Artichoke Dip Slab Pie

Dip Squared
When I sat down to think about a tasty recipe to suggest for your Fourth of July get-togethers, I was definitely leaning towards pie. After all, a friend of mine had just dropped off a significant amount of rhubarb from his Garden That Overfloweth. And, I had pie on the brain.

But, then I got to thinking that pie would be the easy route. Everyone does pie for the Fourth. Who cares about another cherry pie, ya know?

So, I turned to the realm of appetizers. I attended a party over the weekend where I ate my weight in spinach dip so I figured that might be a good way to go. (Though I don’t recommend eating that much spinach dip—no matter how good it is…)

But then, the fates shown down upon me (Shown? Shined?…I have dip brain.) The only thing I love more than a good spinach dip is a good artichoke dip. And this one comes in pie form. You read that correctly. Pie form. I know! Mind blown…

While thumbing through one of my pie cookbooks, Pie Squared by Cathy Barrow, I found this amazing-looking Artichoke Dip Slab Pie that you can cut up into little pieces for bite-sized noshing while waiting for the hot dogs and hamburgers to finish on the grill. Or you can go with bigger slices for the vegetarians in the group…

Artichoke Dip Slab Pie Recipe
Adapted from Pie Squared by Cathy Barrow
Yields 24 small servings

In this recipe, our favorite artichoke is dip nestled in a delicious cream cheese pie crust. The filling is easy to prepare and completely vegetarian. The cream cheese dough is sturdy enough to hold the filling, but still flaky and tasty. Be certain to select artichokes that are packed in water, not marinated or in a vinegar brine.

Do Ahead: Combine the filling ingredients up to one day ahead.

Note: The crust needs about 4 hours to set up in the fridge before assembling the pie. Read more…

Pikliz (Haitian Pickled Relish)

Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight
We knew when we decided to go to New Orleans that, at the very least, we would eat well on the trip. And, we were not disappointed. However, our favorite meal was a bit of a surprise.

Anytime I travel, I do the research on where to stay, what to see, and certainly where to eat. Eater.com is one of my favorite destinations for food info. It is where I stumbled upon a recommendation for a Haitian place in the Treme neighborhood that sounded great. And, it was certainly something new.

I, to my knowledge, had never had the opportunity to try Haitian food, so I had no expectations whatsoever. I think ultimately that is what made the meal such a revelation to both of us. It was a surprise. With the other restaurants, we kind of knew what to expect. But, at Fritai, we were in uncharted waters.

I had the pork Griyo, my husband went with the chicken creole. Both were excellent. But, what sent us thru the roof was the Pikliz that was served with all of it.

Pronounced PEE-kleez, it is essentially a Haitian coleslaw or relish…but it packs a punch. This stuff is spicy. But, it hurts so good. The heat comes from little orange scotch bonnet chilies that my husband thought were bell peppers. To be fair, there were bell peppers in the pikliz, but they weren’t the only peppers. As a lover of all things coleslaw, he took a big bite…and needed a lot of water. The problem was that it tasted so good that you could not stop eating it. We had it on grilled shrimp with avocado, the creole chicken, and, of course, the pork. Just so good.

It should come as no surprise that I now have a new obsession with Haitian cooking and have started my quest to learn how to make traditional Haitian food. Yes, cookbooks have been ordered but there are not as many out there as you might think.

Finding a Pikliz recipe was fairly easy. Now that BBQ season is in full swing, I encourage you to give this relish a try at your next backyard feast. Just make sure to warn your people that those aren’t just bell peppers!

Pikliz Recipe
Adapted from Epicurious
Yields 4 cups Read more…

Grilled Artichokes and Lemons

When life hands you…Artichokes
Nothing says spring more than a fresh artichoke. Add some lemons to that mental picture and it would be easy to see yourself on the coast of the Mediterranean, in the country of your choosing. Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? A little sun. A light snack of a grilled artichoke with some lovely aioli and, if you’re feeling frisky, some grilled lemons as well. Ahhhh…..

While I can’t transport that European sun, sand, or the smell of the Mediterranean Sea breeze, I can do my best to replicate the snack part. Sure, you could cook artichokes the old-fashioned way by steaming them. But, there is something about throwing them on the grill that raises the game and adds a bit more worldly sophistication.

If you have never tried a grilled lemon, today should be the day. Grilling lemons heats them up and helps to release the juice but it also mellows out the acidity and gives the flavor a little smoke. I could go all science-y about it but trust me on this, lemons are good on the grill.

The weather is supposed to be almost perfect this weekend. What better way to celebrate than by bringing a little bit of the Mediterranean to your backyard?

Grilled Artichokes and Lemons Recipe
Adapted from Home Cooked Harvest and The Spruce Eats
Yields 4 servings Read more…

Ratatouille

Recreational Ratatouille
The recent warm weather has me thinking about summer. This has me thinking about my garden—the garden that I am not planting this year. I am not planting a garden this year because, for the first time in I don’t know how long, there will be no tournaments. This summer will be youth-sports-free which is both fantastic and kinda sad, but mostly fantastic. It also means we are able to do what we want on the weekends.

Our summer will be filled with camping trips and college campus tours as well as family junkets to new and amazing cities. There will be baseball games (played by professionals) and beach days and music concerts. I can’t wait. But, because life can be awesome this way, there will still be fresh home-grown vegetables.

How is this possible without planting a garden you may ask? Because my mother-in-law, who swore she would not be planting a garden this year either, caved and planted everything under the sun. Therefore, I know without question that I will be reaping the benefits of her summer bounty when her produce cup runneth over and she has had it up to here with zucchini.

It’s the best of both worlds. Livin’ my best life while enjoying good food and helping to relieve the burden of overabundance. What can I say? I’m a giver…

Ratatouille
Adapted from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food and Food 52
Yields 6 to 8 servings

This classic recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare and results in a delicious showcase of summer vegetables and flavors. Read more…