football food: creamy spinach artichoke dip

A and I don't really have "date night" since he's in grad school, but we do have "date football" on Sunday afternoons. If both our teams (Panthers & Steelers) are on at the same time, we bring the second TV down from the bedroom and set both up side by side. We'll make dips, chicken wings, ribs, and get some new microbrew to try. It's quite a production. This spinach dip is the most often repeated football food around my house; and if you're serving it for guests, it gives you maximum impressiveness while requiring the least amount of effort. The base is the same, but you can play around with different cheeses, different amounts of pepper/garlic, etc.

Grocery list: 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach (thawed), 1 8-oz package cream or neufchatel cheese - softened to room temperature, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup mayo, 1.5 cups grated cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, even a little parmesan thrown in can't hurt), sriricha hot sauce, worcestershire, dijon mustard, 1 jalapeno or serrano, 1-2 garlic cloves, 1 small jar artichoke hearts, salt & pepper.



This isn't a very appetizing picture is it? Mix your softened cream cheese with the sour cream, mayo, and about 1 T worcestershire, 1-2 T sriricha hot sauce and 1 tsp dijon mustard. Stir until smooth, then fold in the grated cheese.



Drain and chop the artichokes, and mince your jalepeno or serrano pepper, and mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.



Squeeze as much liquid out of the defrosted spinach as possible, then stir it into the base. Pour into a baking dish (I use one that can go straight to the table), and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until bubbling and starting to brown in spots. Serve with chips, pita crisps or crackers.

a healthy bear: provencal chicken salad with roasted peppers and artichokes

For the second salad from my new cookbook (Raising the Salad Bar), I tried this provencal chicken salad - it was delicious. The only problem: I halved the recipe (originally for 4 servings), but this didn't make nearly enough for a hungry bear trying to eat healthy... So even though it was delicious, I had to make a couple grilled cheeses immediately afterwards. I think the chicken salad would keep, and could be delicious in a pita, so next time I'll make the full recipe.

Grocery list (note this is for the full recipe, directly from the book): 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I didn't have any so I skipped this), handful artichoke hearts (1 14-oz can), 4 chicken breasts, 1 roasted red bell pepper, 1/2 cup french green olives, 3 T minced parsley, 4 cups mixed baby greens (I substituted arugula). For the dressing: 2 T red wine vinegar, 2 tsp dijon (Roland extra strong recommended!), 1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 clove), 6 T olive oil, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, pepper.



I started by roasting the chicken with a few minced garlic cloves, a couple of sprigs fresh thyme, and lemon slices (drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast at 425 for 25-30 minutes - covered in more detail here).



While the chicken is roasting, you can also roast your own fresh pepper if you don't have the jarred kind. Just place it directly on the oven rack - place a pan or some foil on the rack just below it though, because it will drip as it cooks. Every 5-10 minutes, use tongs to rotate the pepper so it gets charred on all sides. It will be very soft and juicy when it's ready, usually about 30 minutes.



Let the pepper cool, then pinch it with the tongs - the skin will fall right off. Slice into thin strips.



While the chicken and pepper are roasting, prep the other ingredients. Mince the parsley, chop the artichoke hearts, and pit and slice the olives. For the dressing, whisk together all the ingredients.



Chop the chicken and place in a large bowl. Add the artichoke, olives, sundried tomatoes (chopped, if you're using them), peppers and parsley. Toss with the dressing. Arrange the lettuce or arugula on plates, the spoon the chicken salad on top. I was worried this would be dry since the leaves weren't dressed separately, but the dressing from the chicken salad seeped through and the consistency was perfect (just like the recipe said it would do). Another winner from this cookbook...

is it summer in atlanta or winter in northern italy?

This is what I made for dinner last night: roast beef braised in red wine and artichoke risotto. Makes perfect sense for a 93 degree day in Atlanta...?? Let me explain. Last week I was in Sri Lanka (yes, I sandbag my blog posts sometimes), and although the food was delicious, I missed red meat, my beloved Italian food, and most of all, COOKING. So I figured I would make a few favorites for dinner last night, not caring if I heated up the oven (and the rest of the loft) for 3 hours roasting meat, or having to stand over a boiling pot stirring chicken broth constantly for 45 minutes. And I'm so glad I did.

Grocery list: (for the roast) 2-4 pounds roast (I used a 2 pound local eye of round roast), 1-2 vidalia onions, handful peeled garlic cloves, some carrots, rosemary, sage or bay leaves, beef stock, 1 bottle red wine; (for the risotto) 2 cups arborio rice, 1 quart chicken stock, 1/2 to 1 jar marinated artichokes, parmesan cheese, butter, olive oil, white wine (1/2 - 1 cup), 2 cloves garlic, 1 small white onion finely chopped, 1 lemon.



This whole dinner started with an incident at the meat counter at WF. I was standing there waiting for another cut of meat I ordered, when I noticed this pile of different types of roasts from a local butcher. One of them, an eye of round roast, seemed to be looking at me directly, saying "cook me, cook me!". True story. So I asked the butcher to tie him up, although I've never cooked this cut of meat before. After a little googling, I found this great recipe from Lidia's Italy on Epicurious. I actually had a bottle of Barolo in my wine cellar (AKA bathroom closet), but it was too expensive to cook with so I went with a Shiraz. Making this Italian-Australian roast beef. Anyway, start by seasoning the meat on all sides with salt and pepper, then sear it in a dutch oven over med-high heat in olive oil.



Once the meat has been seared on all sides (about 1 minute per side), remove it from the pan, add a little more olive oil, then cook the vegetables. I used 2 small vidalia onions, quartered, and half a bag of baby carrots, plus 6-8 whole garlic cloves. The original recipe calls for celery too, but I skipped it. After a few minutes, add a whole sprig of rosemary and a couple of sage or bay leaves. Make a little space for the roast and return it to the pan.



Pour in a bottle of wine, and then add beef stock (1-2 cups), enough to go up the sides of the roast about halfway. Heat on the stove until the liquid is steaming but not boiling, then move to an oven and roast at 250 degrees. Every 30 minutes, flip the roast over. For a 2 pound roast, you could cook this for 2-2 1/2 hours; for a larger 4-6 pound roast, the recipe says you can cook for 4 - 4 1/2 hours. A meat thermometer would really help here (I don't have one and ended up overcooking the meat a bit).



During the last 30 minute rotation for the roasting meat, I made the risotto. I make these fairly often actually and have never followed a recipe. Last night I wanted something with a salty kick to go with the meat - something with olives or lemons maybe. When I saw the recipe for lemon and artichoke risotto from Jamie Oliver's cookbook, I knew it would be perfect. As with all risottos, you start by sauteing the onion and garlic in olive oil until softened.



Next, add 2 cups arborio rice and stir to coat the rice with the olive oil. Turn the heat up to med-high and keep stirring. The rice will start to fry and turn slightly translucent - that's when you add about a glass of white wine (1/2 - 1 cup). While this is absorbing, heat the chicken stock so it's hot but not boiling. Add a ladle of the stock at a time to the rice, stirring frequently. Allow the stock to absorb before adding the next ladleful. When you've added it all, the rice should be a smooth creamy texture (takes 15-20 minutes). Turn off the heat and add 2-4 T butter and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan. Cover and let stand for a couple of minutes. Then stir, season with salt and pepper, and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon and some chopped artichokes. Jamie's recipe calls for cooking fresh artichokes during the rice-cooking phase, but I didn't miss cooking *that* much - I went with a nice jar of marinated artichokes from the farmers market.



When the roast is as done as you like it, remove it from the oven and set to rest on a cutting board. Scoop out the vegetables and place on a long serving dish. Move the pan on the stove and heat the braising liquid till boiling - keep cooking it till it is reduced to a syrupy consistency. Slice the roast beef on the diagonal and lay on top of the vegetables; spoon the sauce over top.