Ooooooh YUM. I LOVE ARTICHOKES! This is one of my absolute FAVORITE dishes ever. It is a perfect side dish and half an artichoke is all you need as a side for one person. We made this completely ridiculous three inch thick T-bone steak on Monday night and this meal just about made my week. We had another couple over for dinner and even managed to convert one of them into an artichoke man! We love turning people onto food they wouldn't normally eat! Whenever the hubs is gone I will make one of these babies and eat the whole thing for a delicious dinner. If you don't feel like grilling it or cutting it in half you can also just boil it until the outer leaves start falling off easily. I usually do it for about 30-45 minutes. Some people steam them but I like them nice and cooked through so I can scrape the meat off easily with my choppers. I will also include broiling instructions in case you don't have an urge to go outside either for cold or heat.
This is an easy and inexpensive side dish in my opinion. In Houston anyhow they run around $1.50 so that's 75 cents a person for a side. To serve I bought some little bowls from Pier One and put Italian dressing with a little extra red wine vinegar and capers in it. Whatever you're favorite salad dressing is will be delicious! Enjoy!
Grilled Artichokes Printable Version
By: Moi!
Ingredients:
1 large artichoke
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt
pepper
salad dressing of your choice
Directions:
1. Cut the artichoke in half, trim the stem, and cut off the tips where the pointy needle like tips are. Be careful I have cut myself on these before.
2. Take a small knife (such as a paring knife) and cut out the choke (hairy part between the stem/heart and the leaves). Also remove the inside purple leaves. They can also be sharp be careful!
3. In a large pot boil water seasoned with salt. Place the artichokes in the boiling water for about 20 minutes.
4. Broiling: Place the artichokes cut side up in a baking pan, drizzle olive over it and season with salt and pepper. Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes. Watch the artichoke closely. You will notice the edges starting to char a little when it's ready.
Grilling: Drizzle olive oil over the cut side of the artichoke and season with salt and pepper. Then place them cut side down on a hot preheated grill. Grill them for about 5 to 10 minutes but watch them. You will know it's finished when the edges char.
5. Plate the artichokes and enjoy!
Oh and below I have placed photos of our super amazing meal from Monday :)
Gumbo has always scared me. It's amazing, delicious goodness could never be achievable with my amateur skills... WRONG! But I must warn you there is absolutely nothing healthy about this dish except for the appetite you will develop for it after the savory tastiness hits your lips. With football season coming up this is the perfect dish to serve for those games you accidentally invited 20 people over for! Also, this is not a dump and run dish. You will have an hour and then an hour and a half to get things done ( I went for a walk in the park for part of it) but it definitely needs to be tended to otherwise! I would plan on this taking up about four hours of your time but for two and a half of it you will have freedom.
The best piece of advice I can give you is this: Don't even bother trying to make your own roux. There is absolutely no reason to put yourself through that kind of pain and frustration. I thought, 'Oooooh it can't be that hard. The reviews make it sound like lots of people can do it...' Welp. I'm not one of them! I will post pictures of my failure after the recipe of perfection in your mouth. Fortunately, there are enough people like myself and you can buy roux in a jar! Here I thought it was this mystical magical combination but it is literally just oil and flour. Nothing to it. I've heard you can make it in the oven... I will have to investigate that!
I made this for a Labor Day potluck pool volleyball party with at least 30 people there and it was the absolute first thing to go! I made it with chicken and sausage because my husband hates seafood with a passion. But you can easily make this with seafood you just need to add the seafood of your choice (shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab meat) and simmer for about 15 minutes before you're ready to serve it. In the recipes I've seen in a quick google keep the sausage though it adds a lot of flavor. Maybe one day I will attempt halfsies for the man and me!
Chicken and Sausage Gumbo - Printable Version
By: Emeril Lagasse on FoodNetwork.com
Ingredients:
1 pound of smoked sausage (I used smoked pork sausage) cut across into 1/2-inch thick pieces
4 pounds of chicken thighs, skin removed
2 tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil
1/2 jar of roux, I used Bootsie's
3 tablespoons of Creole seasoning (I used Tony Cachere's... we use it on pretty much everything)
9 cups of chicken broth
3 bay leaves
2 cups of chopped onion ( I used one large yellow onion)
1 cup of chopped celery
1 cup of chopped green bell peppers ( I used one large one as well, it overflowed a little bit I like bell pepper)
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup of chopped green onions
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon of file powder (pronounced fee-lay, I used one by Bayou Magic)
Tabasco sauce
white rice
Directions:
1. Heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the one pound of smoked sausage and cook until browned. Remove the sausage and drain on paper towels. Leave it on the side for a wee bit.
2. Season the chicken thighs with two tablespoons of creole seasoning and cook them in the same Dutch oven until browned, about five to six minutes. After they are browned put them in a container and back in the fridge, you won't need them for about an hour and they will not be cooked through.
3. In the same Dutch oven boil the 9 cups of chicken broth and once it is boiling slowly stir in half a jar of roux... about a cup maybe a little more. Once it has dissolved turn it down to a simmer.
4. In a large frying pan heat one tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium high heat and add the onions, celery and bell peppers. Cook for about five minutes until they start to get soft. Add the browned sausage and cayenne pepper and cook for about two minutes.
5. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper and sausage concoction into the simmering chicken stock and roux. Also add three bay leaves. Simmer this over medium low heat for one hour stirring occasionally.
6. After one hour, add the browned chicken thighs and simmer over medium low heat for an hour and a half. Skim the fat that rises to the top.
7. After an hour and a half remove the chicken thighs with a slotted spoon and shred them, removing the bones as you go. Then stir the chicken back into the gumbo.
8. Stir in the two tablespoons of parsley, half cup of chopped green onion and the tablespoon of file powder. Add the last tablespoon of creole seasoning and a few dashes of hot sauce as well until your delicious new meal has reached your desired heat level!
9. Cook white rice to your liking. I used the boil in a bag rice Kroger so thoughtfully made easy for me. About a half a cup per person should be about right.
10. Spoon the rice into a bowl and ladle the gumbo over it! Eat it piping hot and ENJOY!!!!
ME
PS. As promised here is my failure. To make roux you cook half a cup of vegetable oil and a cup of flour over medium high heat stirring constantly for 20-25 minutes. It was going SO well! Nice and chocolaty brown and oh so smooth... then the recipe called for stirring in the vegetables and that is when it turned into charcoal. Please learn from my mistakes and don't try this at home. My poor hubs thought I caught the kitchen on fire and we had to open all the windows and doors and brought our fans down from our roof deck to clear out the first floor!
