It’s been a busy time. From an entertaining Trunk Show atHaus of Yarn this past Saturday (photos at end of this blog), to re-creating a menu from the California Club with friends Monday, then finally getting to cook on Channel 5’s Talk of The Town (CLICK to Play) yesterday –I’ve had a lot of fun! I absolutely loved cooking with Meryll on TOTT and couldn’t wait to tell her that my son was just starting his first day of law school – she’s been there and was so excited for us.
Speaking of that son, I knew he would come back from his first day eager to tell all but also starving and I wanted to make a quick yummy appetizer to serve up with a celebratory cocktail that says congratulations and I’m so proud of you. Here’s the problem – I’d been doing A LOT of cooking and I wanted something easy, quick and delicious, plus, the truth - I didn’t actually have a plan. Freezer diving is practically an Olympic Sport at our house. Many surprisingly delicious dinners, desserts, and side dishes have been the result a desperate search through the refrigerator and freezer. Yesterday did not disappoint. I found a bag of frozen artichoke hearts in the freezer and some lovely pre-grated Parmesan cheese in the fridge. Perfect – my favorite four ingredient, twenty minute hot appetizer was on the way. You might think I planned to mix all that stuff up and make the much loved, often served Hot Artichoke Dip – but I had other plans, Crispy Cheesy Roasted Artichoke Hearts – the perfect pick up appetizer to serve with cocktails. They are a little less trouble and a lot less – well – “mayonnaisy”, but still marvelous. Crispy Cheesy Roasted Artichoke Hearts are wonderful as an appetizer or even a side dish for any meal. We fell in love with artichokes all over again on our past trip to California, and even though I can’t justify grilled fresh artichokes dipped in melted butter as a regular menu item, I’ve started keeping artichoke hearts in the freezer as a treat. This particular appetizer is just that – a treat, not only for those lucky enough to be enjoying them, but also for the busy cook who will spend about a minute putting this together, and zero time on cleanup! It’s too easy – line a baking sheet with foil while your oven pre-heats. Thaw the artichoke hearts in the microwave or under warm water. Drain and dry, and put them on your baking sheet.
Add chopped garlic and toss in olive oil with a little salt and pepper to taste. Bake 10 minutes, give the pan a shake and bake for 5 minutes more. Take them out of the oven and cover with grated Parmesan. Return to the oven and bake for 4 or 5 more minutes or until the cheese is crispy. Be sure to serve them with all that yummy crispy cheese and browned garlic. Toothpicks would have been civilized, but who could wait! They disappeared like magic. I threw out the aluminum foil and admired my clean kitchen and well fed gentlemen.
Crispy Cheesy Roasted Artichoke Hearts
Ingredients
1 bag frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted and dried
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Put defrosted artichoke hearts on prepared pan and toss with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Bake 10 minutes.
Shake the pan to redistribute artichoke hearts and make sure they aren’t sticking.
Bake 5 more minutes.
Remove from oven and top artichokes with cheese.
Return to oven and bake 4 or 5 more minutes to melt cheese.
Serve immediately!
Haus of Yarn Trunk Show (August 13, 2016)
Haus of Yarn Guard Dog
