Monday, April 27, 2009

Baby artichokes

SO! I missed the Farmer's Market again! I lose at this. Especially because last week, I stopped by (i guess i like the suncoast farm in Lomboc, CA's artichokes) and picked up two massive artichokes. I prepped both and steamed one the first night, and steamed the other the next morning. I quartered the big one and took out the choke, and left it in the fridge with some faux-aioli. The other one, my sister ended up halving. Anyway, great snack to have on hand. And at 8$ for roughly 8 servings... Not bad at all. Plus, artichokes take time to eat, so then I'm not eating anything else...

Anyway! I missed it this week. Thought about going to the Hillcrest market Sunday, but was too lazy.

So I picked up some baby artichokes at Ralphs.

Now, the way you're 'supposed' to prep baby artichokes leaves the whole thing edible. I LIKE the fact that I have to work for my artichoke-y goodness. So I prep them more like a regular artichoke. Cut off the base (with regular ones, trim and steam the stem. soooo good), trim the lower, smaller leaves, and trim a bit off of the top of each. Put them in acidulated water (water with lemon juice :P) while you prep the rest.

Steam in a single layer until the leaves are tender, and you can poke a knife in easily. If you need to do a second batch, leave the water boiling and switch around.

Enjoy as you would a regular artichoke, but don't worry about cleaning the choke! Once you get to the totally tender leaves, eat all of it. :D

SO! The cool thing about the babies is that there is a way to prep them so they're entirely edible. This morning, I decided eggs with artichoke, garlic, and onion sounded amazing. I set aside the tough leaves of two artichokes, trimmed a bit more of the top, eighth-ed them, and set them aside. Sliced a clove of garlic. Chopped a bit of onion.
In olive oil, saute onions, add garlic, add artichoke. Add a bit of butter, add eggs beaten with milk. Cook til just set. Add a bit of parmesan. Top with a bit of tabasco, and eat. :D

Ugly as sin, but so delicious.

NOW: If I'd been thinking, I'd have added some chopped red pepper too.

Anyway. Delicious. I ate the tougher leaves later, and they were still great.


Dinner was some great red meat and a glass of red wine. :D Yum.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Not Food Related...

Here's Chaz's Mom's site: http://www.csucculent.com/ If people read this, it would boost her site's rankings. And if they clicked on it. I'm going to click on it.

Chicken Cacciatore

So! I decided I wanted chicken cacciatore tonight. Matthew's going to movies with boys, so I decided to eat mushrooms. He thinks they taste like dirt. And wont eat them.

I love them.

Anyway. Last time I made chicken cacciatore, I was living on Bonita. And didn't think I had a corkscrew. So I beat the hell out of the cork and had to filter it out of my wine. Also, I got a half bottle of wine because I didn't drink white wine. I was silly. I drink just about every wine.

So here's what I'm doing today:
8 oz cremini mushrooms, thin sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, rough chopped
1/2 onion, slivered
Salt and pepper

28 oz can tomatoes with basil (trader joe's brand)
1 lb chicken breast, skin on & bone-in
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (or so. i count to 4 or 5. cause my 6 oz pour is about counting to 6. so there is my logic)

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the first five ingredients together. Put in the oven for about 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. (SIDE NOTE: I had to turn the temp down because the bits of onion sticking up were browning a bit too much)
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Once hot, brown the chicken breast. Remove to a plate. Toss in your roasted mushrooms and whatnot. Cook another minute or two.
3. Deglaze the pan with white wine. Reduce it down a lot. Add the tomatoes and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until cooked through. If it starts to dry out, feel free to add some chicken broth. If its too soupy at the end, turn the heat up and reduce it and/or add some tomato paste. Oh, feel free to add some italian seasonings and whatnot.

I used the Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc for this. Woo Two buck Chuck. The tomatoes were 1.50, the mushrooms were 1.69, and everything else is pretty much negligible because I keep it on hand. And use it. Oh, and chicken was like $1 cause I bought on sale and froze. I'm amazing. Also making like 1/2 lb of pasta - so another 50 cents. Cheap meal that I'll have leftovers for. Love it.