Sunday, May 23, 2010

Flattery

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that's true, then Peter from Cookblog must be feeling pretty darn flattered right now. I stole -oops, I mean imitated! - his idea.

I already had a dab of beans in the fridge from a previous meal and, when I saw that he put a sizzled artichoke on top of his beans, I realized that I could do the very same thing with mine, although my beans were very different - his bacony to my lamby.

I had never fixed an artichoke this way before, snapping off each leaf while leaving the meaty part at the base of each attached, trimming the smaller inside leaves, scooping out the choke with a spoon once I got down to the bottom and simmering the artichoke in a mixture of water and olive oil until it sizzles and caramelizes. A whole new artichoke experience for one who thought she'd pretty much been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt.

I was uncertain about whether or not I had enough to make a meal, so I served the beans-and-choke alongside half a pork chop that My Beloved and I shared. I needn't have worried, the veggies alone would have been plenty filling. In fact, Cora got the last of my pork chop.

You oughta try "borrowing" your next meal from Peter, too. He has all kinds of cool ideas and techniques with a sophisticated palate and an artist's eye for beauty. Every now and then he has one that's simple enough for a copycat like me to try.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Greg said...

That artichoke looks very much like the Jolly Green Giants hat.Oh no you didn't! ;)

Sunday, May 23, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Yes, we did - we ate him!

Sunday, May 23, 2010  
Blogger cookiecrumb said...

I applaud you! Beautiful job. Peter was urging me to do his thing (last year, I guess), but I thought it was too much work. NICE.

(Peter: I will do your thing.)

Sunday, May 23, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Cookiecrumb, It's not as tedious as I first thought it would be, just one of those zen-like exercises in patience and then it tastes good.

Monday, May 24, 2010  
Blogger peter said...

It is so completely and totally worth the small amount of effort at the outset. Plus, it makes for labor-free eating, as opposed to the hassle of gnawing the little bit of flesh of each leaf.And the caramelization can't be beat.

Monday, May 24, 2010  
Blogger Zoomie said...

Peter, you're right, it wasn't that much work, not nearly as much as I had thought it might be. I do enjoy the anticipation of eating an artichoke from the leaves in, but this was certainly a new and lovely way to me.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010  

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