White Pizza Dip

I don't post a lot of pizza on this blog.  But it would be my food choice for sure if I was ever stranded on a desert island.  I'd happily eat pizza every day.

It makes sense, then, that I would LOVE pizza dip.  I've tried three (yes, three) different pizza dips, and out of the three, only two have been worth mentioning.

THIS ONE from the lovely Jessica over at How Sweet Eats (who I've been following forever) is AMAZING.

Chock full of fresh herbs and roasted tomatoes...  Well - just you wait.

These are all the things you need for this dip.  Brace yourselves, if you live in my 'hood you know that fresh herbs come in those plastic packs and are pretty hefty on the price point.  So I would suggest that you make sure you have other recipes lined up so that you can make use of those herbs!

Or - if you are wizard at growing herbs indoors - simply pluck them off your plants.  I am not a wizard at growing ANYTHING.  Sadly.

Oh yeah.  There are four different kinds of cheese.  My arteries quivered in fear.

First things first.  Halve the tomatoes and roast them up.  The first time I made this, the smell of the cherry tomatoes roasting was so BEAUTIFUL.  I didn't even know that was a thing.  It made me want to do it on the regular and stick those little guys in everything.

After the tomatoes have roasted and cooled off, combine the cheeses.

First, the cream cheese.

Then the mozzarella and provolone.

And the parmesan.

Then some minced garlic.

Then all the herbs.

Add the roasted tomatoes.

Stir it all together and then top with even MORE cheese.

And bake it until it's all golden and melty.

And dive in with tortilla chips.

SOOOOOOO much cheese!!!

How could you not want to face dive straight into this bowl?

This is amazing just as written - and I would TOTALLY make it exactly the same way again.

That being said - I have ALSO made this with dried herbs (I KNOW *gasp*) and without the tomatoes.  Because I was feeling super lazy and didn't really feel like putting in all the effort.  And guess what - it's wonderful either way!

And it's SUPER easy to half if there are only a couple of people snacking on it *cough*orjustme*cough*.

This would most DEFINITELY be a dip that you should consider for your next movie night!

White Pizza Dip
1 pint grape tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 blocks (12 ounces) cream cheese, softened
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, freshly grated
8 ounces provolone cheese, freshly grated
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves (4 teaspoons dried basil)
2 Tablespoons freshly chopped thyme leaves (2 teaspoons dried thyme)
1/2 Tablespoon freshly chopped oregano leaves (3/4 teaspoon dried oregano)
crackers, bread, or chips for serving

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Please the tomatoes on the prepared baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt.  Toss to coat the tomatoes.  Roast for 20 - 25 minutes until the tomatoes are bursting.  Set aside to cool slightly.
2. While the tomatoes are roasting, combine the cream cheese, and 7 ounces of the provolone, mozzarella and the parmesan cheese.  
3. Add the fresh herbs and roasted tomatoes and stir to combine.  
4. Put the mixture into an oven safe dish (I used a 4 quart corningware dish)
5. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and provolone.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the top is golden and bubbly.  
6. Serve immediately.