Cooking in Pajamas: A Food Blog

Artichoke Gratinata

GwennW — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:01:08 -0700

A few weeks ago I was craving a stuffed artichoke. It is one of my favorite dishes that my Nona used to make. She would prepare a flavorful mixture of breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic and seasonings, and stuff it between the leaves of a trimmed artichoke. She would then steam it until the leaves were tender, and the breading was moist. We each got our own artichoke, which I could easily polish off in 10 minutes.

It took me years to recreate the dish, because she didn't leave behind a recipe. I had many failures and when I finally got it right, I starting making stuffed artichokes all the time. I was proud and thrilled when I discovered that Phil, Jamie and Joey loved them as well.

There are a few obstacles to the preparation of fresh artichokes. The first is that artichokes are only in season March through May. Sure you can get them any time of year, but they are a very sad looking thistle when out of season. You want your artichokes to be dark green, heavy and have tight leaves, but in the fall and winter they are often tiny, brown and wilted. Plus, when they are out of season, you could be looking at almost $4 - $5 an artichoke!!!! Finally, cleaning and preparing a fresh artichoke is time consuming and messy.

Back to my craving...so I sent Phil out, in the dead of winter, to buy a couple of artichokes. I had already been to several grocery stores, with no luck, but Phil loves a challenge. Wouldn't you know it? He found three artichokes! I was so excited, until he bought them home and took them out of the bag. They were brown, tiny and wilted. I guess he thought maybe they would be OK after the cooking process? I'm not sure, but I had him keep the $15 receipt, and bring them right back to the store (they were THAT gross!).

While he was returning the artichokes (he is such a sport!), I pulled out a few cans of artichoke hearts and went to the internet looking for inspiration. I should have guessed I would find it from Giada of Everyday Italian. This dish is basically stuffed artichokes, in a baking dish. It is quick to throw together, I had all of the ingredients on hand, and everyone devoured it. It will never replace the original recipe make with fresh artichokes, but it is a worthy substitute that I think even Nona would approve of.

Crispy Baked Onion Rings

GwennW — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:58:17 -0800

When I was growing up on Long Island...the three big fast food burger places where McDonald's, Burger King and White Castle. You couldn't pay me enough money to eat McDonald's or White Castle, but I was obsessed with Burger King! My parents never took me there to eat, but I went there for lunch almost every day of my junior and senior years of high school. Burger King was just close enough that we would have time to drive there, eat, and get back to school during our one hour lunch period. I would get the same exact lunch every single time I ate there....the fried chicken sandwich with extra mayo, a chocolate shake and, of course....onion rings!

If you have ever tried Burger King onion rings, you know that they taste as close to real onions as a potato chip tastes like a potato. I didn't care. I thought they were the most wonderful thing I ever ate. Who wants soggy, boring fries, when you could have a crispy, salty, heavily breaded, perfectly uniform sized onion ring? They didn't even need dipping sauce!

Sadly, when I moved to Atlanta in 1986, I didn't have a car, and my beloved BK onion rings were gradually replaced by the Emory University cafeteria onion rings. They were weird! There were actual onions in the center of the breading!!!! It took some getting used to, but I liked them. I began to order onion rings wherever I went, and discovered that I love all onion rings. I would put them on my burgers, put them on a salad, serve them aside a roasted chicken...there is nothing that isn't made better with onion rings!

When I was 23 and pregnant with Jamie, my doctor discovered that I put on 10 pounds between my 5th and 6th month. He was not pleased, reminded me that I was NOT "eating for two", and send me to a nutritionist (overreact much?!?!?) . The nutritionist was kind of mean. She made me turn in a food diary, and then proceeded to tell me that my baby was getting no nutrition. She asked me in a very condescending tone if I really thought that a foot long sub, extra large Doritos, chocolate shake and Snickers bar was an appropriate lunch? I didn't mention the onion rings. Blah, blah, blah...I had to start eating healthy, and eliminate fried foods. I thought I would be home-free when Jamie was born, but then the "breast-feeding lady", from the hospital, that Phil brought home from work one, day to teach me how to breast feed, put me on a diet too! No fried foods!!!!!

Fast forward sixteen years and I still love onion rings, and still try to avoid fried foods...hence, my quest for a tasty, crispy baked onion ring. After experimenting with many different breadings, I have found that this combination of cornflake crumbs and regular bread crumbs make a flavorful, crispy onion rings. You will also notice they are cooked in a little bit of oil. I have tried making a fat-free version, and spraying the onion rings with PAM to make them crispy. I was not pleased with the results. They had a chemical aftertaste, and were unacceptably soggy.

These onion rings do not need a dipping sauce, but I love the zesty Chili Dipping Sauce that I included with the recipe.

Meatless, Money-saving Monday: Greek Style Zucchini Fritters

GwennW — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:21:00 -0800

I have become slightly obsessed with these fritters. I wish I had discovered them over the summer, when zucchini was in season, but no worries....zucchini is easy to find, and not expensive. For some reason, when I made the recipe for the first time, I thought the recipe only made 4 fritters, so I doubled the recipe. I did not read the recipe correctly, because it says the recipes makes 4 servings! I ended up with about 20 + fritters (I stopped counting after 15). Needless to say, we were eating zucchini fritters for a long time. They reheat very well (in the regular oven, not the microwave). They make a nice side dish, or, my favorite way, a nice, light supper. Serve with a bowl of hearty bean soup, and crusty sourdough bread. You can easily serve a family of four for about $12, with leftovers!

Make Ahead Thanksgiving Side Dish #3: Maple Sweet Potatoes with Carmelized Onions

GwennW — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:18:00 -0800

What do you get when you cross something savory with something sweet? You get a unique, colorful earthy dish that is a wonderful side to almost any meal...chicken, beef, seafood,etc. As I was making this, I wondered, why have I never had this before? Carmelized onions and sweet potatoes are a fabulous match! Plus, it is one of Claire Robinson's 5 Ingredient recipes. How can you go wrong? Prepare this dish a day or two in advance, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and reheat right before serving!

Make Ahead Thanksgiving Side Dish #2: Sweet Potato Pie

GwennW — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:15:00 -0800

I can tell you one thing...growing up in New York, I never had Sweet Potato Pie! You cannot get much more Southern than this. This pie freezer beautifully. I like to serve it warm, or at room temperature.