On Saturday night I cooked dinner for the bf and his roommate. Vegetarian recipes don’t fly with these boys. They need meat.  I’ve been holding onto this artichoke gratinata recipe and was dying to make it, so I paired it with Italian sausage peppers and onions.  Of course, the gratinata was the star of the night.  This was my first time making either dish and they turned out so amazing that they landed permanent spots in my arsenal.  Crispy, salty, lemony artichokes and garlicy, spicy, sauteed sausage and veggies atop pasta.  Both dishes were super flavorful and comforting.

The boys loved dinner.  I never know how much they can eat on any given night, so I made a feast. It was quite a lot of food and, to my horror, they poured all of the leftovers into one, giant bowl for dinner the next night.  Although they thought saving leftovers was the ultimate compliment, as I watched my tender little artichoke hearts being “dumped” into the sausage dish, I cried a little inside. Regardless, I love cooking for them.  Nothing makes me happier than feeding my friends, even if these friends have been known to eat “mashed potato pie with beef” for dinner. They make great taste testers and have begun to make requests for their favorite recipes. As long as they clean up after, I’ll make them shrimp scamps (as they like to call it) anytime they want.

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Artichoke Gratinata (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 lemon juice
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Warm the olive oil in a heavy bottom skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the artichoke hearts, parsley, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until the artichoke hearts are starting to brown at the edges, about 3 minutes.  Add the chicken broth, lemon juice and wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Transfer the artichoke mixture to a baking dish.
4. Melt the butter in the same skillet used to cook the artichokes. In a small bowl mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs. Stir in the Parmesan and top the artichokes with the bread crumbs.
5. Bake until the top is golden, about 10 minutes.

Sausage, Onions, & Peppers

• 1 package sweet Italian sausage (I used chicken sausage)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 box pasta

1. Place the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown on all sides. Remove from skillet and slice.
2. Melt butter in the skillet. Stir in the yellow onion, red onion, and garlic, and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Mix in red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Season with basil, and oregano. Stir in white wine. Continue to cook and stir until peppers and onions are tender.
3. Return sausage slices to skillet with the vegetables. Add 1/2 can crushed tomatoes and reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, or until sausage is heated through. Pour over pasta.

-Shari