More on artichokes!

How is the artichoke prepping / cooking / eating going?!

I also wanted to mention a few ideas for cooking with artichokes already prepared.  If you can find canned artichokes packed in water, these are ideal for having on hand to quickly add to dishes.  If you can only find canned artichokes that are marinated in oil, then please grab a package of frozen artichoke hearts instead.  These are much more healthy!

Artichoke hearts are a great addition to pizza.  Simply drain them (defrost first if using frozen), squeeze the extra moisture out of them by placing them inside a dish towel and squeezing the water out.  Then give them a quick chop and add to the top of pizza.  Complimentary toppings to this would be: roasted red peppers, sauteed onions (yellow or red), roasted garlic (see below for tutorial), and chicken.

One of our favorite household Friday night meal is pizza. I make my crust from scratch (see below for tutorial), then pile on the toppings and bake!  My favorite combination lately is: a thin layer of pesto (instead of red sauce), mozzarella or monterey jack cheese or a combination of both topped with artichokes, cooked sliced or shredded chicken and roasted garlic.  MMMMMMM!  Give it a try this weekend; you'll save a few bucks and some calories by making it yourself and the options for pizza toppings are endless!

Roasted Garlic:


Cut a piece of foil large enough to create a little pouch that can fit 1 or 2 heads of garlic.


Take 1 or 2 garlic bulbs and slice the top off so the tops of most of the pieces are showing.  Sit the bulbs on the foil, right in the middle.  Slowly pour olive oil on top of each bulb, allowing it to drain into the garlic.  Once it starts dripping down the sides you have enough.  Add a sprinkling of salt and pepper to the top of each bulb.  Now wrap your foil around the bulbs, leaving some room at the top for air circulation.  Fold in the sides as well.  You want the garlic to be tight inside with no air escaping, but with some room inside for the garlic to roast.  Place your packet inside of a preheated 400 degree oven, for about 30 - 45 minutes.  The garlic is ready when it is nice and soft and you can "squeeze" it out of the skin.

Pizza Crust:


This is my favorite pizza crust recipe.  


http://goodcheapeats.com/2009/07/basic-homemade-pizza/

It makes a lot of dough, so I usually make twice as much pizza as we will eat and then refrigerate the leftovers for lunches for the next few days.  The dough also freezes well, if you pack it into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.  Put the plastic wrap covered dough into a freezer bag and seal tightly to prevent freezer burn.  To use, simply defrost for about 24 hours in the fridge, then let it come to room temp (about 2 hours) before cooking.  
I also follow that recipe for baking and my pizza always turns out fabulous.  Good luck and let me know what fun pizza creations you come up with!