Crispy Salty Roasted Baby Artichokes

I confess that as much as I love to eat artichokes, I've never really been entirely convinced that they're worth the fussy prep. I love to cook, but I'm admittedly kind of lazy in the kitchen, usually going for the easiest (but still from-scratch) option.

But the sudden burst of spring weather and produce has gotten me excited to play around with veggies I typically ignore.

Quite literally, actually. This is what happened when I was putting away groceries the other day...

Totally normal day around here.

When I finished making food art, I decided to tackle those adorable baby artichokes first, peeling and roasting them until crispy with a simple dressing of fresh lemon juice (lots of it!), olive oil (the good stuff!), salt, and chili flakes.

Roasted at high heat until super crisp, then served with a lemony mayo for dipping, they're a super snacky treat to enjoy this Spring. Crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Absolutely perfect!

And for those of you who, like me, are loathe to tackle artichokes, you'll be pleased to know that the babies are a tiny bit less fussy. Simply peel off the outer leaves, cut through the ends (one quick swipe with the knife is enough), and then shave the stem down a bit.

No need to scrape out the fuzz, and the majority of the leaves are already tender enough that you can tackle the whole pile in about 5 or so minutes.

As I snacked my way through this salty, crunchy, spicy, tangy plate I was like, "yeah, OK. They're worth it."

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Loved this recipe? Here are three other vegetable recipes you might like:

• Raw Zucchini Noodles with Lemon & Parmesan
• Spiced Roasted Carrots with Ras el Hanout
• Kale Salad with Dates & Hazelnuts

And let's connect so you can find out the next time I post! Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates.

Thanks so much for reading

Crispy Salty Roasted Baby Artichokes 
Serves 2-4 as an appetizer

Ingredients
8 baby artichokes
Extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
Kosher salt
Red pepper flakes

For dip
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Remove outer leaves of artichokes and use a knife to trim off the sharp ends. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the stems. Cut legnthwise in half and place in a bowl.

Toss prepared artichokes with a generous amound of olive oil, the juice of one whole lemon, and season with kosher salt and red pepper, to taste.

Place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast 20 minutes, or until crispy and slightly charred.

Whisk together dip ingredients and serve along with hot artichokes.

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Springtime Prop Shopping

While cleaning my dresser a few weeks ago, I came across an unused Pier 1 giftcard that I'd gotten as a gift last year. I tucked it in my wallet, and when I spotted a Pier 1 Imports located near Hudson's vet's office, I asked Eugene if we could stop there for a bit and do some shopping.

I don't really shop for props as often as I should (or rather, would), because I just don't have the room to store things. In my dream world, I would have a whole room just filled with interesting dishes and glasses and linens to use in food photos and when entertaining.

But this is New York City, and we don't have any rooms to spare.

On this trip, I found some gorgeous linens at 20% off. I bought 4 placemats, three of which are reversible, and will give me more options for backgrounds.

I also found some pretty napkins. I love the green and turquoise striped ones. You can tell, but they also have contrasting piping on the edges, which will be fun.

The cream one with black handwriting is a Thanksgiving napkin, which was on sale for a dollar.

I think these blue bowls will be gorgeous with soup in them--I'm picturing a bright green pea or asparagus soup, or maybe even a perfectly white cream of chicken with a bright green garnish.

I got a lovely rustic looking cream dish and this bright green dessert plate that I think will be perfect for spring recipes.

I also got this heavy woven placemat, because I love the rich stripes of colors. I think that one will work well with Latin dishes like tacos or grilled fish.

I usually stay away from square plates (I don't like how they photograph), but I loved that this one had a round center and dark rims. This will work for Asian-inspired recipes and salads.

I'm totally inspired to get in the kitchen now. Keep an eye out for these plates in upcoming posts!

Note: This post is NOT sponsored by Pier 1. I just love their dishes.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading! 
 

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Inspired Entertaining: A Stylish St. Patrick's Day Brunch

I don't know about you, but the typical green beer + pub crawl + shamrocks on everything style of celebrating St. Patrick's Day has never really been my thing.

But I LOVE Irish food--and any excuse for a party--so this year I decided to give St. Paddy's a bit of an Alejandra-style makeover with a little help from the folks at Kerrygold and Teleflora.

On Saturday afternoon, I invited a few good friends over for a stylish St. Patrick's Day brunch at home and photographed the day to share with you. Below is a collection of party inspiration, St. Patrick's Day recipes, and entertaining ideas for you to use when planning your own event!

How it works

• Scroll down to view the photos and click through to check out the individual recipes (a couple are yet to be posted, but they'll be up shortly). 
• If you click on any photo, you should be able to view them all "slideshow" style. 

This is part of a new editorial series here on Always Order Dessert, and I have several more like this in the works. Please let me know below if you enjoy it!

My Inspiration Board

Dress: Old Navy, Necklace: C. Wonder, Flatware: West Elm, Flowers: Teleflora, Dog sweater: Casual Canine

 


The Menu:

The idea for my St. Patrick's Day menu was all about modern twists on classic Irish recipes. My guests arrived to find a spread of sliced sharp Irish cheese, sweet Kerrygold pastured butter, and two kinds of homemade soda bread:

• White Caraway Irish Soda Bread Muffins and 
• Brown Bran Irish Soda Bread.

I offered two signature St. Patrick's Day cocktails for the event:

• Black Velvet (equal parts Guinness and prosecco), and a 
• Green Whiskey Smash, which is my own invention based on a 19th century bar punch.

The latter is a refreshing muddled cocktail with fresh mint, cucumber, and limeade, which can be served on the rocks or in a large punch bowl for your guests to help themselves. It's a great, natural way to serve up a little green.

Colcannon--mashed potatoes with cream, butter and vegetables like kale or cabbage--is one of my favorite Irish dishes, and though typically served during Irish Halloween celebrations, I decided to use it to create a fun appetizer for my brunch. I fried little crisp colcannon cakes that I served topped with a dollop of yogurt and salty smoked salmon.

The main course for the day was a twist on the classic Irish Shepherd's Pie--Stuffed Shepherd's Pie Potatoes! I hollowed out baked potatoes and filled them with a savory ground lamb and veggie filling. I topped this off with buttery mashed potatoes and a sprinkle of grated cheese, then popped it under the broiler.

To balance out the heartiness of the dish, I served a simple arugula salad with a Mustard Vinaigrette dressing.

Recipes:

• Colcannon Cakes with Smoked Salmon
• Shepherd's Pie Stuffed Potatoes
• Mustard Vinaigrette

It should come as no surprise that I was most excited about dessert. I served two treats--the first a twist on my signature Italian Rainbow Cookies, which I appropriately called Irish Rainbow Cookies! 

Moist green rainbow almond cake layers with lemony apricot jam and dark chocolate on top. Sort of an extreme use of food coloring, but I think perfectly appropriate for the occasion!

Recipe: 

• Irish Rainbow Cookies

The second dessert is a version of my favorite no-bake pots de creme. I made these with dark chocolate and Guinness, and served them in little white espresso cups--a perfect sweet bite to end a rich meal!

Recipe:

• Dark Chocolate Guinness Pots de Creme

St. Patrick's Day Decor
I kept the decorations simple with an elegant Irish color palate of kelly green, gold, and white.

Flowers are my favorite way to dress up a table, so I contacted the folks at Teleflora.com who sent over two of their best St. Patrick's Day themed floral arrangements--the Luck o' the Irish (pictured in the intro photo) and the St. Patrick's Day-zies, pictured below.

I love the way daisies make it suddenly feel sunny and Spring-like (even when it's 20 degrees and snowing outside!).

I asked my guests to come wearing green, and we even got Hudson in on the action with his own little matching sweater. After dessert, we sat around sipping our cocktails and playing a hysterical round of Celebrity, my favorite parlor game.

Floral arrangements courtesy of Teleflora.com. Kerrygold provided coupons for free Kerrygold butter and cheese samples. All opinions, recipes, and ideas are (of course!) my own.

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Love Always Order Dessert? Let's connect! Follow me on Twitter or Pinterest, become a fan on Facebook, or sign up to receive my once-a-week e-mail updates. And if you ever need any entertaining or cooking advice, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. Thanks for reading!

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Chilled Fresh Pea Soup with Crab & Guacamole Salad

I've never really been a huge fan of chilled soups. I can't stand gazpacho, which always surprises people for some reason (it always just tastes like salsa to me!), and I prefer my vichyssoise hot.

Which is why it was weird that I ordered a chilled pea soup as my starter at dinner at the North Fork Table & Inn last week.

I had read a lot of amazing things about North Fork Table & Inn, and when Eugene arranged a little last-minute escape to the North Fork for the 4th of July, it was at the top of my list of places I wanted to try. We went there for dinner on Monday night, and it was my favorite meal the entire trip.  We chose the pre-fixe three-course menu (it's either that or a tasting menu, but I preferred the options on the pre-fixe menu). For some reason, the soup jumped out at me, and I ordered it, hoping that I wouldn't regret my decision.

I didn't. It was incredible.

The soup was ice cold and sweet, and a gorgeous shade of green that I want to paint on my walls, but it was really the garnishes in the center that made it for me. Oh man do I love garnishes!

Jumbo lump crab and diced avocados with sliced radishes floating in that silky, spring-like broth. The only thing wrong with it is that they were pretty skimpy with the garnishes.

So, as I'm wont to do, I got home and remade the soup, tripling the garnishes and piling them into a delicious little heap of crab salad set in the center of a delicately flavored soup--perfect for this ridiculous hot weather we've been having.

I should note that the soup can be a bit fussy to make. It's not hard at all--ridiculously easy, actually--but there are a few steps. It cooks up quickly, but then you have to puree and strain and then chill over an ice bath. And then when you serve a bowl to your husband, he's going to eat it in about 4 minutes flat, and you're going to be all like "WHAT THE HECK!?! THAT TOOK ME ALL MORNING!"

OK, maybe that's just me.

But seriously, if you're organized though, it'll go quickly and the results will be super worth it. The leftovers keep well for a few days, so make a large batch and keep it in the fridge for a quick lunch over the next few days.

This is also SO great for a dinner party because then you can do the fancy restaurant thing where you serve the guest the bowl with the garnish in the center and then dramatically pour the soup in around it.

So fancy!  They'll LOVE it!

And yes, the crab and avocado salad is awesome on its own, too. And it's ready in, like, 3 minutes so... do as you please.

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Chilled Fresh Pea Soup with Crab & Guacamole Salad Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients
Extra virgin olive oil
3 leeks, tough green parts removed, rinsed well, and tender white and green parts thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 celery ribs, sliced
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (homemade if you've got it!)
4 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 pound sugar snap peas
Juice of 1 large lemon
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely minced
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound pasteurized crab meat (use jumbo lump if you're feeling fancy or regular claw meat for a more affordable option
2 ripe avocados

Directions
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil and add the leeks, garlic, and celery ribs. Saute until tender but not colored, about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth and let simmer 15 minutes until all vegetables are very tender.

While the vegetables simmer, prepare an ice bath by placing a large bowl in a roasting pan and filling the pan with ice and water.

Add the peas and sugar snaps to the soup, and let simmer 3-5 minutes until tender, but still bright green. Immediately remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and puree using an immersion blender or in batches in a blender. Pour the soup through a mesh strainer into the ice bath and stir to chill. Transfer the soup in batches to the ice bath and stir to chill. Stir in the heavy cream. Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper as desired (remember that the savory crab salad will add a lot of flavor so you may prefer to keep the soup a little on the blander side).

Can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance (store in an air-tight container in the fridge and stir before serving.)

Prepare the crab salad just before serving:

Whisk together the cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and kosher salt. Gently toss with the crab meat. Dice the avocado and delicately fold into the crab salad.

To serve: divide the crab salad and pile into the center of a shallow bowl. Pour the soup around the salad and serve. (You can also serve the soup in a small container along with the plate and let each guest pour it for himself at the table.)

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