Artichokes, a Clambake

A single-pot dinner for when the vegans come over, and a nice way to prepare artichokes and potatoes without butter. Artichokes can be fun for adventurous kids because they’re basically vegetable nachos.

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prep time: 20 mins / cook time: 75 mins

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• 1 artichoke per customer
• 10-15 small waxy potatoes, however many fill in the gaps between artichokes.
• 1 cup wrinkly black olives
• 1 lemon
• 6+ cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbs peppercorns
• olive oil
• salt
• water
• white wine (optional—old wine works fine)

Trim the artichokes by chopping the tops off, snipping the thorny leaf tips with scissors and then cutting the stems so they sit flat in the pan. Reserve the stems and peel off their outer fibers. Rub the artichokes and stems all over with half a cut lemon, then with a half a cut garlic clove. Tuck the other half and any garlic fragments leftover into the leaves.

Place artichokes in a large, high-sided pan and sprinkle with salt. Then put a tablespoon of olive oil on each and pour another three or four Tbs. into the pan, so the oil covers the bottom in between the flowers.

Prick the potatoes with a fork or cut them in half if they’re bigger than your kid’s fist. Add the potatoes, olives, stems, the other half of the lemon, peppercorns, two additional cloves of garlic, bay leaf and a teaspoon of salt to the pan. Fill the pan with water, or half water and half wine, so it comes up to the curve of the artichokes.

Bring to a boil and then lower to simmer for an hour and a quarter, testing the artichokes after an hour to see when they’re tender. Keep an eye on the water and top off if needed. Serve with the cooking liquid, which you can punch up with fresh garlic and lemon. The artichokes are delicious, and the potatoes come out extremely sweet and tender.

Penne with Brie

Not a recipe, but a tactic. Only works for fairly soft or runny cheeses—to get a good version with something firm like cheddar, you will want to make a cheese sauce with butter, milk and flour. This version is perfect for when you have some fancy leftovers from a party.

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prep time: 5 mins / cook time: 15 mins

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• noodles that you like – short and sturdy ones like penne work well
• soft cheese, with or without the rind – you can use a runny brie or taleggio, a soft or marinated chèvre, or even a ripe blue like gorgonzola.
• 1 scallion, sliced, or whatever fresh herbs you like, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen green peas
• salt
• pepper

Boil water for the noodles. While it’s heating up, chop your scallions or herbs, and put frozen peas into your colander. Boil the noods, and then strain into the colander with the peas. The heat will be enough to thaw them.

While the pasta is still hot, toss it along with the peas into a pot with your cheese, cut into bits so you don’t get a single giant cheese-pasta ball. Add salt and pepper to taste (you can also balance it with a squeeze of lemon juice or vinegar if you want.) Top with your scallions or herbs and eat. That’s it.

Chicken Soup

I make this whenever anyone in the family is sniffling and it’s very easy. The only fussy thing is dealing with the whole boiled bird. You can use chicken quarters or thighs if you don’t want to manage a carcass, but it loses something—cooking the bones adds a lot of gelatin to the body of the soup.

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prep time: 20 minutes / cook time: 100 mins

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• 1 whole chicken or 3-4 quarters
• two 32-ounce cans or boxes of chicken broth
• 1 white onion, peeled and halved
• 2-3 stalks celery with leaves on, if possible
• 2-3 carrots, washed thoroughly and trimmed, but not peeled
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed with the side of your knife—don’t use a garlic press, you just want a light smashing so it stays together.
• 1-2 bay leaves
• tsp peppercorn
• salt to taste

Start by prepping your veggies. Except for the onion, everything else can pretty much stay whole. Set them aside and go fish out whatever giblets came in your chicken. I like cooking the liver separate in a hot pan with a little salt and rosemary.

Once you’ve gotten all the gizzardy bits out, stuff half the onion into the chicken and put in a big enough soup pot. Tuck all the other herbs and veggies in wherever they fit, add the broth, cover and set it on high heat. If the chicken pokes out an inch or so, that’s fine. Any more than that, you’ll want to top off with extra broth or a little water and some salt.

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce to a simmer on medium-low heat. Let it stew for 100 minutes or so—total cooking time depends on the size of your bird. When it’s done, the breast should be cooked all the way through, and the meat should be soft and shredable.

Add salt to taste, then pull out the chicken and bone the bird. Food service gloves make this really easy. Pull out and discard all the other veggies except the carrots, which you can slice and add back to the soup. You can keep the meat separate (it makes amazing sandwiches) or add it back the pot. Serve also with rice, noodles, kreplach, or matzo balls (pictured.)