Before you try this one at home make sure you have gloves and lemon on hand. Rubbing the artichoke with lemon while you’re breaking it down will stop it from turning black.

I started by chopping the top third off of the artichoke, trimming the sharp ends off the outside leaves, and cut the bottom so it would sit flat. I boiled the artichoke in a mixture of water, lemon juice, salt, garlic and flour. Once it was tender I pulled the inside out and set both parts aside for later.

Then I blanched some yams and carrots before sauteeing them with butter and garlic. I set them aside while I sauteed rainbow chard with caramelized onions,  garlic and crushed red pepper until the chard was bright green and tender. I pureed the chard, onions, yams, carrots and artichoke insides with fresh lemon slices, cumin and salt while slowly adding chicken stock until it was a smooth creamy consistency.

I served the pureed artichoke soup hot in the artichoke “bowl” with a caramelized onion and herb garnish and toasted garlic bread. It was a mild savory but bright smooth vegetable soup.

This risotto is a simple dish with a little Wisconsiney twist. I sauteed some fennel, veal sausage (which I wish was from Willy Ruef’s Meat Market) onion, and garlic with arborio rice and olive oil until the rice was just slightly golden. I simmered it for about 20 minutes while slowly adding a little chicken stock at a time until it was the perfect texture.  Before I started the risotto I cubed some butternut squash, drizzled it with olive oil, and sprinkled it with some smoked sea salt and pepper. I roasted it at 500 flipping the pieces once midway. I served the risotto with the squash right on top. It was a great quick easy meal and a nice alternative to veal sausage and sauerkraut!

This evening I enjoyed some angel hair pasta with a creamy cajun capocollo sauce.

The base of the sauce is onion, capocollo, olive oil, dried garlic, black pepper, a pinch of cumin, and a few shakes of crushed red pepper.

After simmering for about 5 minutes I added finely chopped kale, a sliver of butter, and chicken stock. I let this simmer for about 10 minutes until the stock seemed nearly evaporated. Then I added a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and let it continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. After this I added more chicken stock, cajun seasoning, rosemary, and a teaspoon of sour cream. I brought it to a simmer and then added al dente angel hair pasta. After a minute more of cooking with the pasta it was done! It was a nice creamy tomato sauce with a little kick.

Wow, I cannot believe how much time has gone by between this post and my last. I signed a lease for a new apartment a couple days ago, and  hope to be cooking much more frequently soon! I whipped up this sauce today using just a few ingredients. Unfortunately I did not make the tortelloni from scratch, but I did find some pretty tasty ricotta and spinach tortelloni on sale at the grocery store. I have been cooking with smoked sea salt lately as well. It adds a bit of heartiness without adding too many calories (a good substitute for bacon, or liquid smoke).

I chopped about a cup of butternut squash into 1″cubes, and peeled a few cloves of garlic, then threw them into a pot of boiling water with about a teaspoon of the smoked sea salt. After about 8 minutes I added a cup of fresh spinach, and a 1/2 cup of fresh basil. I let this continue to boil for about three minutes.

I drained these cooked ingredients well and then blended them with a 1/2 cup of milk (I used non fat, but anything from non fat, to heavy cream would be just fine).

While I was doing this I had another pot of boiling water ready for the tortelloni. I cooked them for about 10 minutes and then drizzled olive oil and a few shakes of crushed red pepper on them just after they were drained.

Then I poured the sauce (which was still fairly hot, but feel free to heat it if you prefer) into a pasta bowl and poured the tortelloni in the middle. I sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top and garnished it with a sprig of fresh basil.

The sauce was creamy with a very fresh flavor from the basil and spinach. The tortelloni had just a hint of spice to them from the crushed red pepper. It was a nice pairing, but this sauce would be great on anything from pasta, to chicken, to bread. Add a little chicken stock and you could probably make yourself a nice soup!