich in flavor.

Cast-Iron Baked Artichoke-Spinach Dip

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