Spaghetti with Artichokes and Pancetta, from Mario Batali in Food & Wine, April 2010
1 lemon, halved
8 baby artichokes or 2 large artichokes (about 1 pound)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pound spaghetti
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Fill a large bowl with cold water. Squeeze in the juice from the lemon halves, then add the lemon halves to the water. Working with 1 artichoke at a time, peel off the dark green outer leaves. Cut off the top fourth of the artichoke; peel and trim the stem. Slice the artichoke lengthwise into 1/8 inch thick slices and drop them into the lemon water. Repeat with the remaining artichokes. If you need help figuring out how to trim artichokes, check out this great tutorial.

In a saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, garlic, and pancetta and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Drain the artichokes; discard the lemon. Add the artichokes to the saucepan, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add the white wine, cover and simmer over moderately low heat until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Add the pasta and the reserved cooking water to the artichokes and toss over moderate heat for 1 minute. Remove the pasta from the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve the pasta with grated cheese to top.

This recipe by Campanile’s Mark Peel helped change my view on meatballs: By using a mixture of three different kinds of meats, he manages to create the most tender and light meatballs I’ve tasted. The sauce isn’t your average bland marinara either. The flavour of the olive oil and the freshness of the basil make for a bright and tangy tomato sauce that tastes like it has been made from fresh tomatoes. This recipe does take a while to make, but is a perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, especially if you have a good glass of wine in your hand. The meatballs and sauce freeze really well for up to 1 month too if you needed an added incentive. This recipe makes enough spaghetti and meatballs for 8 very generous dinners at $2.56 per serving.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, from Mark Peel’s New Classic Family Dinners
For the Sauce:
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large garlic cloves, halved and thinly sliced
3 28-ounce cans diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
about 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
about 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large fresh basil sprigs, plus 1/2 cup leaves

For the Meatballs:
about 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces mushrooms, chopped
2 teaspoons cracked fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
About 2/3 cup cold dry white wine, divided
4 ounces crusty bread, crusts removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
3/4 pound cold ground pork
3/4 pound cold ground turkey, dark meat
3/4 pound cold ground beef
2 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 pounds spaghetti
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

To make the sauce, get a 5- to 6-quart pan and cook the oil and garlic over medium-low heat until the garlic softens, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover the sauce and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer it, stirring often, until thick, 45 minutes to 1 hour. If needed, crush the tomatoes with a spoon to break them up. Stir in the basil sprigs and then turn off the heat.

While the sauce is cooking, make the meatballs by heating 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute longer. Add the mushrooms, fennel, salt, and pepper. Cook everything until the mushrooms are tender, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 1/4 cup wine and the bread crumbs until the liquid is absorbed.

Transfer this mixture to a food processor and pulse to finely chop. Scrape everything into a bowl and let it cool. When it has cooled down, add the parsley, meats, and 1/3 cup wine and mix everything together until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes.

Using wet hands, shape the meat into 1 1/2-inch balls. Be sure to use both hands and firmly press the meatballs into shape so they won’t fall apart later. Heat 2 large frying pans over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil in each. Brown about a third of the meatballs in each pan, turning once and adding more oil if needed, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. With a slotted spatula, transfer the meatballs to a platter. Repeat with the remaining meatballs and oil.

Scrape all the meat drippings from the pans into 1 pan. Whisk in the flour, then cook it over medium heat until bubbling, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of sauce to loosen up the browned bits then scrape everything into the pan with the rest of the sauce and stir.

Return the sauce to a simmer. Gently stir in the meatballs; simmer, covered, until the flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Discard the basil sprigs, and cut the remaining basil leaves into fine slivers and stir into the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the packet directions. Drain the pasta and serve by topping with meatballs and tomato sauce with lots of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

We ate and drank our way around the city making sure to check out the incredible food cart phenomenon and some of our favourite microbreweries too. Pretty much everything we ate and drank was excellent, and even better, it was so cheap compared to eating out in Las Vegas.

One thing I loved about Portland was the prevalence of parsnips on many of the menus. I don’t know if parsnips just thrive in the cold and damp winters up there, but I’ve not seen so many parsnips in dishes outside of England! We ate breakfast at the Bijou Cafe downtown one morning and I ordered the roasted parsnip, spinach, bacon, and feta omelet. I never would have thought about putting parsnips in an omelet, but it worked and might have been one of the most flavourful omelets I’ve had in a long time.

This Jamie Oliver recipe for Pasta with Parsnips and Pancetta is another creative combination that just works. The sauteed sweetness of the parsnips contrasts nicely with the smokey pancetta to create a comforting and easy pasta dish. This recipe makes enough for 4 dinners at $1.95 per serving.

Pasta with Parsnips and Pancetta, adapted from Jaime Oliver
6 ounces sliced pancetta or bacon
1 handful of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
4 good knobs of butter
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
3 large parsnips, peeled, halved and finely sliced lengthways
16 ounces dried pasta, preferably tagliatelle, pappardelle or some other thick pasta
3 good handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large, non-stick frying pan, fry the pancetta and rosemary in half of the butter for 2 minutes, and then add the garlic and parsnips. Cook everything for 3 more minutes on a medium heat until the pancetta is slightly golden and the parsnips have softened nicely.

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions and then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Mix the pasta with the parsnips and pancetta and stir in the rest of the butter and the Parmesan. Add a little of the pasta cooking water to loosen the mixture and make a nice creamy and shiny sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste and then serve with a little more Parmesan cheese grated on top.

In addition to the spectacular location, Firefly has some tasty food. I think the best way to experience their menu is to order lots of tapas plates and share them among your party. One of my favourite things on the Firefly menu are the Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds. When we went with my sister and brother-in-law, we ate the first order so fast that we had to order another because they are just that good. They are the perfect combination of salty and sweet with the contrast of flavours between the bacon and the date.

These wrapped dates are really simple to make at home as a quick appetizer or as part of a larger array of tapas dishes. Here is a really basic recipe that you can adjust according to how many you would like to make.  My only advice is to make more than you think you will need  because they will go fast! I promise.

Bacon-Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Almonds
bacon strips
dates
whole almonds (we used raw almonds, but I bet roasted almonds would taste just as good)
toothpicks

Remove the seeds from the dates and insert the almonds into the hole left behind by the seed. Cut the strips of bacon in half or into thirds depending upon the size of your dates. Wrap a small slice of bacon around each date and secure it by using a toothpick to pierce the bacon and date. Cook the bacon-wrapped dates in a frying pan over a medium heat until the bacon is cooked and crispy on all sides. Serve and watch them disappear!

In his book, Bittman details his new eating lifestyle that helped him lose 30 pounds, improve his health drastically, and help him run faster and longer than he had in a long time. Basically his diet boils down to eating a heavy plant, fruit, and whole grain-based diet, especially at breakfast and lunch (he is a flexible vegan during these meals), and then eating whatever he wants at dinner. Whenever we eat like this, we feel much better and sleep like babies every night! Plus the last time I did it before Christmas, I lost 4 pounds in 1 week. So we are starting off the new year following this diet, even though it doesn’t even feel like a diet, just a better and healthier way to eat.

Bittman took over the pages of Runner’s World in October 2009 to talk about his eating style and his running. In this spread, he talks about his diet and its effect on his life and lists 8 easy rules for better eating. I highly recommend reading these articles and if you are still interested to learn more, be sure to check out Food Matters.

Here is a recipe that Bittman included in his spread in Runner’s World. He called it cassoulet, but considering that Carlo and I ate our way through Southwest France when we first started dating and that included lots of cassoulet, I hesitate to call this cassoulet but instead call it Vegetables and White Beans with Sausages. This dish makes a great dinner: you get your fill of tons of veggies and beans with a little bit of meat for some flavour. This recipe makes enough for 4 large dinners at $2.60 per serving.

Vegetables and White Beans with Sausages, adapted from Mark Bittman in Runner’s World, October 2009
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound Italian sausage
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
2 onions, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchinis, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups canned tomatoes (and juice), chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
2 bay leaves
4 cups canned white beans, drained and liquid reserved in case needed
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook, turning them until they are browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the sausages from the pan and drain off all but a couple tablespoons of fat.

Lower the heat to medium, and add the garlic, onions, carrots, celery, and zucchini. Season the veggies with salt and pepper, and cook for five minutes, or until everything is softened. Add the tomatoes and their juice, sausages, and herbs. Bring everything to a boil. Add the beans and bring the dish to a boil again, stirring occasionally; reduce the heat so the mixture simmers gently. Let everything cook for 20 minutes, adding the stock or some reserved bean liquid when the mixture gets thick.

When everything is cooked, take out the sausages and chop them up. Return them to the pot and add a bit of cayenne pepper to the dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Carlo looked through the Craftsteak cookbook and found the recipe for Bordelaise sauce that Tom normally pairs with hanger steak, which was also on our tasting menu–amazing! He improvised and came up with this recipe for Brussels sprouts using the recipe from last week’s Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts as the basis for the dish. The Bordelaise Sauce is a bit of a pain to make, but we made the full amount and froze the rest so we can use it on some grilled steaks after the holidays.

Bordelaise Sauce, from Tom Colicchio’s Craft of Cooking
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 cups chopped mushrooms
1 cup chopped shallots
1 bottle dry red wine
3 quarts beef stock
1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
salt and freshly ground pepper

Plus:
Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts
3 slices bacon, thinly sliced

Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, and shallots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the veggies soften and begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Add the wine and simmer everything until the pan is almost dry, about 25 minutes, then add the beef stock.

Reduce the heat to medium and let the sauce simmer, skimming frequently, until the sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, at least an hour. Strain the sauce, add the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper.

To make this dish, follow the recipe for the Braised and Glazed Brussels Sprouts. Once the sprouts are almost cooked, take them out of the pan and add the bacon. Fry up the bacon until it is crispy, and then return the sprouts to the pan. Pour over a bit of the Bordelaise Sauce and saute the sprouts and bacon with the sauce for a couple of minutes and then serve.

However, I’m also pretty open to new tastes, so we decided to make a truly fancy stuffing this year. I never used to like cornbread that much, but have recently become a huge sucker for it. In this stuffing recipe, the sweetness of the cornbread contrasts nicely with the spicy andouille sausage, and there are a few veggies thrown in there for penance since you are basically eating a dish made up of bread and sausage. This recipe makes more than enough stuffing for 8 guests at $1.34 per serving.

Cornbread Stuffing with Andouille, Fennel, and Bell Peppers, adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2009
1 1/2 pounds purchased cornbread, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 tablespoons butter, divided
12 ounces fully cooked andouille sausages (about 4), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide pieces
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for sprinkling
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper plus additional for sprinkling
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 large egg

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage pieces and saute them until they are brown, around 4 minutes. Transfer the sausages to a large bowl.

Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, onion, and bell pepper. Season with salt and pepper, and saute until the onion is golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the veggies from the heat, and add them to bowl with the sausages.

Preheat the oven to 350¬?F. Add the cornbread, thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to the vegetable-sausage mixture, and mix everything gently. Whisk together the 2 cups of broth and the egg in a medium bowl, then add the broth mixture to the stuffing and toss so that everything gets coated.

Place the stuffing in a large glass baking dish, and bake it uncovered until the stuffing becomes crisp on top, about 1 hour. Let the stuffing stand for 15 minutes to cool before enjoying.

Both Carlo and I love all kinds of Spanish food, in particular tapas, but I’m a sucker for a good stew especially when it has chickpeas AND chorizo in it. The hardest part of this recipe is cooking the dried chickpeas, which is a bit time consuming, but you can do it the day before if you want. The end result is a complex stew with a nice smokiness from the paprika and a good contrast of textures between the soft meatballs and the nutty chickpeas. This recipe makes enough for 4 people at $2.66 per serving.

Chickpea Stew with Chorizo and Meatballs, adapted from The New Spanish Table
For the chickpeas:
1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight or quick-soaked
1 bay leaf
6 ounces Spanish chorizo, sliced

For the meatballs:
2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
10 ounces ground pork
1/4 cup grated onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
sea salt and pepper
extra-virgin olive oil

For finishing the stew:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon smoked sweet Spanish paprika
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
sea salt and pepper

Prepare the chickpeas by placing them in a large pot and covering them with 2 inches of cold water. Bring the soaked chickpeas to a boil over a high heat. Add the bay leaf and then reduce the heat to low, and simmer, partially covered, for 1 hour. If the water level gets really low, add some extra water to the pot.

After 1 hour, add the sliced chorizo to the chickpeas and continue cooking until the chickpeas are tender but still have a bit of bite to them, around 30 minutes longer.

While the chickpeas are cooking, make the meatballs by putting the bread into a small bowl and covering the slices with cold water. Let the bread soak for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out the excess liquid. Finely crumble the bread and place it in a large bowl with the pork, onion, and egg. Gently knead the meatball mixture with your hands until all of the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Season with salt and pepper.

If the meatball mixture is too moist to form into meatballs, stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour. Shape the meat mixture into meatballs the size of a cherry tomato. Heat up some olive oil in a frying pan and in batches, cook the meatballs until they are browned on both sides and pretty much cooked through. Remove the meatballs from the frying pan and set them aside until later.

In the pan with all the meatball drippings, cook the onion, carrots, and garlic over a medium heat until they are soft but not browned, around 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes then cover the frying pan, and let everything cook for another 5 minutes. Finish by stirring in the paprika.

By now, the chickpeas should be ready. There will still be some water left in the chickpea pot, and if you think it is too much, remove some of the cooking juice and reserve it in case you need to add it back later to the stew.

Add the tomato mixture to the chickpea pot and cook the stew over a simmer until the chickpeas are very tender, around 15 to 20 minutes longer. Add the meatballs at the end and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Taste the stew and season with salt and pepper as needed.

To serve the stew, chop up some fresh parsley to sprinkle on top and enjoy.

This Jamie Oliver recipe for goulash isn’t really like any authentic Hungarian goulash that I have tasted, but the combination of all of the peppers and the smokiness of the paprika with melt-in-your-mouth tender pork make for a delicious dinner regardless. Plus your kitchen will smell incredible for the three hours that the goulash is transforming in your oven. This goulash recipe makes enough for 8 dinners at $3.06 per serving.

Spicy Pork and Chilli Pepper Goulash, adapted from Jaime Oliver
2-3 lbs pork roast or pork shoulder off the bone, in one piece, skin off, fat left on
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 generously heaped tablespoons mild smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground caraway seeds
small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked
5 bell peppers, best if you use a mixture of red, green, and yellow
1 jar of roasted red peppers, drained, peeled and chopped
1 14-ounce can of plum tomatoes
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 pot of sour cream
zest and juice of 1 lemon
small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350¬?F. This recipe calls for a deep, ovenproof dutch oven that you first heat up on the stove over a medium heat to brown the pork. I found my pork loin roast on sale at Whole Foods for $5.99 a pound, and it was a really nice piece of meat.

Score the fat on the pork roast in a criss-cross pattern all the way through to the meat and then season the pork generously with salt and pepper. Pour some olive oil into the dutch oven and let it heat up. Add the pork, fat side down, and cook it over a medium heat for about 15 minutes until the fat renders out and the pork forms a nice browned crust. Turn the pork over halfway through the cooking process so the other side can brown, and when it is finished, remove the pork from the dutch oven and set it aside.

Add the onions, chilli, paprika, caraway seeds, oregano, and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pork drippings in the dutch oven. Turn the heat down and gently cook the mixture for 10 minutes, then add the sliced peppers, roasted peppers, and canned tomatoes.

Place the pork back into the pot in the middle of the peppers and then pour in enough water to just cover the meat. Add the vinegar to the pot, and bring everything to a boil on the stove top. Put the lid on top of the dutch oven, then place it in the preheated oven for 3 hours.

The meat is cooked when it is very tender and you can break it up easily when pulled apart with two forks. When the pork is cooked, remove the meat from the stew and shred it with a couple of forks. Place the shredded pork back into the goulash and dinner is almost ready to serve. Taste the goulash and season with extra salt and pepper as needed.

To make a nice condiment for the goulash, stir together the sour cream, lemon zest, and most of the parsley in a little bowl. Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice until you get a nice lemon-y taste.

Serve the goulash over cooked rice, and top each dish with a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a big dollop of the lemon sour cream.

I got such an urge last week and found this wonderfully adult tasting meatloaf recipe. Instead of squirting tons of ketchup into the meat mixture, this recipe has the surprise ingredient of chopped prunes instead. Sounds disgusting is what I bet you are thinking, right? If so, you are wrong. The prunes add a nice sweetness to the meatloaf that tastes so much better than cloying effect of the normally used ketchup. In fact, while we were eating dinner, I had Carlo guess what the mystery ingredient was and after a few mouthfuls, he still had no idea. He named pretty much all of the other ingredients in the dish, but was stumped at what was the pi?®ce de r?©sistance of the dish.

Anyway see for yourself just how good prunes could taste (seriously, who knew?), and stump your loved ones by making this meatloaf and have them guess the mystery ingredient. This recipe for meatloaf makes enough for 8 large slices of meatloaf at $1.60 per serving.

Meatloaf, adapted from Gourmet, February 2008
1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/3 cup whole milk
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium celery rib, finely chopped
2 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 pound bacon (about 4 slices), chopped
1/2 cup pitted prunes, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Before you start preparing the mixture for the meatloaf, preheat your oven to 350¬?F with the rack placed in middle.

Start the meatloaf by soaking the bread crumbs in milk in a large bowl.

Then cook the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots in the butter in a large heavy saucepan over a medium heat for about 5 minutes and stir occasionally. Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low, then cook everything until the carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, allspice, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper. Add this veggie mix to the soaked bread-crumb mixture.

Finely chop the bacon and prunes in a food processor, then add to the vegetable mixture along with the beef, pork, eggs, and parsley. Mix everything together with your hands.

Coat a 9- by 5-inch oval loaf pan with a light spray of olive oil and pack the meatloaf mixture into it. Once you have shaped the meatloaf, turn the loaf pan upside down in the middle of a 13- by 9-inch shallow baking dish or pan and remove the loaf pan. The meatloaf should retain the shape of the loaf pan, but will be able to cook in the pan so the three exposed sides get a bit crispy while it all cooks.

Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of meatloaf registers at 155¬?F, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Once the meatloaf reaches the ideal temperature, remove it from the oven and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

After cooking the meatloaf, a lot of drippings remained in the baking dish, so I asked Carlo to make a gravy from them to top the meatloaf. He drained the drippings into a small saucepan and whisked them with a little bit of flour to create a roux. Then he added some water until he had the right gravy consistency and kept on whisking over a low heat.

The meatloaf tastes great smothered with gravy and a side of creamy mashed potatoes. It also tastes pretty amazing the next day on a sandwich too.