Fresh Artichokes with Shrimp Stuffing

I was just Skype type-chatting with my sweet husband, who is in Houston.  I said, “Where are you sleeping?” because he is there on business and, even in Houston, that usually means some hotel or another because of meetings first thing in the morning at said hotel.  His response, “I slept in our bed last night,” made tears jump into my eyes.  He was in our home in Houston.  And suddenly I was more homesick than I can express.  And then he told me he spent two hours last night visiting with my mother and he’ll spend tonight with his mom.   Oh, man.

Do you ever have moments like that?  Where you just WANT TO GO HOME?  You know, it doesn’t matter that where I live IS home and I wouldn’t want it any other way, but sometimes it just comes over me that I want to go home, home. 

 The most vivid memory of when this happened to me was when I was pregnant with younger daughter.  We had a beautiful house just outside of Paris and Spring was springing (She was due in July.) and all should have been well with my world.  But all I could think about was going home.  With a capital H.  I wanted my mother and my sisters and family and Houston.  At that point, we didn’t have a house in Houston to call our own.  It was definitely the people.  I think it still is.

I tried to express my feelings back then, and choked up.  Tears welled in my eyes.  I figured it was hormones but there was no denying the desire for my mom and Houston.  My dear husband, bless him, said, “Go.”  I booked the tickets for me and elder daughter, then two years old, faster than you can blink.  I don’t even remember how long we stayed, 1 week, 10 days, two weeks?  But it was enough.  I returned to Paris, sated.  Ready for the rest of my pregnancy and delightedly waiting for our new little one.  I also rested comfortably in the knowledge that my mother was coming out to visit two weeks after the baby was expected.  An impending visit always helps.

Meanwhile, I have been cooking up a storm in preparation for my trip to visit our daughters during their university spring break.  I can’t leave dear husband without meals!  So far, I have in the freezer: 

Tomato borlotti beans with smoked pork chop/rice – 2

Linguine with Bolognaise Sauce– 2

Salmon with spicy couscous – 3

Spicy Thai Pork Meatballs with egg noodles – 2

 Penne with shrimp and blue cheese - 3

Eggplant Parmigiana – 2

Greens and Pea Manicotti – 2

Lasagna – 3

Shrimp curry with rice - 3

Artichokes with shrimp stuffing – 3 (not a full dinner each since they are small but tasty)

I have had so many things on the stove or the cutting board at once that I didn’t even attempt to record the process, except for the last item.  Artichokes are in season here and I cannot resist.  We are talking LE1.25 the last time I was in Carrefour which is about 20 US cents per artichoke!  They are practically paying me to take them home, people!  

So, shrimp stuffed artichokes.  Hold on to your butter dish!  These are tasty!

Ingredients

4 fresh artichokes

2 3/4 oz or 80g butter

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion

16 large shrimp, peeled and cleaned

5 slices of sandwich bread

3 1/2 oz or 100g feta cheese

Small handful flat leaf parsley

1 lemon

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Cayenne (optional)

1 egg

Method

Cut the stem and the top couple of inches off of the artichoke.  Rub the cut ends with half of the lemon to keep them from turning brown.

Trim the pointy ends of the lower leaves with a pair of scissors and rub with the lemon.

Steam the artichokes, stem end up for about 30 minutes or until fork tender.

Meanwhile, chop your onion and garlic and then sauté them in half the butter with a generous drizzle of olive oil to keep the butter from burning.

When the artichokes are done, remove them the heat and leave them to cool slightly.  When they have cooled enough to handle, gently separate the leaves and use a small spoon to scoop out the fuzzy, inedible choke.  

Chop your shrimp into small pieces.   Salt and pepper liberally.  Add some cayenne if you like things spicy. 

As your onions and garlic get soft, slice your bread into small cubes.  Add in the other half of the butter to the pan.

Chop your parsley, separating the stems from the leaves.   Add the chopped stems to the onions and garlic.  Give the pan a quick stir and then tip in the chopped shrimp.

Cook for just four to five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the cubed bread and use two wooden spoons to gently toss the bread in the olive oil, garlic and butter.

Put the mixture into a mixing bowl so it can cool slightly and preheat your oven to 350F° or 180°C.

Meanwhile, use a fork to crumble your feta. (This feta came from my new Bible study friend, Natalia’s husband’s company.  They make all kinds of wonderful cheeses including Brie, Camembert and a lovely goat cheese, all of which we love.  If you live nearby and want to order, check out their website http://specialtycheeses.com/  It’s a family run business owned by lovely people who make great cheese.)  

Add the feta into the mixing bowl.  Add in the egg and cayenne, if using.

Juice your remaining lemon half and add about half of the juice to the stuffing.  Add in the chopped parsley leaves and give the whole thing a good stir.

Using a spoon, fill the artichokes.   Put them into a baking pan and liberally drizzle all the artichokes with olive oil.  Make sure to get some in the outer leaves as well as over the stuffing.

Bake for 30 minutes or until lovely and golden.  Drizzle the remaining lemon juice into the outer leaves. 

This is delicious AND fun to eat.

Enjoy!

Their Daddy's Crêpes

A classic recipe for crepes that can be eaten with sweet additions for breakfast or savory fillings for dinner.

So many stories does this recipe bring to mind, it’s hard to choose just one.  But I guess the one I most want to tell is an ode to the best husband/father. When our girls were tiny, not yet school age, mealtimes were my time with them. They ate breakfast after their daddy went to work most days since he left so early. He ate lunch at work and I served their dinner promptly at 6 p.m.  He was hardly ever home at 6 p.m.  He arrived in time for baths and bedtime stories then we ate our dinner after they were tucked in bed. Couple time. 

Now some people are morning people. And some are not. Many mornings my baby, now 18, fell into the not category. When I had all the time in the world, this was never an issue. Our mornings were mostly lovely and relaxed and enjoyable. But when she started nursery school, breakfast became a daily struggle. Now this was a most loving and adorable child. (Still is!) And I have the photos to prove it.  

But I disliked starting out every day with stress. And this was when my hero stepped in. Their daddy took over breakfast duty and has been in charge weekday mornings ever since. He would wake our girls up, take their breakfast orders and make the meal. He would sit and chat with them as they ate.  Most special of all, before all of that, he had delivered a cup of coffee to me in bed. Call me blessed, go ahead. It’s true.

I came down, showered and dressed, just as breakfast was finishing, ready to take on the next step of school preparedness: getting the girls dressed, teeth brushed, snacks packed, bags ready and then, the walk or drive to school. It changed my life and, I don’t doubt, all of theirs. Who doesn’t want to spend time every day with their daddy?

One of the favorites their daddy made them all the time was crêpes.  Taken straight out of Gourmet’s Best Desserts.

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup or 60g all purpose flour

1⁄2 cup or 120ml water

1⁄4 cup or 60ml milk

2 large eggs

1 1⁄2 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled

1⁄2 teaspoon sugar

Pinch of salt

Method

Blend all ingredients in a blender or a rreeirrr which is what we call a hand blender in our house, because we didn't know its real name at first and because that’s the noise it makes.  Scrape down the sides and blend some more.  Let batter rest for a while in the refrigerator until ready to use.

This was a double recipe!

Heat a non-stick skillet on the stove.  Pour in just enough batter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.

Tilt the pan all around until the batter covers the bottom.

Jiggle the pan gently until you feel the crêpe begin to unstick.  

Flip with a spatula and cook briefly on the other side.  Slide the crêpe off onto a plate.

Just to give you an idea of how big my pan is in centimeters. So that's just under eight 
inches across for the pan and about six inches across for the crêpes.  

Serve a nice stack (This recipe will make about eight or nine crêpes.) with lime or lemon juice, sugar to sprinkle and Hershey’s chocolate syrup. At our house, the girls and their sleepover guests put all three on every crêpe.

But the reason I have shared this recipe with you today, is because it can also be used in savory dishes. And it is an integral part of Greens and Pea Manicotti, my next post.  

Also, I just wanted to tell you how great my husband is. True story. 

With his Rushton's Pub pint.

Cheers!