All 'Choked Up

I have previously declared my great love for artichokes.  What I didn't mention is my other great love, browned butter.  This super-easy approach to making artichokes awesome involves both; it starts with a gentle braise in lemon juice (or white wine) and water (or broth) and finishes with a serving of browned butter and mashed garlic right in the cavity of the artichokes themselves.

Ok, so here's how you do it.  I make one artichoke at a time, since I'm single, but since most people don't just cook for one, I've written this out for four artichokes, but the photos are reflective of the sole artichoke I cook for myself (cue "All by Myself" and the Bridget Jones's Diary opening credits).

Ingredients:
4 artichokes
1 lemon or 1/2 c white wine
4 cloves of garlic
1-2 cups water (use filtered, if you can) or broth
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 stick unsalted butter
Fine grain sea salt, to taste

Supplies:
Good kitchen knife and cutting board
Dutch oven or a pot with a lid
Citrus reamer

Click through for directions.

Lord of the Beans: One Soup to Rule Them All

I once read a parody of Tolkien's "The Two Towers," which that gave the name Minas Troney to one of the towers (get it?).  The book was the most worthless bundle of paper and ink I ever wasted money on, and I'm confident I never finished reading it and threw it away, but every time I eat or make minestrone soup, I think of it.

Read more after the jump...

Roasted Poblano Salsa

I had some poblano peppers (courtesy of my CSA box) that weren't long for this world, and a bunch of cilantro that needed purpose, so I had to come up with something that used them both.

A sassy salsa seemed to fit the bill.  This recipe is really easy.  Serve it with chips, or mix into some rice with shredded chicken/beef/pork, whole beans, and monterey jack cheese. You can also mix this salsa into cream cheese for a really hearty dip.




Extreme closeup!

 

Plum Tarte Tatin

I'm wild about tartes tatin.  A tarte tatin (tart ta-TAN, except you don't pronounce the "n") is a French upside-down fruit tart in which the fruit is baked in caramel with crust on top, and then flipped over so the crust is on the bottom and the fruit is on top.

A brief history of tartes tatin can be found here.  (As a side note, I want to be a culinary historian when I grow up.  How cool would that be...for me?)



Traditionally, a tarte tatin is made with apples, but there are skads of recipes on the internet using other fruit. I had a a bunch of plums from the CSA and a sheet of puff pastry to use - and a few hours to kill - so I decided to tackle plum version.  I'd already ventured into tarte territory a few weeks prior with a wonderful savory tomato version, so I was ready.



The result was delightful, and a wonderful balance of tart (not tarte) and sweet.  I brought to work so I wouldn't eat the entire pan on my own.  My coworkers kept going back to the pan to sneak tiny pieces throughout the workday. 

(As another side note, I don't care for pie, and this is basically pie, but I love it.  Maybe because it's puff pastry instead of pie crust.  Except that I love pie crust.  But not pie.)

Click through to read on for the recipe.