Dinner: A Love Story (Chicken with Artichokes)

Last Saturday morning I had my front door open as I was doing some chores. I heard a FedEx van pull up into our little cul-de-sac. I dropped everything and ran out yelling, "Is that my book?!". "Uh. 2716?" "Yup!", grabbed the package and ran back up. It was the Dinner: A Love Story book. Needless to say, no more chores were getting done that weekend (at least not until I finished the book). 

I guess I should preface this by saying that when I was paying off my student loans I did not buy anything other than groceries. I got recipes from the handful of cookbooks that I already owned (which is really more than enough), the internet, and I borrowed a couple of (Lidia Bastianich) cookbooks from the library. I did get a couple of really awesome cookbooks for Christmas, thanks to the very generous family I have in the US. But this is the first book I've purchased in 9 months.

I could not peel my eyes off until I was finished. It was funny, heartfelt, full of good advice, omitted recipes with olives (yay), but most importantly, it was honest. I don't have a husband, I don't have picky kids (or any other kind) to cook for. I cook for myself, how hard can it be? And yet she described so many situations in the book that I could relate to. Like the "Brilliant, Jenny!" moment - I have a handful of those written into my memory. I try to recall them as often as I can.

 

This Chicken with Artichokes recipe came from her blog, so you guys can try it! I was a little skeptical because there are so many strong flavors: artichoke, lemon, dijon mustard, tomato, but it was surprisingly good. I don't even think it needed the chicken. I can imagine making same dish without. I went with a crusty ciabatta roll on the side and skipped the rice. The bread soaks up the creamy sauce, it's the best part of the meal. 

Miam, miam! The only bad thing about this recipe is that it uses 1/2 cup of wine. Given that I don't drink, it's a hassle. I hate throwing food/drink away (even though it's just 2-buck chuck wine), but I always end up doing that with wine.