What's your all-time favorite meal?

[NMAmy]

How the heck do you eat it?

Hey, Cantw8, kids LOVE to eat artichokes because you really get to play with your food. You peel each leaf off, dip the end of it in butter and lemon (SOME people in my family use aioli, but I'm a purist!) and scrape off the "meat" with your teeth. Once you get all the leaves off, you remove the choke, cut up the heart, and eat it.

Every time I buy them at the grocery store, the clerk will always ask me how to cook them.

 

[NMAmy]

My mom's homemade chicken enchiladas with her spanish rice and beans


...and SUSHI. omg. I could eat that for every meal. I love, love, love sushi!

Actually green chile chicken enchiladas are a real close runner up for me. I made some last weekend and the family wolfed them down. They take so long to make though--I always prefer it when someone else makes them FOR me.

And, I'm sorry, darlin', but sushi-- NOT my cup of tea.

 

[Maleficent13]

Hey, Cantw8, kids LOVE to eat artichokes because you really get to play with your food. You peel each leaf off, dip the end of it in butter and lemon (SOME people in my family use aioli, but I'm a purist!) and scrape off the "meat" with your teeth. Once you get all the leaves off, you remove the choke, cut up the heart, and eat it.

The description just makes it more !!

 

[NMAmy]

The description just makes it more !!

I know--I tried to think of a different way to say "cutting up the heart" but nothing else seemed to fit. It sounds a little Soprano-ish, doesn't it?

 

[Maleficent13]

Actually, it was more the "scraping the meat off with your teeth" that sent goosebumps down my spine...

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Hey, Cantw8, kids LOVE to eat artichokes because you really get to play with your food. You peel each leaf off, dip the end of it in butter and lemon (SOME people in my family use aioli, but I'm a purist!) and scrape off the "meat" with your teeth. Once you get all the leaves off, you remove the choke, cut up the heart, and eat it.

Every time I buy them at the grocery store, the clerk will always ask me how to cook them.

OK this was NO HELP!
So do you roast them in the oven plain or what?
My family would think I went off the deep end if I made this.

 

[NMAmy]

Actually, it was more the "scraping the meat off with your teeth" that sent goosebumps down my spine...

Okay, now I'm thinking of that book Alive--you know the soccer players in the crashed plane in the Andes?

Just to set the record straight--artichokes are nothing like soccer players or Sopranos, they're a vegetable.

 

[NMAmy]

OK this was NO HELP!
So do you roast them in the oven plain or what?
My family would think I went off the deep end if I made this.

I'm sorry, MM. You trim the stem off the artichoke until it's even with the leaves. Then I use kitchen scissors to cut off the pointy ends of the leaves. Fill a pot about halfway with water, throw the artichokes in along with a lemon cut in half, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover, cook for about an hour until a fork inserted in the bottom of the artichoke pierces it easily.

My family doesn't think it's weird because I've made this forever. My mom always made weird foods when we were kids. DD and I had this discussion the other day--this is a kid who is a very picky eater but she'll eat the weird stuff. She won't eat spaghetti or french fries but artichokes and stuffed grape leaves are two of her favorite foods. Her friends come over and have no idea what this stuff is but dd thinks it's normal, everyday eatin'. "You've NEVER had an artichoke?" she'll ask in disbelief.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well thank you for the info NHAmy...that sounds easy! I will have to give it a go for me for lunch one day.

 

[BuzzBoyMom]

mmmmm- my two favorite foods - artichokes AND chocolate...two ends of the spectrum, but yummy!!!!

but I can't say I can make a meal out of artichokes. For me - it is linguine with white clam sauce.

just might make some this weekend....

 

[Maleficent13]

What do you stuff the grape leaves with? I like stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers; is it similiar?

 

[NMAmy]

What do you stuff the grape leaves with? I like stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers; is it similiar?

Sort of--you use ground lamb (I know--but I've tried it with hamburger and it's not the same ) and rice and my dad always made them with a tomato sauce. He had a friend in college whose mother was Lebanese. She taught my dad how to make them. Most restaurants don't serve them in a tomato sauce but that's my preference. I will, however, enjoy them without the sauce if I don't have to make them my ownself which involves about 45 minutes of rolling grape leaves.

 

[SandraVB79]

My mom's meat loaf with tomato sauce and green beans

My grandmother's crepes

In the US: clam chowder and Krispy Kremes. (I know, some combination he!)

 

[Maleficent13]

Well, my grandpa used ground veal in his stuffed cabbage, which isn't any worse than lamb, I guess. I'm not too keen about either one, but sometimes I respect tradition.

 

[Cantw8]

Hey, Cantw8, kids LOVE to eat artichokes because you really get to play with your food. You peel each leaf off, dip the end of it in butter and lemon (SOME people in my family use aioli, but I'm a purist!) and scrape off the "meat" with your teeth. Once you get all the leaves off, you remove the choke, cut up the heart, and eat it.

Every time I buy them at the grocery store, the clerk will always ask me how to cook them.

Are ya kidding??? Who would have even thought to do that?? Good for you, have at it

 

[liamsaunt]

My all-time favorite meal is "antipasto." Well, that's what we call it, anyway. Me, my Mom, and my sister all cook it, and put out a huge feast, including, but not always limited to:

A plate of assorted salumi, a plate of italian cheeses, a big arugula salad with walnuts, parmesean, olive oil, and lemon; shrimp poached in garlic and lemon; arancini (risotto rice wrapped around cubes of fresh mozzarella cheese, breaded and fried); roasted onions; roasted artichokes; two or three kinds of fritatta; a white bean salad; roasted peppers and zucchini; hot and sweet italian sausages, sliced and served in choice of an olive oil or a marinara sauce: assorted bruschetta (but always one topped with tomato-basil-mozzarella); different kinds of olives, chianti...I am sure I am forgetting something.

Then everybody comes and eats! It's really good, and the leftovers keep well also.

 

[smilie]

My MIL's spareribs and mashed potatoes. She makes the most amazing sauce.