I love the Artichoke Dip appetizer at Buzz’s Steakhouse Kailua and for only $8.50 you can enjoy this hot, salty, cheesy dish at their beachside restaurant or you can make it at home and enjoy it whenever you desire.

Liz ang Gary Dubois at Buzz's Kailua

Gary Dubois at Buzz's Kailua

I worked as bartender/waitperson at Buzz’s in 1992 and the experience was amazing. I used to wait on Buzz who was gruff but had a good heart. Buzz would come in for lunch in his Tracker vehicle barefoot and needing a shave. He was polite but distant as he ate his lunch. Buzz is gone now but the restaurant thrives thanks to Bobby Lou Schneider.

I wonder if Buzz’s still makes the wait staff split tips? That always seemed unusual but if you wanted to work there you had to give up da money. The theory was so that everyone worked as a team. Hey. They now finally take credit cards. For a long time customers would not be able to pay for meals with credit cards and that created a mess for those who did not have the cash. Seems that there was some problem with the credit card company when Buzz’s first opened and they vowed not to bother with the credit companies.  You’d have to ask the employee’s there for the whole scoops.

I developed this recipe combining ingredients that make it almost (maybe better) than the restaurant dish. It takes less than 20 minutes to prepare and can be made ahead of time, stored in the refrigerator and baked when needed.

In case you were wondering about the plumeria’s, they are just for decoration. I don’t recommend you eat them. Fragrant plumeria’s are everywhere in Lanikai and on warm days you can smell them.

Ingredients Needed:

• 4 cans artichoke hearts (14 ounce cans)
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup parmesan cheese grated (assigio, parm., romano…)
• ½ cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

For topping: 8 ounces shredded mozzarella Italian blend cheese

Ingredients needed

Shredded parmesan, cheese blend
for INSIDE artichoke dip mixture in bowl

Food processor to chop artichoke hearts

Mixing food processed artichokes, mayo, sour cream,
parmesean cheese blend, salt and pepper

Shredded Mozarella 6 cheesemix for topping BEFORE baking

Mix all the above ingredients in a bowl and spoon into oven proof baking cups. I used custard cups. Heat the oven to 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then raise the temperature to 375 degrees and let it cook about 15-20 min more. The higher heat will brown the top and the lower heat will cook the inside of the dip.

You can also make in one large bake pan to serve as a big appetizer.

Add the topping before baking. I also sprinkle parsley for decoration.

Sprinkle cheese (mozzarella kind) on the top dip and this will make it brown and bubbly. Serve hot, room temperature or cold.

Before baking top with Mozarella cheese mix

Parsley to decorate

Makes 10 cups of artichoke dip

Spread on crackers or bread

Share some with a friend, neighbor or family

Foil wrap individual cups

Plastic wrap over foil to prevent freezer burn

Dip can be reheated. I made the individual cups and wrapped each one in foil, then with plastic wrap to store in the freezer. When you want to eat it later remove from freezer and let it thaw. You can reheat in the microwave for about a minute.

Serve with crackers or sliced French bread. You can make garlic toast with the French bread by grilling the bread in a fry pan with olive oil and garlic. Fancy, yeah...ono, yeah.

Save some for your neighbor and spread the Aloha Spirit where ever you live.

Link to Buzz’s Steakhouse: http://www.buzzssteakhouse.com/lanikai.htm