Artichokes are one of those vegetables that have always frightened me a bit. They look so beautiful, but what the hell do you do with them? For years, I would only eat artichokes in restaurants, awkwardly sucking out the tasty flesh of the leaves, but last year at a farmers’ market in Oceanside, California, I fell in love with the cutest little baby artichokes that I had to buy. We brought that back to Vegas in a cooler bag and learned how to trim them so we could saute them up for a pizza topping. They were delicious and surprisingly easier to trim than we both thought. Artichokes are currently in season and this Mario Batali pasta recipe highlights their delicious taste with a little bit of pancetta thrown in there to add some extra flavour. This recipe makes enough for 6 at $1.17 per serving.

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.

Now that the weather is warming up in Vegas, I’m starting to crave crunchy and cool salads for lunch. As much as I enjoy salads, it is sometimes pretty easy to get in a salad rut, especially since most nights we have a green salad as part of our dinner. While this Chopped Greek Salad might not be the most innovative salad out there, it sure looks pretty and colourful, which makes filling up on all your veggies an easy and enjoyable task. This recipe makes enough for 2 large salads at $2.41 per serving.

Chopped Greek Salad, adapted from Health Magazine, April 2010
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove minced
salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cups lettuce, preferably Romaine
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 small red or yellow bell pepper, diced
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, and honey in a small bowl. Season the dressing with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, and then slowly whisk in the olive oil until well combined.

Place half of lettuce on each plate, and arrange the chickpeas, bell pepper, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, and feta on top in sections. Sprinkle the mint leaves over the salad and then drizzle the dressing over everything.

Often when you order spaghetti and meatballs in a restaurant, you get a ginormous meatball–hard as a hockey puck–in a generic red marinara sauce, which is why I never thought I really liked spaghetti and meatballs. I thought meatballs were just a poor substitute for a rich bolognese sauce, which is how I preferred my meat to top my spaghetti.

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.

Tonight is the season premiere of Top Chef Masters 2. Carlo and I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of the show, especially watching the chefs, who had previously been judges on the regular Top Chef, realize that those quick fires weren’t so easy and perhaps they were a little too critical of the contestants.

I was definitely Team Rick Bayless last season, who proved to be one of the smartest and most thoughtful chefs that I’ve had the privilege to watch on TV. Perhaps the art history dork in me loves that he was an anthropology PhD student studying in Mexico City who realized that he was more interested in the street food, and then used his academic background to delve into the history and culture of regional Mexican cuisine. While I long to visit Chicago and eat at all of Rick Bayless’ restaurants, I’ll settle on snacking on some of this incredible Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa with tortilla chips while watching tonight’s Top Chef Masters. This recipe makes 2 1/2 cups of salsa which can feed 4 people as a snack at 53 cents per serving.

Crunchy Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa, from Rick Bayless
8 ounces (about 4 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1/2 cup loosely packed coarsely chopped cilantro
1 small jalape?±o, stemmed and roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, pitted, and flesh scooped from the skin
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
salt

Roughly chop half of the tomatillos, and put them into a food processor with the cilantro and jalape?±o. Measure in 1/4 cup water and whiz everything to a slushy, coarse puree. Roughly chop half the avocado, add it to the processor and pulse until it is incorporated into the salsa.

Place the salsa into a serving dish and add the finely chopped onions. Finally chop the remaining tomatillos and avocado and stir them into the salsa. Taste and season with salt as needed.

There are some days when you just crave a creamy pasta dish. Ever since I discovered alfredo sauce when I first moved to America in 1989, I’ve had a bit of a weakness for creamy sauces, even if I first got hooked on sauces that came out of the jar or a packet. In fact, the thought of how many packets of Knorr Parma Rosa sauce I ate during college kind of frightens me, which is why I’ve only gotten my creamy pasta fix these past few years when I ate out at good restaurants (Enoteca Vespaio in Austin has a divine carbonara pasta if you are ever in Texas).

This past year I’ve discovered just how easy it is to make delicious creamy sauces at home, like these recipes: Orrechiette Carbonara, Zucchini Carbonara, and Pappardelle with Tomato and Pancetta. Not only do homemade sauces have no nasty processed stuff in them, they are also much healthier for you since you can control how much cheese, cream, or butter goes into the recipe. In fact, homemade carbonara tastes pretty light and incredible, unlike the goopy and heavy versions that you see at most chain restaurants or find in a jar. This recipe for Pasta with Creamed Leek and Spinach is the perfect way to indulge your creamy pasta fix this spring. The sauteed leeks lend a silky freshness to the dish, and adding some pasta cooking water to the sauce makes the creamy taste go even further without adding a ton more calories. This recipe makes enough for 4 dinners at $1.77 per serving.

Pasta with Creamed Leeks and Spinach, adapted from Food & Wine, January 2010
3/4 pound pasta, preferably fusilli or any other curly shaped pasta
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
6 cups packed baby spinach (6 ounces), coarsely chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
grated Parmesan cheese to top

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until it is al dente. Reserve some of the cooking water for the sauce, and then drain the pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil up over moderate heat. Add the leeks and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the cream and let the sauce simmer over a moderate heat until it slightly thickens, about 5 minutes. Lastly add the spinach to the sauce and cook everything until it wilts, about 2 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss over a moderately low heat until the noodles are coated with the leek sauce, about 1 minute. Add some of the pasta cooking water to the skillet to thin the sauce as needed. Remove from the heat, add the chopped basil and toss. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, and serve with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to top.

One of my favourite comfort foods is cheese on toast. No matter how crappy the bread or cheese that you use, the end result of lots of gooey cheese on a crunchy piece of toast always hits the spot. This recipe for Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Onions on Cheddar Toast is an adult version of this comforting classic that ups the perfect combination of cheese and bread by adding some sauteed brussels sprouts and onions spiked with smoky paprika. This recipe makes enough for 4 lunches at 93 cents per serving.

Brussels Sprouts and Smoky Onions on Cheddar Toast, from Food and Wine, January 2010
1 pound brussels sprouts, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
4 slices of good bread, toasted
4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 350¬?. In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the brussels sprouts until they are just tender, about 5 minutes, then drain and pat them dry.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the paprika, cover and cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. If the onion starts to dry out, add a little bit of water to the pan. Add the brussels sprouts to the skillet and cook until they are tender throughout, about 5 minutes. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange the toasts on a baking sheet and top with the slices of  cheddar. Bake them for 2 minutes, or until the cheese is melted to your liking. Serve the dish by mounding the brussels sprouts and onions on top of the cheesy toast.

I made up this recipe for Moroccan Couscous Soup after seeing a couple of different recipes that used couscous as the base for a soup flavoured with harissa. Basically I emptied the fridge and pantry of all the things that needed to be used up and tossed them in the soup. You can follow this recipe, or use it as a loose guide for your own fridge cleaning soup. Just add more stock or water depending on how thick you want your soup, or if the couscous really swells up during the cooking process.

I’ve decided that I like couscous much better in soup than pasta because it holds its shape a lot better, especially when the soup is reheated, and adding couscous makes the soup making process a lot faster too. The harissa (my new favourite condiment again since we just got a new jar) adds a nice spicy zing to the soup, so you can add as little or as much as you want. This recipe makes enough for 6 bowls of soup at 97 cents per serving.

Moroccan Couscous Soup
glug of olive oil
2 medium zucchini, halved and sliced into 1/2 inch slices
4 green onions, thinly sliced including the green tops
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 14-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
small jar of marinated artichoke hearts
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon harissa, plus more to taste
salt and pepper

Heat up the olive oil in a large pot and saute the zucchini and green onions over a medium heat. When they have softened, add the stock and the remaining ingredients minus the parsley, salt, and pepper. Bring the soup up to a quick boil and then reduce the heat and let everything simmer uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the couscous is fully cooked. If the soup is too thick, add some extra water or stock until you get the desired consistency. Taste the soup and add more harissa if needed, then season with salt and pepper. Throw in the chopped parsley at the last minute and serve.

If you have leftovers, you might need to add some extra water when you reheat it because the couscous absorbs a lot of the soup liquid when it is in the fridge.

Wow, life around here has been crazy! I got back from Austin last Tuesday night and it took a few days to catch up on everything that I had missed while we were gone, as well as to catch up on some much needed sleep. Then we were off to Los Angeles for the weekend to see Gomez in concert and visit the incredible Huntington Library and Gardens. As soon as we got back to Vegas on Sunday, we meet up with the great people who Carlo has been working with for the last couple of months for dinner. Yesterday, Carlo and I left the house at 7:30 in the morning and got home at 11 that night after a full day of working at the WIPJam event at CTIA and then getting drinks with some friends who were in town for the conference.

Of course, all of this craziness happened right after I posted on the blog on Friday that I would start doing regular posts on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and then I couldn’t find the time to post something yesterday. But here is my intended Monday post for Chickpea, Potato, and Kale Curry, which is fitting since this dish has become our latest super fast weeknight dinner choice!

Lots of veggie curries can tend to be a bit bland, but this one is full of flavour and the toasted cumin seeds on top are just a genius addition with the Greek yogurt. More importantly, it is so easy to make that it ensures you can still eat well even if your schedule is insane like ours has been this past week. This curry makes enough for 6 dinners at 95 cents per serving.

Chickpea, Potato, and Kale Curry, from Huge Fearnley-Whittingstall
2 14-ounce tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, plus a little ¬?extra to garnish
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 hot dried red chilli, crumbled
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled, halved and finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
10 ounces potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
5 ounces kale, finely shredded
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped
Greek yogurt to garnish
rice to serve

Put a dry frying pan over a medium heat and, when hot, toast the cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds and the chilli for a couple of minutes ¬?until they smell ¬?really fragrant and the mustard starts to pop. Grind the spices to a powder in a coffee grinder, spice mill, or with a pestle and mortar, and mix in the turmeric and ginger.

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, and fry the onion, stirring regularly, until it is soft and golden brown. Stir in the garlic and spices, let it cook for a minute or two, and then add the stock. Simmer everything for five minutes, then add the chickpeas and potatoes. Cook the curry until the potatoes are tender, then add the kale. Cook for a few minutes, until the greens are tender. While the curry is cooking, toast some extra cumin seeds in a dry frying pan to sprinkle over the final dish with a dollop of Greek yogurt and some chopped cilantro.

Last month, Carlo and I headed to Portland, Oregon for a long weekend to check out the city as a potential place to move once Carlo graduates in May. We had an incredible time while we were there and after maybe 2 hours of walking through downtown, both Carlo and I looked at each other smiling and said that we could easily imagine ourselves living there and being very very happy.

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.