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Honest artichoke dip

One of my go-to cookbooks since I discovered it is Amy Thielen’s The New Midwestern Table cookbook. As a nearly life-long Midwesterner, it’s perfect. Its recipes are rustic, delicious, mostly not that healthy, and not terribly pretentious, kind of like most Midwesterners.

As I was looking for a simple appetizer for something to share with friends, I was ecstatic to find a recipe that also fit my little Le Creuset/small skillet mission. It also happened to have artichokes, wine, and a butt-ton of cheese, aka, most of my diet.

So, basically, I moved the artichoke fondue dip to the top of my queue.

Artichoke fondue dip ingredients.

Two things about it appealed to me specifically — OK, OK, in addition to the aforementioned wine, cheese, and artichokes.

The first was that she correctly labels it a fondue dip; let’s be honest about what a Midwesterner’s (or really, everyone’s) idea of spinach artichoke dip is, mostly cheese. The second thing is not so much that it ditched the spinach, which I enjoy, though it does have a tendency to get stuck in between one’s teeth, but that there was a note about her choice in an alternative.

She not only replaced spinach with edamame, which has an entirely different texture and reasonably different taste, but noted that she’d been called out for how egregious it was to add to the point that she makes the edamame optional in her recipe.

I couldn’t resist seeing what the fuss was about.

My assessment, it was pretty good with it, and it didn’t scare off any of my friends who tried it.

All in all, it’s a damn good, and incredibly easy dip.

I wish there was more.

Here’s what I did, following the recipe (edamame and all):

Ingredients

  • 1 (14 oz.) can brined, quartered artichoke hearts
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • 1 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 1 c. shredded aged Gouda cheese
  • 3 T. dry white wine (preferably Sauvignon Blanc)
  • 2 T. chopped parsley
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 t. cornstarch
  • ½ c. shelled edamame, fresh or frozen (optional, but come on, you want to try it!)
  • A baguette, sliced, or crackers for serving

Directions

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Drain the artichokes, and preferably, give each a little squeeze to release excess brine. Chop the artichokes roughly.

In a medium bowl, combine the artichoke hearts, cream, both cheeses, wine, parsley, salt and pepper, and cornstarch. Stir until well mixed. If using frozen edamame, ensure there are no ice particles on them, or rinse until they’re removed, and shake off any excess water, and add to the artichoke mixture.

Pour the mixture into a 9-inch skillet, and bake until the dip begins to brown at the edges and is bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with bread or crackers, or both, and enjoy!

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The recipe that convinced me to cook with tofu

I discovered the joys of tofu as a college student trying Thai food for the very first time. But I could never really figure out how to cook the tofu so that it came out like the wonderful pad see-ew or Pad Thai I got at restaurants. If I’m honest, I still haven’t mastered it.

So, instead, I’ve found an alternative way to make tofu that tastes amazing, has a million uses, and yes, even works in noodle dishes. That’s right; it’s baked tofu.

Baked tofu ingredients.

The thing is frying tofu just right is very difficult, but baked tofu is about impossible to mess up.

Plus, it comes pre-flavored with the saltiness of soy sauce and the spiciness of sambal oelek. Oh, and there’s wine. And that, combined with time, is about all it takes to transform the flavorless, spongy soy protein into something that is good enough to eat by itself.

I couldn’t even tell you where I initially found the recipe, but I know the blog post similarly raved about the ease. And frankly, I think I added the sambal oelek. I just know that I make it often enough, and it’s easy enough that this is the first time I’ve written it down.

My favorite uses for it are for spring rolls, stir fry (but keep it separate, otherwise it absorbs the liquid), and simple vegetable wraps. But options are endless as long as you have the delightful base.

I used these little guys to make *both* spring rolls and stir fry this week. Yum!

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

  • 1 (18 oz.) container tofu (extra firm is preferred but firm will work in a pinch)
  • ¼ c. soy sauce
  • ¼ c. white wine (or water, or cooking sherry)
  • 1 heaping T. sambal oelek (usually found in the Asian section, or Sriracha will work in a pinch)
  • 1 T. sesame oil (optional)
  • Canola oil

Directions

Open and drain the tofu. Then, press it to drain more of the liquid for at least an hour. I’ve worked out a system where I use the sheet pan as the catch for the excess liquid, then place an upside-down rounded plate on top of the sheet pan, put the tofu on the plate, and then use a heavy lid like for a Dutch oven or another plate with a weight on top to press the tofu. (This can also be done a day in advance, and store the drained tofu in a Tupperware.)

Once the tofu is strained, cut it into 15 to 20 long slices. Again, I use the overturned plate to do my cutting so I don’t dirty more dishes.

Heat the oven to 325.

Then, mix together the soy sauce, wine, sambal oelek and sesame oil, if using.

Rinse and dry the sheet pan, and then coat it with canola oil. Place the slices of tofu on the sheet pan in a single layer. Brush on about half of the soy sauce mixture, and let sit for 5 minutes so the tofu absorbs most of the flavorful liquid, Turn over the slices carefully, and brush the remaining sauce on the other side. Let it absorb into the tofu for another 5 minutes. It’s OK if not all the liquid absorbs.

I usually spray with a little more oil because I’m paranoid it’ll stick.

Bake the tofu for 15 minutes, take out of the oven, and *carefully* flip over the slices. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until nice and browned and the liquid absorbed. Let cool slightly, and enjoy!