Tonight I made an interesting salad from the West with Martha’s Grilled Artichokes with Lemon-Oregano Mayonnaise on page 352.

I love artichokes but they’re a pain the butt to work with!  However, if you make them right, the effort is well worth it.  Actually, cooking artichokes isn’t that difficult, especially if you’re just boiling them until they’re tender.  My late grandmother used to bake artichokes with breading and they were so good!  So far I’ve never been to any Italian restaurant, no matter how upscale, that could make their baked and breaded artichokes nearly as good as she did.  I guess one day I’ll need to try it for myself and see how it goes.

The hardest part of working with an artichoke is prepping them for cooking, which is why I recommend that every home cook have a good pair of kitchen shears for jobs like this.  Shears are also good when you need to cut up a whole fish because it makes things like getting the sharp fins off pretty easy work.

This was a nice and mellow salad.  I can see how it comes out of the laid-back land of California.  I enjoyed the lemon-oregano mayonnaise dressing with the tender artichokes and the delicate, salty prosciutto.  The flavor profile was very interesting.  I would like to try this salad again with some toasted pine nuts just to give it a little more textural contrast.  Jeff really enjoyed this and said that this was the kind of thing he could never see himself eating before but now that he’s tried it he can’t wait to have it again!  I consider that the ultimate compliment to Martha’s unique recipe and my ability to do it justice.

Tonight I made one of my personal favorites from the Northeast with Martha’s Chicken Parmigiana from page 108.

Growing up in Brooklyn I was a “latchkey kid.”  My mother worked and went to school and I was on my own quite a bit.  This forced me to learn how to cook on my own when I was very young.  By the time I was 10 I had two specialties, macaroni and cheese and chicken parmigiana.  I enjoyed making chicken parmigiana so much that I kept making it well into adulthood.  After I got married, my husband got sick and tired of me cooking up my favorite dish so often and complained that I wasn’t a versatile cook.  I started watching cooking shows, especially Emeril Lagasse and before long I became quite the gourmet.  Eventually I even studied at the famous French Culinary Institute in Soho, NY.  Somewhere in the midst of all of this chicken parmigiana fell off the radar for me.  Maybe it reminded me too much of when I was young and very limited as a cook.

Martha’s recipe was very similar to the one I used to make.  Chicken parmigiana is straight-forward and so easy even a child can make it!  But it’s a very satisfying and comforting dish with the tender breaded chicken, melted mozzarella cheese and tangy marinara sauce.

It was a nostalgic pleasure for me to make one of my old-time favorites again.  I have a feeling I’ll be making it again in the near future now that Martha’s recipe reminded me of how much love it!

Today I kept it very basic with a nice All-American Caramelized Onion Dip from page 26.

A lot of people make onion dip by taking some powdered onion soup and mixing it with sour cream.  Sure it’s easy, but I’ve never been a fan of that kind of dip.  The flavor is flat without any nuance and it’s too salty!  Martha’s homemade dip is easy too, the only difference is that you need to caramelize your own onions.  After that you just whip it together with cream cheese and sour cream and you’re done.  For about 10 minutes more work you’ll get a much better dip that has the rich, sweet flavor of onions in every bite.  I think it’s worth it.

We ate these with some chips.  If you’re looking for a healthier alternative, try dipping raw veggies.  Of course dips are great for any party, but who needs the excuse of a party when it’s this simple to make this delicious caramelized onion dip just to snack on anytime?

Today I made Martha’s Tequila Grilled Shrimp from page 293 of the Southwest.  But in reality, I merely made Tequila Shrimp because I didn’t grill them.

Florida is known as The Sunshine State.  There are good reasons for that name, ’cause it sure is sunny here much of the time.  But during the summer months I have another nickname for Florida: The Sudden Thunderstorm State!  Now that doesn’t have as catchy a ring to it, but it’s accurate.  It’s hard to plan an outdoor dinner here because the skies can go from bright and sunshiny to dark and cloudy and then BOOM! in a matter of minutes.  And just like that you have torrential rain with the kind of thunder that actually shakes my little house and scares my little kitten (and little old me, if I’m being totally honest).  The sudden stormy weather put the kibosh on my grilling plans tonight.

Fortunately, this recipe translated just fine for an indoor dish.  First you marinate the shrimp in tequila, orange and lime juice.  This is similar to making ceviche, only you don’t keep it in the marinate for several hours, just 20 – 30 minutes.  The acidic marinate will leave the shrimp slightly opaque, so you need to cook them quickly because they’re already getting “cooked” just from sitting in the juices for a short amount of time.  I put them on a hot pan with olive oil for about 1 minute on each side.  Shrimp can overcook very easily, a good way to judge your shrimp is to watch for them to go into a C shape with a little space between both sides and then pull them.  Once the ends are touching and the shape looks more like and O they’re probably overdone and will be a little tough and chewy.

The flavor of these shrimp was something else!  You could really taste the tangy citrus and tequila flavors.  I did a homemade spicy lime and avocado dressing that was the perfect compliment to the shrimp.

This would be a fantastic appetizer to serve at a girls night in while you keep the margaritas flowing.  Martha’s tequila shrimp goes great with high spirited fun!

Tonight I did a simple treat from the South with Martha’s Hush Puppies from page 197.  This came as a great relief to Minnie and Trixie, as they were scared that I was making Hush Kitties so they went into hiding!

Since I’ve moved to Florida, I’ve learned a lot about Southern comfort food favorites and hush puppies are very popular here.  When I was living in New Jersey and working in New York, I don’t know if I ever ate at a diner that served hush puppies, but down here you see them everywhere food is served!  Now that I’ve tried them, I understand why they’re so loved here.  They’re just simple and tasty and go great with some hot sauce and cold beer.  I loved the crispy crust with the soft cornmeal inside.

I needed to add more cornmeal than the recipe called for because the batter was initially too thin.  A good tip when frying up batter is if you do the recipe just right and the batter breaks apart and turns to mush when it hits the frying pan you need to thicken it.  Recipes can be very helpful in giving us good ideas and guidelines for cooking. But even the greatest recipe in the world can’t know what moisture does in your kitchen.  If you live in a humid environment there’s a good chance you’ll need to add more flour and/or cornmeal to your batters.  If you live in a very arid climate, you’ll likely need to add more moisture with things like milk and water to batters.  I notice that a lot of famous chefs stress the importance of being able to follow a recipe exactly, but almost never caution their audience about the ability to think on your feet when the recipe is being sabotaged by the atmosphere!

These hush puppies were a good down-home Southern treat. And don’t worry no puppies (or kitties!) were harmed in the making of these hush puppies.

Tonight I made an All-American classic dinner with Martha’s Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes from page 29.

Now I know that meatloaf is the kind of thing that inspires groans in dining rooms all across America.  “Oh no!  Not meatloaf again!”  A huge factor of the popularity of meatloaf with moms is that it’s a very economical way to feed a large family.  But with a little creativity and a good recipe like this one, meatloaf doesn’t need to be boring!  Martha’s recipe called for ground pork and veal in addition to the beef because that’s widely acknowledged to produce the most tender meatloaf.  Well, that’s not quite as economical, is it?  As I’ve mentioned before, I need to cook on a tight food budget so I just used the ground beef and guess what?  It was fabulous!

One way this recipe differs from how I usually make meatloaf is that you grind up some vegetables and simply add them to the mix.  You also add things like dijon mustard and worcestershire sauce, and all of this brings so much flavor to your meatloaf! Topped off with a sweet glaze, this was a perfectly simple comfort food meal!

The creamy mashed potatoes are the perfect side dish.  This was what Jeff and I call a “no survivors” meal — meaning no leftovers!  That’s right, we just ate the whole thing up.  Whatever you make for dinner, if you make it with love and plenty of flavor, it doesn’t ever have to be boring.

Today I took on a Southern classic with Martha’s Peach and Berry Cobbler from page 212.

Here in Florida we’re only one state down from Georgia, so there are plenty of ripe and delicious peaches available at this time of year.  Martha’s recipe is open to any berry you’d like, so I chose blueberries, which are also at their sweetest and best right now.  The filling is incredibly simple to make!  You just cut up the peaches, toss them with the blueberries, some sugar, a little lemon juice, fresh ginger and cornstarch.  Then you make the biscuit for the topping by cutting cold butter into flour and adding some fresh cream with vanilla.  Put it in the oven for just about 1 hour and you’ve got the perfect summer dessert!

The biscuit is so light and fluffy and blends just right with the sweet and tangy peach and blueberry filling.  This goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.  I decided to make some whipped cream that I sprinkled with a dash of nutmeg — mmmmmm, so good!

This would be great to bring to a late-summer party.  Be sure to bring the recipe because everybody will want it!  Martha’s Peach and Berry Cobbler recipe is available on MarthaStewart.com so if your mouth is watering for this yummy dessert, get your hands on some ripe, juicy peaches and start cooking!

Sorry I missed Marthaing yesterday, but we were on the road most of the day and when I got home I was so exhausted from traveling I fell straight to sleep!  Today I decided to push myself by making some bread with Martha’s Parker House Rolls on page 123 of the Northeast.

Bread making is a specific art that can be difficult to get right.  Julia Child spent over three years studying bread making before she found the perfect formula for making a baguette at home.  Of course, like most arts there’s no “trick” to getting it right, you just have to practice.  So even though I’m always tense about tackling a bread recipe, I know that it helps me to push my culinary skills and that’s a good thing!

The dough for these Parker House rolls is similar to the dough you use to make cinnamon buns, only with less sugar.  It created a dense and buttery roll that I enjoyed as a dessert with a touch of honey. Jeff ate his with butter and strawberry jam.  I never had these kinds of rolls before, so I can’t say if the texture was right or not.  I only know that it was delicious!

Bread making is one of those lost American arts.  I understand why that is, after all it’s a fast paced world we live in and bread making is a slow and meticulous process.  But it’s hard to beat the satisfaction that comes when your whole kitchen has the intoxicating scent of freshly baked bread right out of the oven.

As you might know, reading is fundamental.  Today I made Blackberry Muffins from page 393 of the West.  Here’s the problem, Martha doesn’t actually have a blackberry muffin recipe!  On the following page she has a recipe for miniature blackberry pies, and looking over the book in a state of bleary-eyed exhaustion, I got confused and thought I was making blackberry muffins.  On the bright side, Martha mentions that this muffin recipe is amenable to all sorts of berries and fruits, so blackberry muffins are what’s for dessert tonight!

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a wild huckleberry.  I’ve heard of Huckleberry Finn.  I’ve also heard of Huckleberry Hound.  But the actual berry that is known as the huckleberry is kind of foreign to me!  It’s too bad I didn’t track some down so I could finally try it for myself.  With that said, blackberries are tart and delicious and they were perfect for these muffins.  The muffin recipe is simple, but very tender and not too sweet.  The fact that blackberries are also more tart than sweet made this dessert less sugary than some, but I happen to like that sometimes.  Sure, I enjoy a good sugar binge as much as most Americans do, but I also like to enjoy something a little more mellow and these blackberry muffins fit the bill!  The only problem I had with this was that I overloaded the blackberries into the batter which I think kept them from rising enough.  Still, I also loved the explosion of blackberries in these tasty muffins.

This muffin recipe would also be awesome with blueberries.  This is the kind of recipe I love because it’s so versatile and you can whip it up and make it with whatever suits your taste on any given day.  And if I can find some huckleberries I’ll make the proper recipe and share the results with you!

Today I made an All-American lunch with Martha’s Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese from page 22.

Grilled cheese is one of my favorites!  When I was a child my grandmother would make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.  As I got older, I would often order a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato at a diner counter.  It was one of those foods I always found filling and comforting.

Martha’s tomato soup is a nice accompaniment for a her buttery grilled cheese sandwich.  The soup is very simple to make and way better than anything you’ll find in a can.  I liked the addition of fresh oregano leaves.  I also added a touch of cumin to the soup.  Cumin is a very strong flavor so it’s best to just throw in a dash or it will dominate.  I also liked using cheddar cheese instead of the more common American cheese for the sandwich.  While I would typically use tomato on the sandwich, this time I kept it out because of the tomato soup.  The tastes compliment each other so well that adding even more tomato might have upset the perfect balance.

This was another one of those simple, nostalgic classics that Martha’s American Food pays tribute to so well.  This was my favorite of her lunches, although Jeff was most impressed by the egg salad sandwich.  Sometimes these things are just a matter of personal taste.