Two Hungry [Artichoke] Hearts

We were watching Sandwich King the other day on Food Network, and Jeff was whipping up a grilled artichoke sandwich with a roasted garlic ricotta spread.  All of the components sounded great, so we took them, and morphed them into a delicious grilled salad.

Start by roasting your garlic.  It takes about at least 30 minutes for it to roast, so you'll want to start with this step so it can caramelize and soften while you prepare everything else.  I peeled away some of the outer layers of the garlic skin first.  Then, you'll want to slice off the top of the head so the cloves are exposed.  Drizzle olive oil over the top, and sprinkle on some salt and pepper.  Wrap up the garlic in foil and place it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, or until it is fragrant and soft.

While the garlic is roasting, you can start preparing everything else.  We wanted to make the salad a little more hearty, and we had a couple chicken breasts on hand, so we simply seasoned with salt and pepper and a little oregano, and threw them on the grill.  The romaine heart was quartered, and a whole can of quartered artichoke hearts were drained.  The romaine, artichoke hearts, and a red bell pepper all received a liberal brushing of olive oil, and sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Then we threw them on the grill.  The romaine and artichokes only took about 5 minutes, while the pepper took about 10 minutes.  You want the pepper to get nice and charred so you can easily peel the skin off.

Once they've cooled down enough for you to handle, give your romaine a rough chop.  Peel the skin off your pepper, and slice it into thin strips.  Add this all to a bowl with your grilled artichokes.  For some freshness, we tossed in some mixed greens and thinly sliced red onion.  You can also toast up some pine nuts to top your salad, for some added crunch.  Now just plate your salads, and add the sliced chicken on top.  For dressing, we just drizzled some balsamic vinegar over the top.

Now, don't think I forgot about our roasted garlic.  When it's soft, and sweet smelling, pull it out of the oven, and squeeze out your cloves.  They should be a golden brown, and nice and soft.  Using the side of your knife, you should be able to smoosh the garlic into a paste.  You can add a little salt to add some coarseness and help  assist you in making the paste.  Then just add your garlic to a bowl with ricotta, parmesan, and lemon zest.

Mix it all together so it's well mixed, and you're ready to spread it on some crostini, topped with fresh basil.  The velvety ricotta with the sweet roasted garlic was the perfect compliment to our grilled salad.

Outdoor Flicks & Picnics!

As you may have seen on Facebook last night, we had a delicious summer picnic spread that we enjoyed while taking in an outdoor movie (if you didn't see it, you should "Like" our Facebook page!).  One of the things I love about summer in DC is that on any night of the week, you can see an outdoor movie.  Most neighborhoods are jumping on the wagon, and you're sure to find at least 1 movie each week that you want to see.  As foodies, we had to go above and beyond a bucket of fast food chicken or prepared food from the grocery store.  We prepared an awesome spread for movie without going overboard like this:

One of the things I'm not a huge fan of when it comes to summer in DC, is the sweltering, humid weather.  As soon as I step outside, I feel sweaty and gross, and the last thing I want to do is stand over a stove, or in front of a hot oven.  The perfect solution is a cold soup!  And since we picked up a ton of tomatoes in this week's share, gazpacho was the natural choice.

For a little guidance, we found this recipe.  As always, we put our own spin on it.  But to get you started, gather all your veggies, a good knife, a big bowl, and get to chopping!  Make sure you collect all the seeds and juices that may leach out from your veggies as you're cutting them.  That will help thin out your soup.  I left the skins on all of the veggies, except for the cucumber.  He was the only guy that got peeled.  Because we're both huge fans of garlic, we added about 5 cloves.  And since we had a jalapeno on hand, we chopped that up, as opposed to using hot sauce, as the recipe called for.


Once you're done chopping, you'll have this beautiful bowl of fresh summer veggies!  The recipe instructs you to just get your hands dirty, and squish all the veggies together, but I don't think that's an ideal method, considering the peppers and onion aren't as soft as the tomatoes.  Plus, we wanted more of a soup consistency, as opposed to a chunky salsa consistency.  So I pulled out the immersion blender and got to work.  It didn't take long to break down all the veggies either.

Here's where you really need to taste and add seasonings, as needed.  I started with salt, pepper, and juice of half the lemon.  I started out conservative on the lemon but ended up using the whole thing.  Give it another whirl with the blender, and taste again.  If it's not spicy enough, add another jalapeno, or a splash of hot sauce.  I also threw in the balsamic and red wine vinegars, olive oil, and a splash of worcestershire sauce to balance out the sweetness of the tomatoes.


To top it all off, we threw in a bunch of fresh cilantro and parsley.  Again, blend it all up and taste it to make sure the flavor is right where you want it.  Then just pop it in the fridge to chill until you're ready to eat.


No tomato soup would be complete without a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it.  But we couldn't just go with any ol' grilled cheese.  We had to step up our game for all of you! So we chose a nice baguette for our bread, some prosciutto, humboldt fog cheese, and some arugula.

As with any other sandwich, just start building.  I failed to put cheese on both sides of the bread initially, and they wouldn't stick together, so it's in your best interest to do this right off the bat.  The humboldt fog is a mold-ripened goat cheese, but it has a little less tang and a little more smokiness than a typical goat cheese.  It's somewhat soft and crumbly, but it was easy enough to spread on the bread, and melted into the meat and arugula.  With your sandwiches assembled, melt some butter in a pan, and get to toasting!

If you're packing these treats up for a picnic, let the sandwiches cool down a bit before wrapping them in foil, or putting them in a plastic container.  You don't want them to sweat and get all soggy.

All that was left was to pop some popcorn (truffle parmesan popcorn, that is!), throw a couple beers in the cooler, and a couple peaches for dessert!

Part II: Bagels

Now that we have our gravlax, we need the perfect vessel to deliver it to our mouths.  And what better vessel than a nice, chewy bagel?  One thing that DC is desperately lacking is a good bagel shop, so we thought we'd try our hand at making our own.  Bagels have a reputation as being challenging to make, but they aren't too tough--they just require some planning and patience.  The dough needs to rest overnight, so you need to mix it the night or two before you want to enjoy them.  My mom recommended this recipe, which was easy to follow.

Start by mixing your quick acting yeast, water, salt and honey in a bowl.  Add that to your bowl of bread flour, and start mixing.  Our dough came together in a matter of minutes.  Let it rest for about 5 minutes, and then give it another spin in the mixer for 3 minutes.

Lightly flour your surface, and knead the dough for about 3 minutes.  Then just place your dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let it rise for an hour.

Then it's time to shape your bagels.  Break of 6-8 balls of dough, or in our case, 5 balls.  Rolls them into balls, and then poke a hole in the middle.  Shape it into a bagel shape, and then place on a baking sheet that's covered with some lightly oiled parchment paper.  Once you have your bagels shaped, cover them with plastic wrap and stick them in the refrigerator overnight.

You'll need to pull your bagels out of the refrigerator at least an hour before you're ready to cook them.  So we pulled them out of the fridge and then went for a run!  Get your poaching liquid ready on the stove by boiling a pot of water that's at least 4 inches deep.  Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat, and stir in your salt, baking soda and honey.  You'll notice it starts to smell like delicious bagels!  While the water is coming up to a boil, you can test your bagels.  In a bowl of cold water, drop in one of your bagels.  If it floats to the top, you're ready to go.

Once your poaching liquid is ready, carefully drop in as many bagels as will fit in your pot without overcrowding it.  They should float right on top of the liquid.  After 1 minute, flip the bagels, and let them poach for another 30 seconds.  Then pull them out of the liquid with a slotted spoon, and place back on the oiled parchment paper, domed side up.  Continue poaching until all your bagels have touched the liquid.


Now it's time to add your toppings!  If you want to use dried onion or garlic, be sure to rehydrate them so they don't burn in the oven.  We made 2 roasted garlic salt and onion bagels, 2 poppy and sesame seed bagels, and 1 everything bagel.

Then just pop them into a 450 degree oven for about 8 minutes.  Then rotate your pan, and cook for another 8 minutes, or until they are golden brown.  Place them on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes before you cut into them.  This is probably the hardest part...waiting.

And now...how to build the perfect bagel.  This comes from years of practice!  Start with your cream cheese.  We both like whipped cream cheese because it's so light and fluffy.  Then put your capers on.  They add a nice brininess, and since they're right on top of the cream cheese, they won't roll away.

Then add your red onion and tomatoes.  I like to slice the tomatoes in half-moon shapes so they fit onto the bagel a little better.

Then top with your gravlax or smoked salmon.  This way, everything should stay on top of your bagel when you bite into it, and you get a bit of everything in every bite.

Now for the most important step--take a big delicious bite into chewy, salty, rich, pillowy deliciousness!