Spiralizers. You’ve probably heard of them.

Toaster-sized spiralizer appliances take boring old potatoes, beets and zucchini–you know, the vegetables that come to you in the elegant shapes that Mother Nature intended– and turn them into noodles. (Forgive my snark.)

Nevertheless, I confess that I’m a cooking gadget collector and I do own a Paderno spiralizer. Like a lot of the other kitchen gadgets that have caught my eye (Does anyone else out there have onion goggles? I didn’t think so.),  I haven’t used it much.

This summer, I decided that I would give the spiralizer a fair try after my neighbor raved about the healthy spiralized foods that her daughter, Randlyn, was turning out (and enjoying) in her kitchen.

Bon Appetit Magazine, by the way, did an interesting  piece on spiralizers. The BA writer focused on the psychology of spiralizing vegetables arguing that changing the shape of the vegetables tricks our minds into eating more of those healthy foods. More zucchini. Fewer carbs.

And, there may be something to that argument. I remember one summer when my family, crammed into an unairconditioned VW bug and traveling 2000 grueling miles to visit relatives in rural Mississippi, stopped at a drive-in restaurant somewhere in the wilds of Eastern Texas where French fried potato spirals were served in parchment-lined red plastic trays. Your order came with a decanter of vinegar to sprinkle over your potatoes.  I still remember the novelty of that presentation, and, here I am a gazillion years later comtemplating spiralizing potatoes. (Bon Appetit Magazine on spiralizers ).

So, I’m giving spiralizing the good old college try (CSULB 1968) this summer. Here is a recipe for a pretty (and delicious) Asian zucchini noodle salad. This salad has all sorts of textures going for it and the piquant sesame-oil-flavored dressing is wonderful.

You will find the link to the original recipe from which this recipe was adapted here: Simply Recipes’ Asian Zucchini Salad .

Thanks, Randlyn, for the nudge.

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What do a Pavlova, a bowl of cherry Garcia and a Margarita have in common? You got that one right! They are all foods named after a famous person. (The Pavlova meringue confection is named after the famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Cherry Garcia is named after, well, Jerry Garcia. The Margarita is named after Rita Hayworth.)

Here is a riff on another tribute food–the Wellington. The original dish, the beef Wellington, was named after the Dublin-born British military hero and Prime Minister, The Duke of Wellington–Arthur Wellesley to his friends. (Wellington, you will remember, was the hero of Waterloo, the fateful battle that inflicted a final crushing defeat on Napoleon and sent him into a last brooding exile in the mid-Atlantic.) A beef Wellington, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a decadent beef tenderloin slathered in foie gras and duxelles and wrapped in a tender-crispy puff pastry. Here is a photo of the hunky Wellesley:

In reality, the beef Wellington was probably an in-your-face rebranding of a French dish, the filet de boeuf en croute. Take that, France! When I read that bit of history, I was reminded of our own “Freedom Fry” moment. Remember when Congressman Bob Ney (R-Ohio) got himself all wrapped up in a tizzy and renamed the French fries in the Congressional cafeteria freedom fries? ( He was furious that the French refused to back our invasion of Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac argued that the U.S. invasion was premature and that U.N. weapons inspectors should be given more time to determine if Iraq did indeed possess weapons of mass destruction.)

Here is my adaptation of Melissa Clark’s butternut squash and mushroom Wellington. (http://Melissa Clark’s Butternut Squash and Mushroom Wellington)

By the way, Rita Hayworth’s real name was Margarita.

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Tender artichoke hearts. Lemon. Grape tomatoes. Herbs galore. Yum.

A friend served this as the main course at a dinner party I was fortunate to attend a few years ago. She confided that the recipe came from a Jamie Oliver book, The Naked Chef–yet another cookbook I’ve added to my collection. (You can buy the cookbook here on Amazon)

Although thorny artichokes can be downright cranky to prep, they should be a regular part of your culinary repertoire–particularly during the peak of the season that runs from March through May. Rich in folate, dietary fiber, vitamins C and K, magnesium and potassium (whew!), they pack more antioxidants than red wine or chocolate.  (I’m thinking that a meal incorporating artichokes and an abundance of red wine and chocolate would be a downright health food trifecta!)

If you live here in California, you have no excuse for not making artichokes a part of your healthy diet. California produces nearly 100% of the U.S. artichoke crop and beautiful artichokes can be found in nearly every market. If you hesitate to serve artichokes because you suffer from artichoke peeling anxiety (let’s call it APA), this video demystifies the process: Video: How to peel an artichoke.

Here is my adaptation of Oliver’s recipe. I served this with a green salad and toasted Israeli couscous from Trader Joe’s. The flat taste of the couscous was a perfect counterpoint to the rich blend of olive oil, lemon and herb flavors in the artichoke dish. Part of enjoying any dish, of course, is the visual experience and this dish doesn’t disappoint. Here, the bright red grape tomatoes, bathed in silky olive oil and with their warm juicy red goodness bursting out of their skins, make this dish pop.

Quite a feast for me on a quiet Friday night. Oliver’s dish is certainly all that and a bag of chips!

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