Tag Archives: artichokes

Smells like Mud…

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Gritty sidewalks yet to be swept, discarded Christmas trees scorched orange from the sun sit in alley ways, school children shiver in their brightly colored flip-flops as they walk to school and the intoxicating smell of mud. It’s Spring in the south end of Saint John.

 As I walked to work yesterday morning, I almost started to skip. The dewy breeze from the Bay, the just-warm sun and the return of bird song overwhelmed me. Not to worry, I managed to stay at an even pace with both feet on the ground despite my euphoria.

To celebrate Spring’s arrival, I prepared one of my favorite vegetables; artichokes, for dinner. There is something so ‘June Cleaver’ about these lovely edible thistles. No matter how laid back I try to make their presentation, artichokes always show up wearing pearls!

There are many web sites describing the how-to of artichoke cookery. If I was having guests over for dinner I would dig out the ‘choke’, but Ralph and I are happy to scrape away the fuzz as we eat.

Giant Globe Artichoke with French Vinaigrette

serves 2

Trim 2 globe artichokes

 Place in steamer for 30 minutes, then check to see if they are done.

In the mean time, prepare a simple vinaigrette

French Vinaigrette

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons best quality white wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl combine garlic, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper

Whisk in olive oil until emulsified

Check your artichokes at 30 minutes, by trying to pull off one of the tough outer leaves. If it pulls away easily, they are cooked.

Remove from steamer and place in serving dishes. Open the artichoke up so that it resembles a blown open peony. Divide and pour the vinaigrette over and between the artichoke leaves.

Artichokes insist on interactive eating. They require work to remove individual leaves so you can scrape a tiny bit of vegetable flesh into your mouth. It is worth the effort to get to the prize!

If you have only ever eaten canned artichokes, it’s time to take the leap. Think of the taste of canned peas compared to the taste of new peas straight from the garden.

Same thing to the tenth power…

Thanks for reading and Happy Spring!

An Italian Feast prepared by Master Chef Axel Begner and me

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Master Chef Axel Begner, co-owner of Opera Bistro, invited me to cook with him for this year’s fund-raising event in support of the Saint John Boys and Girls Club. He asked me to create the menu which we would then we cook together. On Sunday morning, I arrived with a big bowl of bread dough, a fresh batch of ricotta, strawberry rhubarb marmalatta and a big smile. I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen with Axel.

A cheesecloth lined sieve for the fresh ricotta to drain in.

Fresh ricotta draining

We served a strawberry rhubarb marmalatta spiked with balsamic vinegar with our cheese course.

Axel is preparing a local leg of lamb so that it is ready to be stuffed.

The zucchini required half an hour of drying time to ensure that they would be crispy when fried.

Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables so I often include it as part of my antipasti di verdure. You can see my big bread bowl in the background.

Axel was surprised to learn how much Italians love fresh mint especially with zucchini.

The fennel requires time and space to braise properly.

I loved being in a professional kitchen again.

The fennel becomes a little caramelized when the braising is finished.

We used fresh rosemary, mint, Italian parsley and pecorino to enhance our breadcrumbs for the stuffed peppers and for the roast lamb.

I chose yellow bell peppers to contrast with the baked red tomatoes on the antipasti table.

By the time I was ready to stuff the lamb, some of our guests had arrived.

Everyone was surprised that I was using anchovies as part of my stuffing. Anchovies heighten the flavour of the lamb.

Me being goofy as I wait for the string to tie up the lamb.

Axel’s electric pasta machine konked out half way through making the pasta so he finished it by hand. I learned some German swear words!

The tomatoes were stuffed with garlic slivers and fresh thyme.

As we waited for all of our guests, we served Prosecco and roasted hazelnuts tossed in olive oil. fresh thyme leaves and sea salt.

Axel surprised our guests with an impromptu fresh morel sauce for the lamb. I wanted to dive into the skillet.

The pasta course was a fresh fettuccine tossed in pesto and hand crushed grape tomatoes.

Folding spinach into the balsamella.

The sformata was delicious…cream, eggs, cheese and spinach…so good!

I had wanted to serve sweetbreads with the sformata di spinaci but there were none to be found. We substituted shrimp which worked beautifully.

The lamb was stuffed with artichokes, anchovies, pecorino, fresh herbs and breadcrumbs.

It’s important to control portion size when you are serving many courses. We served the tiramisu in espresso cups. It was perfect!

A very happy group.

We had a wonderful day.

Thanks for reading.

Mother’s Day and Artichokes

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Mother’s Day takes on a whole new meaning when your children have moved away from home.

I am sitting in my kitchen at the farm remembering my Mother’s Day the year the girls were 10 years old. Ralph was away on a business trip in Newfoundland. He had left them “in charge” of making sure that I had a wonderful day.

It was adorable! I woke up to find paper hearts lining my path to the kitchen. There in the middle of the kitchen floor were 3 little girls curled up like kittens and sound asleep They were afraid that I would get up before them and start making breakfast! 

This year Sara is away on a holiday. Meaghan is in Calgary. Just when I thought that Mother’s Day would be celebrated over the phone, Kaitie called to tell me to pick her up Friday at the airport. 

I am thrilled. Mom and Dad will come and spend the day with us. Kate, Mom and I will cook…bliss

Whenenever, Kaitie and I cook together I try to teach her something new. Artichokes can be difficult and since giant globe artichokes are available I thought we would have a go! 

PAN SEARED ARTICHOKES WITH CHILLIES AND LEMON

makes 4 servings

4 artichokes

3 lemons

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin

1 fresh red chilli

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Artichokes discolor quickly, so every time you expose a new area, rub it with lemon juice.

Remove the zest fom 2 lemons and set aside

Juice 1 of the “bald” lemons and place the juice in a medium sized bowl filled with cold water

Trim the artichokes by first snapping off all of the tough outer leaves. Next slice off the upper half exposing the choke.

make sure you are rubbing the exposed areas with lemon juice

Using a pairing knife of a small spoon take out the hairy choke.

Peel the stem making sure not to waste any of it.

Slice the artichoke in half length ways and place in cold water and lemon juice mixture

When all of the artichokes have been prepped, place a large skillet over medium high heat.

Add olive oil…when oil is hot taking artichoke hearts directly from water bath to the skillet.

Cover with a lid and saute, shaking the pan occasionly The water acts as a braising medium and helps to caramelize the hearts. Be careful when you remove the lid because there will be a lot of sputtering

 When artichokes have browned on first side turn them over. Saute for another 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and add garlic, chilli, sea salt and pepper.

Toss the pan several times, allowing the heat of the oil to cook the garlic.

Place 2 halves on each plate…squeeze some fresh lemon juice over each and garnish with lemon zest.

To die for!!!!!!!!!!!!

 HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!