Jerusalem Artichokes and Potato au Gratin

Our last CSA shipment included Jerusalem Artichokes (aka sunchokes). Well, I had never heard of these, so I searched and searched on the Internet to find a way to cook them. This was one of the recipes I found (amazingly NOT from allrecipes.com) and it actually turned out really well. The picture doesn't do it justice (since you just see the top crust). My husband LOVED it!

Original recipe, here.

Ingredients:

• 6 Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
  
• 2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• Salt
  
• Black pepper
• Cayenne
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup dried fine bread crumbs (I used a cup of crushed Ritz crackers)
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Essence seasoning, recipe follows

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes in a mixing bowl and season with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and toss to coat.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish. Put half of the artichoke-potato mixture in the bottom of the pan, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the chopped onions, 1 teaspoon of the chopped garlic, and 1/4 cup of the cheese and the flour. Top this with the remaining artichoke-potato mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup onions, 1 teaspoon garlic, and 1/2 cup cheese. Pour the milk over the mixture.
4. In a bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil with the bread crumbs, parsley and season with Essence. Spread this topping evenly over the mixture. Bake for 1 hour, or until the potatoes are tender.

Essence: (Emeril's Creole Seasoning)

• 2 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp dried leaf oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme

Combine and store in an airtight container.

For those of you who aren't familiar, this is a picture of a sunchoke. They are a PAIN to peel and cut and look a lot like a little Alien plant to me. Although, once peeled and chopped, they remind me of a potato or turnip.

Ratatouille

I've been wanting to try this dish ever since we got eggplant last fall. Unfortunately, last fall we JUST had the eggplant and nothing else. But today my kitchen was full of all the right vegetables and so I gave it a try. Wow, this was a delicious and flavorful blend of vegetables and was pretty quick to make! I ate WAY too much!

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 45 min
Ready In: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley (I used a few bunches of fresh parsley and fresh oregano)
  
• 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used mozzarella instead, since that is what I had on hand)
  
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• 1 squash, sliced
  
• 1 large onion, sliced into rings
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped (I think if I had sliced them, it would have been "prettier" - I'll probably try that next time)
• 1 cup rice
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute for about 5 minutes, then add zucchini and squash. Saute for approximately 5 minutes more, or until eggplant is soft. Season with salt to taste.
3. Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of cheese. Spread zucchini/squash in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 60 minutes.
5. Prepare rice according to package instructions. Serve with rice.

Serves: 4

Soft Giant Pretzels

Oh man, these take me back to when I was 15 and worked at Pretzelmaker. I LOVED those pretzels. Mmmmm... Anyway, tonight my husband said he REALLY wanted a soft pretzel so I thought, "I bet I could make one!" and ran upstairs to my good friend, allrecipes.com. Sure enough, it didn't disappoint and I had all of the ingredients on hand! Unfortunately, my quick pretzel flipping and folding skills are lacking. I'll have to work on that. But they sure tasted good and were super easy!

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 30 min
Ready In: 30 min

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 quarts water
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• butter/course salt/cinnamon/sugar/whatever you want on your pretzel
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
   
2. (The original recipe says to use a bread mixture, but I don't have one, so I improvised.) Mix yeast, water, and sugar together to dissolve. Add flour and knead until well mixed. Cover and place on warming oven for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, grease cookie sheet.
   
3. Divide dough into eight balls and roll into rope on a lightly floured surface. Form pretzel shape or cut into bite-sized pieces.
   
4. In a shallow saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels into boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Remove with a slotted spatula and drain on paper towels.
5. Transfer pretzels to the greased baking sheet and bake in preheated over for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Lightly brush with butter and sprinkle on course salt or cinnamon/sugar mixture.
   

Serves: 8

"Mom's" Cucumber Salad

So, this isn't MY Mom's Cucumber Salad, but apparently it is SOMEONE'S Mom's Cucumber Salad, since that is the name. We had a ton of cucumber left from our last veggie box AND we are going to get more tomorrow, so I knew I needed to use it up. I had all of the ingredients on hand for this, so I decided to give it a try. I actually liked it quite a bit. I LOVE cucumbers! (Sorry this picture isn't the best...just ignore the large pork chop!)

Original recipe, here.

Prep Time: 15 min
Ready In: 35 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise (I used Miracle Whip and it was fine - and I used a little bit less than a cup)
  
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 4 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 4 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced

Directions:

1. Salt cucumber slices and put in a strainer for about 20 minutes to help bring out some of the water.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, dill, and seasoned salt. Mix in the cucumber slices, tossing to coat.

Serves: 8

Classy Chicken

Original recipe, here.

I have a plethora of zucchini and don't cook with meat nearly enough, so I wanted to find a recipe that used both. Plus, it has sour cream and I LOVE sour cream! This was SO tasty! I can't wait to eat the leftovers!

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 25 min
Ready In: 35 min

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 zucchini cut in half lengthwise, then sliced diagonally
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dill weed
• 1/3 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
   
2. Place the flour into a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and then dredge in flour. Shake off excess. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breasts on each side, about 3 minutes per side.
3. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet and scrape any chicken residue from the pan for flavor. Stir in the mustard. Cover, and cook for a few minutes until chicken is 'springy', but not cooked through. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, green pepper, and carrot, then season with garlic and dill weed. Cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Remove the chicken to a platter, and remove the pan from the heat. Stir sour cream into the pan liquid. If most of the liquid has evaporated, stir in a bit more broth first. Season with salt to taste, and serve chicken with sauce poured over it.

Serves: 4

I thoroughly LOVE cooking with FRESH ingredients!