Recipe News: Lean to love the artichoke (+ recipe)

It's spring! Get up off the floor, stop hiding and get out into the garden. Artichokes are the edible, immature flowers of a cultivated thistle and they raise their heads in spring. They produce two crops a year so if you miss them now you'll catch them in autumn.

It's nothing short of miraculous that someone discovered you could actually eat the prickly, spiky things.

Jews introduced artichokes to northern Italy in the 16th century - and Catherine de Medici kindly took them to France when she married Henry 11.

You should buy artichokes as fresh as possible with tightly closed leaves. If the leaves are open, they're too old and will be bitter rather than mild and nutty. Artichokes are rather sensuous and tactile - they're best eaten with the fingers and you have to slowly undress them leaf by leaf, till you have revealed the hidden, inner heart. A person who goes from love affair to love affair is said to have a "heart like an artichoke", scattering leaves right and left.

Includes recipe for:

• STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Full article here.

Recipe News: Short recipes that are easy to swallow

Give way to your creative side with this pumpkin trifle. Consider the recipe just a guide for making your own patterns and designs as you layer pumpkin pudding, pound cake and whipped cream. This recipe takes a little time, but you could easily make a similar trifle with a quick pudding (whip pumpkin pie filling into prepared tapioca pudding) and purchased whipped topping.

Includes recipe for:

• Pumpkin Trifle

Full article here.

Recipe News: Tasty Hallowe'en treats

Every Hallowe'en, in my sister-in-law's Northamptonshire village, one of the residents sits on her doorstep with a basket of apples for the trick-or-treat callers.

Devilish delights for a spirited Hallowe'en evening
You have to admire her nerve, as well as her stand against the view that only vile, artificially flavoured sweets count as a treat.

There's nothing wrong with Hallowe'en as a reminder of our pagan past, when the Celts believed the dead came back and had to be frightened off with scary costumes and bonfires.

But trick-or-treating brings me out in a rash. It might be fine in the US, where it has a claim to be "traditional", but here it's nothing short of extortion.

It's time to revive some British customs, such as apple bobbing, which is fun and infuriatingly difficult for both adults and children.

Includes recipes for:

• PARKIN


• TOFFEE APPLES


• PUMPKIN SOUP WITH SAGE LEAVES AND CROUTONS


• SAUSAGES WRAPPED IN BACON (PIGS IN BLANKETS)


• Meringue ghosts and bones


• Cheese pumpkins

Full article here.

Recipe News: Recipes in honour of Wold Pasta Day

Includes recipes for:

• BACON AND TOMATO FETTUCCINI


• SPAGHETTI WITH CHERRY TOMATOES


• MEDITERRANEAN PASTA BAKE


• SCRAWNY RONNIE'S KILLER CASSEROLE

Full article here.

Recipe News: Quick & Simple: A Week's Worth Of Recipes To Make Your Life Easier

Includes recipes for:

• CHICKEN CROISSANT SANDWICH


• SWEET AND SOUR PORK


• SPICED BEEF AND POTATOES


• CRUSTLESS MINI QUICHES


• CHEESY TUNA PATTIES


• LINGUINE WITH SWEET ONIONS AND OLIVES


• HAM AND ROASTED PEPPER QUESADILLA

Full article here.

Recipe News: Recipe for Sweet Potatoes With Greens

Chef Traci Des Jardins typically serves this dish of hearty autumn vegetables and apples around Thanksgiving

Includes recipe for:

• SWEET POTATOES, APPLES AND BRAISING GREENS

Full article here.

Recipe News: Relax in the kitchen! Two fuss-free recipes

Escabeche is a distant Spanish cousin of the Latin American favorite, ceviche, only in this case the fish is slightly cooked rather than raw, and instead of lime juice, the tart note is provided by vinegar. To get a smoky flavor, Brigit simply chars a few tomatoes under the broiler, then whizzes them up with some fire-roasted peppers, and marinates with the wine-steamed shrimp for 8 hours or overnight (this way, the flavors have a chance to get really cozy). The resulting dish is restaurant-level complex, and all she has to do when guests arrive is transfer to some pretty glasses.

Includes recipes for:

• Smoky shrimp escabeche


• Cannellini bean, corn and frisée salad

Full article here.

Recipe News: Simple recipes for squash season

With the winter squash season peaking right now, it's time to stock up at greenmarkets and specialty stores. Beyond the supermarket's butternut lies a colorful world of hard-skinned gourds with names like hubbard, kabocha, delicata and and buttercup. These beauties will keep for a couple of weeks on your counter and can be pureed into soups, roasted, stuffed, sauteed and whipped with butter to a mashed potato-like richness. In a pie, their sunny golden flesh can replace the more typical pumpkin. As a base for cookies, muffins and cakes, squash lends vitamins and other nutrients in addition to a fruity sweetness. Though the varieties are many (the greenmarkets carry more than 25, says spokesperson Gabrielle Langholtz), choosing winter squash isn't as tricky as picking out produce in the summer. "Just look for winter squash that are hard as a rock," says chef instructor Russell Moss at the Art Institute of New York City. "You don't want any wrinkles on it." Cooking winter squash couldn't be easier. Simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and place skin side up in a roasting pan. Pour a little water in or oil the pan – this helps prevent sticking. Then bake, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until the squash is soft when you prick it with a fork.

Includes recipes for:

• Squash-Stuffed Shells


• Winter Squash Salad with Goat Cheese "Truffles"

Full article here.

Food News: Pantry staples make life easier

Even though we try to organize menus, there are days when schedules fall apart. That's why pantry-based recipes are the hammers in our kitchen tool kits.

Our strategy is to tape one or two easy recipes to the inside of a kitchen cabinet and always stock the necessary ingredients. Today's recipe for Super Clam Spaghetti shows up so regularly on our dinner tables that we practically have it memorized.

The Desperation Pantry doesn't require every staple known to humankind. A few well-chosen cans, jars and boxes can pull you out of any emergency. Here are some basics we recommend.

Full article here.

Recipe News: Butch's Dog Food

Editor's note: In the article "Creature Cuisine" (Lifestyle, Oct. 7) this recipe for "Butch's Dog Food" was supplied by dog owner Betty Jensen. Jensen altered the proportions of the recipe for her dog from what was printed. Her altered recipe is below. The recipe also contains garlic, which the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says has a "toxic potential" in pets. As with anything involving your pet's health, all diet changes should be OK'd by a veterinarian.

Includes recipe for:

• Butch's Dog Food

Full article here.

Recipe News: Try these flavorful veggie dishes or a fruit dessert

Includes recipes for:

• Green beans with balsamic onions, feta cheese and bacon


• Mediterranean cucumbers


• Peach pudding

Full article here.

Recipe News: Recipe for Gingerbread

This recipe from Carole Bloom's "The Essential Baker" produces a gingerbread that is soft and cake-like with rich aromas of ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Serve it with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Includes recipe for:

• Recipe for Gingerbread

Full article here.

Recipe News: Pumpkin recipes

Includes recipes for:

• Southwest Pumpkin Soup


• Pumpkin Pancakes


• Pumpkin Bar Cookies


• Pumpkin Bar Cookies

Full article here.

Recipe News: Soft Scrambled Eggs With Pesto and Fresh Ricotta

Includes recipe for:

• Soft Scrambled Eggs With Pesto and Fresh Ricotta

Full article here.

Recipe News: Recipe for From-Scratch Pasta Dinner

When you're cooking to impress, sometimes simple and speedy are best. While laborious meals you slave over for a day or more certainly can have panache, they also can leave you stressed and exhausted by the time you actually sit down to enjoy them. Better is a meal that can come together in under an hour, such as this menu for homemade pasta with marinara and garlic bread. Add a bottle of red wine and some candles for the perfect, impressive and affordable date. Don't be intimidated by making pasta from scratch. If you can make Play-Doh snakes, you can make pasta. This recipe uses just semolina flour and water, and produces a hearty, rustic pasta common to southern Italy.

Includes recipe for:

• FROM-SCRATCH PASTA DINNER

Full article here.

Coffee News: Try these recipes for the holidays

This time of year is what we refer to as "The Holiday Marathon." Starting the middle of October, we find ourselves inundated with Harvest Festivals, Trick or Treat events, Thanksgiving meals, Christmas parties, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and, of course, it all wraps up with that wonderful New Year's Eve celebration.

In honor of all of these events, we would like to share some coffee and tea recipes that most anyone can prepare in the comfort of their personal kitchen. Let us remind you that these recipes are best prepared with fresh products and that goes most emphatically with fresh-roasted coffee beans for the coffee recipes and fresh-harvested teas for the tea recipes.

Includes recipes for:

• Goolie Green Caramel Latte


• Cafe Mocha


• Authentic Masala Chai


• Sweet Dreams Tea


• Raspberry Delight Tea

Full article here.

Recipe News: Recipe Corner-Zucchini Patties

Autumn is all around us and so are the various pumpkins and squashes from your garden or local supermarket. This is the time of season to get creative with such an abundant crop that’s bursting with brilliant colors and flavors to match. So keep a look out for some delicious fall recipes in upcoming weeks from your favorite Home Town Journal!

Includes recipe for:

• Zucchini Patties

Full article here.

Recipe News: You'll be the apple of their eye with these recipes

With the nip of autumn in the air, there’s no better time to curl up with a crunchy Braeburn apple or, better yet, a warm slice of apple pie made from tart Granny Smith apples.

Virginia apples will be plentiful this harvest season, according to the Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service, which reports that 90 percent of this year’s crop is in fair to excellent shape.

A spring freeze that all but wiped out the apple crop in North Carolina, Georgia and parts of the Midwest didn’t hit Virginia, so the state’s apple growers are expecting a plentiful harvest.

It’s time to grab a bushel or bag of apples, peel up a few of your favorite varieties and try some of these fall apple recipes. Some add a new taste to a new favorite and others are plain old traditionally good.

Includes recipes for:

• Cream Cheese Apple Cake


• Apple Meat Loaf


• Apple Mint Salsa


• Mother’s Apple Dumplings


• Apple Ginger Quick Bread

Full article here.