Artichoke and Asiago Poppers are an American favorite for munching on while watching sports, like baseball, basketball, hockey and football. They go really well served hot, with some cold beer. Super yummy!

Artichoke and Asiago Poppers Recipe-

First off, you need to make the popper dip:

Asiago and Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Cup Hellmann’s extra virgin live oil mayonnaise
• 1 Cup grated asiago cheese  (needless to say, this is an essential, must have ingredient, no other cheese will do)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 14 oz. can of artichoke hearts, chopped
• paprika for sprinkling
• 1 fresh lemon, sliced thin, for garnish

Directions:

1. preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together all ingredients.
3. Pour ingredients into an oven safe baking dish and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
4. Put on a platter garnished with thin sliced lemon, and serve with good bread, pita chips, tortillas, or hot poppers.

Note: you can eat this dip right away, as a condiment for lots of different appetizers. But if you are serving Artichoke Asiago Poppers, you will need to prepare this dip the day before, and let it set up overnight in the refrigerator, as it will need to be quite firm.

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Okay, now for the main Artichoke and Asiago Poppers recipe:

1. Set up a breading station of flour (about 1 cup), 1 beaten egg (maybe 2 if you have lots of dip) and about 2 cups of Panko crumbs. (Use Panko only, as it makes a great crumb for frying)
2. Roll the artichoke dip into small golf size balls, then dip the into the flour, turning to coat evenly all over, and next the beaten egg, then the Panko crumbs. It is important that the balls are evenly and well coated with each of the three successive coatings.
3. Set the prepped balls on a cutting board or cookie sheet once the dipping sequence is done.
4. Heat canola oil (1″ to 2″ deep) deep skillet or shallow pot over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, (it will pop, sizzle and snap when a droplet of water is dropped into the pan), drop the balls in – 6 to 8 at a time.
5. Don’t overcrowd the pot, or your oil will cool down too fast- which you don’t want. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip over and brown the other side.
6. Remove the cooked brown balls from the oil and place on paper towels to dry, patting the tops with another paper towel. Serve on an attractive serving platter and eat them while still nice and warm.

As with serving the dip on its own, when formed and baked into these poppers, it is really good to serve your Artichoke and Asiago Poppers with sliced lemon wedges as a garnish, and some good, hearty bread slices. Cold beer makes a perfect drink to go with this, or if you don’t drink alcoholic beverages, then some cold sparkling fruit juice drink works well, too.

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