My First Attempt with Fresh Artichoke

I've never really experienced fresh artichoke before, although I haven't met an artichoke dip (probably not so fresh), that I haven't liked.

When I saw the fresh artichokes on sale at the grocery store this week, I knew I had to be adventurous. I wasn't sure what the outcome would be, but I knew that at least I hadn't blown a lot of money in the process.

I used this tutorial from Simply Recipes (who is always a good resource for learning how to cook).  

An artichoke can be simply eaten steamed with a little butter. First wash the artichoke, and discard all but one inch of the stem. Then snip off the little pointy barbs on the tip of the petals. Steam with 2 cloves of garlic and 2 slices of lemon for about 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Peel the petals off one by one, until you get to the center. Here's were the tutorial mentioned above does a much better job of explaining what to do with the heart and choke much better than I ever could.

I melted some butter with a dash of thyme in it to serve with the petals, which you scrape the artichoke meat off of with your teeth (again, the tutorial is helpful and there are pictures...).

Be adventurous!

The "I Love Tony" Meal: Part One

Appetizers are not really a common occurrence in our house. Normally, we fix dinner, we eat and then we're done.

A few weeks ago, Tony and I ate dinner out at an Italian (Tony's pronunciation: eye-talyun...:)...) restaurant, and we were starving. The cheapest appetizer available was their signature bruschetta, so naturally, that's what we ordered. I had never had bruschetta before that I could remember, probably because I've only started liking tomatoes within the last year or two. The bread was chewy yet crisp, the cheese melty and delicious, and the fresh tomatoes and basil were juicy and fragrant--I could have eaten the whole thing as a meal!

I decided to attempt to recreate this bruschetta for my Valentine's Day/birthday dinner for Tony. I have to say that the recipe I made up on the fly turned out surprisingly well! I hope y'all have time to give it a try--the cutting up of the tomatoes takes the most time, everything else is a snap.

Bruschetta

Ingredients:

4 slices of fresh French bread (about 1/2" thick)
1 roma tomato, diced
1 clove garlic
2 Tbs butter, melted
A few sprigs of fresh basil, chiffoned
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella


Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 450F and move the rack to the top (broiling position). I lined the pan I was using with foil and then lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Place the sliced bread on the pan.

2. Mince the garlic and mix it in to the melted butter. Brush the garlic butter mixture onto the slices of bread.

3. Place a thin layer of shredded cheese on the bread. Top with the diced tomatoes.

4. Add another layer of cheese, and finish the mini-mountain you've certainly created with the fresh basil. Dry basil works in a pinch, but definitely doesn't deliver the same flavor.

5. Place on the top rack for about 3-5 minutes until the cheese has melted and the edges of the French bread have become toasty.

Enjoy!

Finally...some recipes! Hummus!

Since I was so gently eased out of sleep this morning by some big dude throwing up while sneezing in our apartment complex, I thought I would write down some of my favorite recipes before church.

This hummus recipe is excellent, in my opinion. I've never had store bought hummus taste this good, and there is the added bonus of knowing YOU made something for less than a dollar that normally costs about $3.50 in the store.

This recipe was adapted from EatingWell.com's Roasted Garlic Hummus. I have tried this recipe with traditional garbanzo beans and pinto beans (because they are cheaper). They taste similar to me, and since pinto beans are available at Costco...well, there you go. The recipe would follow the same instructions for either, however, it is not necessary to "shell" the pinto beans.

Lisa's Roasted Garlic Hummus

Reagents:

1 19-oz can of chickpeas (or pinto beans)
1 head garlic
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS H2O (ahem...water)
1 TBS Soy sauce
1 TBS Tahini (sesame paste, usually found in the international foods section of grocery, or can be found at specialty markets, which is where I found mine)
2 "Grinds" from a pepper grinder
Dash of salt
Dash of Cumin
Chili powder to taste (I like mine a bit spicy)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Remove the outer, papery layers from the garlic, and chop of the top 1/2" of the head, exposing the top of all of the cloves. Wrap the garlic in aluminum foil and place in oven. Roast for about 40 minutes. Garlic should be soft and sticky, and smell ah-mazin'. Separate cloves (carefully if you're brave (read: stupid) and it's still hot), and place garlic in food processor or blender.

2. Drain and rinse chickpeas (or pintos). I like to remove the skin from the chickpeas to make a smoother hummus. To do this, soak chickpeas in water, and roll them around with your fingers. The skins will come off easily and float to the top. Skim them off, and have patience, because this is can be a frustrating step.

3. Puree garlic, beans, water, lemon, tahini, and soy sauce. Mix in spices thoroughly (you could probably puree them with the other ingredients, but I don't).

4. Garnish with...whatever you like! Popular traditional choices are paprika or a sprig of parsley.

Serve with crudites or pita chips. I also use this as a spread on my sandwiches for added flavor.

Enjoy!