Proud Italian Cook

Grilled Baby Artichokes with Tomato Basil Salsa

July 20, 2010 by Marie 18 Comments

I struck gold when I came across a huge pile of baby artichokes at my Italian market this Saturday and they were even on sale, I couldn’t wait to get them home and put them on my grill!

Baby artichokes are easy to prep and great for grilling, they’re the perfect light appetizer for a hot and sticky day. The most important thing is to precook them in boiling water or steam them first until tender, you don’t want to just toss them on the grill before cooking they’ll be very tough, burnt and unappetizing and they’ll never get tender.

The grill adds a nice smoky flavor that enhances the taste and the tomato basil salsa gives you a fresh and summery dipping sauce, guilt free nice and light and perfect served at room temperature.

Here’s what you do:

Slice tops off artichokes, pull off leaves until you see pale green, trim stems, and snip off thorny tips. In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the juice of 1 lemon, garlic cloves and artichokes; cover and steam until artichoke bottoms pierce easily, 20 to 40 minutes. Drain artichokes.

When cool enough to handle, cut each artichoke in half lengthwise and scrape out the fuzzy center, sometimes you don’t even have to with the babies. In a bowl, combine crushed garlic, olive oil, you could also add balsamic vinegar if you want, and salt and pepper. Toss your artichokes in the mixture and place cut side down on a grill over medium heat, don’t move them until you see nice grill marks, then turn on the other side until lightly browned.

Tomato Basil Salsa

Chopped tomatoes

Fresh basil

Chopped scallions

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt & pepper

Place the arichokes cut side up on a big platter and spoon the salsa all over. Now go ahead and make these before summers bounty is all over!

Buon Appetito

18 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers, Vegetables Tagged: appetizer, baby artichokes, grilled artichokes

Bunco!

July 14, 2010 by Marie 28 Comments

I’m a part of a Bunco group, where twelve of us get together once a month taking turns hosting at each others home. We get together to play a game but really it’s an excuse to connect with friends for some good food, fun and lots of laughs. The month of June was my turn.

See all these women here, they can get pretty wild and crazy!

In case you’re wondering what Bunco is, it’s a game of dice played in rounds. Players take turns rolling the dice and trying to accumulate as many points as possible to win each round. The game is played at tables of four in competing teams of two. The first one that yells out “Bunco!” wins the round. This is a game that requires no skills at all, anyone can learn how to play in 5 minutes!

Yes, we’re high rollers and we play with money, everybody chips in five bucks!

The one hosting supplies all the food and drink but almost always someone will walk in with delicious homemade cookies or a cake. We usually visit and eat first then play the game, afterwards we’ll have coffee and dessert. Finger foods and appetizers are typically served.

Along with various dips and a caprese pizza, here’s a few other things I made when I hosted at my house.

Salami and Bocconcini Bites

On a piece of thin sliced salami place one basil leaf, one half of a cherry tomato, a small bocconcini ball or a cube of fresh mozzarella and one sun-dried tomato in oil. Secure with a pick and drizzle with balsamic and olive oil.

Fruit Kabobs with strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and blueberries.

If you have extra fruit freeze it into ice cubes it tastes great in a punch, tea or lemonade and it keeps it nice and cold.

Tostada Cups with Artichoke Salsa

The tostada cups are made by spraying both sides of a tortilla with cooking spray and then cutting into 8 wedges. Press the wedges into 8 muffin cups with all 3 points sticking out. Bake in a 450F oven for about 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.

The salsa is simply made by opening a jar or two of your favorite marinated artichokes, draining them and pulsing them in your food processor. When finished pulsing, pour into your bowl.
Then chop some red onion, kalamata olives, 1 clove of smashed garlic and diced and seeded tomatoes. Finish off with salt, pepper, shredded basil, a hint of lemon peel and a little olive oil to taste.

La Bomba, is a mix of eggplant, fennel, roasted peppers, onions, artichokes, mushrooms and olives diced up small and served with Mini Pita Rounds flavored with olive oil and rosemary. This is a perfect party appetizer, it makes a huge amount and can be made ahead of time.

Here’s the recipe.

The pita chips I made before but this time I just used mini round fresh pita’s, split them horizontally and baked them like this.

These bite size spaghetti appetizers were a big hit, I got the inspiration from Joan at Foodalogue, she added bacon and peas to hers but I had a lot of different things going on so I wanted to keep them lighter.

Cooked spaghetti, mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, eggs and fresh basil mixed together and baked in mini muffin tins topped off with a light marinara sauce.

When the cheese melts and the flavors blend together with the spaghetti the result is addicting! Here’s Joan’s original recipe.

And of course sipping on some chilled Limoncello while your playing the game makes everything just perfect!

Buon Appetito!

28 Comments Filed Under: Appetizers Tagged: Appetizers, bunco party, la bomba, pita chips, spaghetti frittata bites

Eggplant Salad/ Sandwich

July 8, 2010 by Marie 32 Comments

One of my favorite salads of all time is this layered eggplant salad. The original combination comes from a popular restaurant here in Chicago called Rosebud. The first time I tasted this I was hooked!

On the menu it’s described as an eggplant salad, but it could also pass as an eggplant sandwich.

It’s typically served three layers deep with crispy breaded eggplant, sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and arugula tossed with olive oil and a touch of balsamic glaze.

Breaded eggplant and frying it might scare off a few people, but honestly you need that crunch in between the layers, plus it’s only three pieces of eggplant anyway. I pan fry mine and control the amount of oil I use, but today there’s air fryers and you can even manage to get a crisp oven bake, I’m sure that would work as well.

The main thing you want to accomplish is to end up with a crispy, crunchy eggplant slice.

You can go two or three layers high, whatever you prefer, and don’t be afraid to stuff those layers high!

I sliced my eggplant lengthwise, dipped each piece in beaten egg then coated each slice with dry breadcrumbs, you can also use panko crumbs and if you want to go low carb you can bread the eggplant with nut crumbs, I’ve done it and it’s delicious!

I used a non stick pan drizzled with olive oil to cook the eggplant in and when you get both sides crispy, place on a wire rack so not to get soggy.

Then it’s all about the layering, start with a slice of eggplant, then layer with fresh mozzarella, next the tomato, then pile high the arugula which should be tossed in a combo of olive oil and a couple of drops of balsamic glaze beforehand.

Repeat layers ending with eggplant on top. Secure with a pick if you like for more stability.

You’re going to love this!

NOTE;

THE LAST PHOTO WAS TAKEN BACK IN 2010, IT IS NOW 2021, I FIGURED I NEEDED A LITTLE UPDATING DONE HERE. THE PHOTOS MIGHT HAVE CHANGED BUT THE FLAVORS AND COMBINATIONS HAVE NOT.

ENJOY!