Sailboat Bread with Spinach Dip

In keeping with the nautical theme, I also offered to make a plate of food for the baby shower yesterday. While searching for ideas I somehow stumbled across a Cob Loaf with Spinach Dip and had the idea to turn the cob loaf into a rectangular loaf to create a sailing boat. Funnily enough I have never made this spinach dip before and it has been years since I have seen this done elsewhere. As several of the guests would be pregnant I opted not to use ricotta or mayonnaise. Instead I combined cream cheese and sour cream, which I could open freshly a couple of hours before the party. This was such a simple bread and dip idea, but definitely a more unique way of creatively serving it. You can keep the lids on until people are ready to eat it, and then it can also be ripped up to use for dipping too. I also took along some carrot sticks as a dipping option and you could also choose to add cucumber, celery, capsicum or crackers. To make the sail you just need a skewer and some paper to create whatever style sail you wish.

Sailboat Bread with Spinach Dip
Ingredients
Loaf of bread
French stick or baguettes for additional bread
500g Packet of Frozen Chopped Spinach (I only used 400g though)
250g Sour Cream
250g Cream Cheese
1 Packet of French Onion Soup
Olive Oil, optional
Method
Heat oven to 180ºC. Cook 400g of spinach as per packet instructions and drain over a sieve, pushing any excess water out. Place cream cheese in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Add sour cream and soup packet, mixing well until combined.  Add spinach to mixture and mix well until combined. Place in the fridge for the flavours to settle while you prepare bread. Using a sharp knife, cut out two sections of your bread, leaving a bridge in the middle to place your sail (as pictured). Remove all of the bread from the lid (make sure you keep the lid) and hollow out your bread. Cut the bread into bite size chunks and arrange on a large baking tray, brushing the bread with a little oil if you like. I also cut a french stick into a slices and brushed with oil and sprinkled a smoked garlic salt mix over top. Cook for the bread for about 5 minutes or so until lightly browned. Once cooked, set aside to cool. Tip spinach mixture into the two sections of the bread and then replace the lids. Place boat on a large baking tray and bake for around 20 minutes or so until dip is warmed. Removed from oven and place on a large serving platter, scattering bread around it.