Welcome to the latest installment of Voices of Cincy, our ongoing series of guest posts by local writers and bloggers. This week’s guest is Courtney Tsitouris, the Cincy Food Blogger known as Epiventures!. -Loki
I guess this would be a good time to admit that I have no idea how I became a food blogger. To some people, my mother included, the idea of setting aside focused time to write about food every day seems odd, if not legitimately certifiable. Considering the vast array of art and politics and other interesting things to fill one’s day with, I can see where they’re coming from. I notice, for example, that my friends don’t feel compelled to stand on stools to snap photos of their dinner.
But as it turns out, Michael Ruhlman was right: “The best things in life happen when you get carried away.”
I was once content writing and posting recipes as a home cook but I soon found my interest in food expanding. It wasn’t long before I was signing up for culinary school and buttoning up in a white chef’s coat. One thing led to another and I suddenly found myself standing next to Jean-Robert de Cavel with a tape recorder doing an interview . And I can’t believe I’m saying this but recently I took it another step further and agreed to be an apprentice in an actual restaurant. With actual customers.
This is big.
Of course, I had to promise this restaurant that I would not set anything on fire. It’s a commitment I hope I can keep. It was not terribly long ago when my lovely gratin of shaved artichokes and roasted tomatoes caught on fire in the oven, prompting me to throw the dish on the floor and jump wildly on the rising flames. (That was the day I proved that I care more about my flooring than my feet. That was also the day I risked my life for artichokes. I hope never to do either again.)
I don’t know whether this time next year I’ll be home cooking a roast or working in a restaurant or catering a party but I’m charmed to have such delicious quandaries looming. I’m also perfectly content to write about whatever happens, namely because you’ve been such amazing sports and such inspiring guests and I get such a kick out of your tips andfeedback.
To thank you for your support and to prove to myself that I can indeed cook without nearly losing my life, I thought I’d redo that roasted artichoke and tomato gratin. The recipe comes from the ever-reliable Tom Colicchio [Not an affilliate link] and it’s quite simply one of my very favorite gratins –– so simple and pretty and perfect alongside almost any kind of grilled or roasted meat.
So to you I say this: may you find some shade in this heat, may your house waft with the savory scent of summer ingredients, and may you never, ever learn to leave well enough alone.
Artichoke and Tomato Gratin:
- Recipe adapted from Tom Colicchio’s Think Like A Chef
- Serves 4 as a side dish
- 4 tomatoes, halved
- 3 cups thinly sliced onions
- 8 artichoke bottoms, halved and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup Nicoise olives, pitted and finely chopped
- 4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1/4 cup finely chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Procedure:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Sauté onions in 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 15 minutes (or up to 30 minutes for an even deeper flavor). Onions should be brown but not burned or papery. Add 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar to onions during last few minutes of cooking.
- Slice tomato halves and artichokes to same thickness.
- Spoon onions into medium baking dish in even layer. Arrange the artichokes and tomatoes over the onions in a tightly overlapping pattern.
- Drizzle the gratin with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add salt and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. (Note: don’t do what I did the first time and use parchment paper. Unless, of course, you would like a little campfire in your kitchen.)
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F, uncover gratin and continue cooking until tomatoes are slightly dry, about 20-30 minutes.
Just before serving, mix 1/4 cup olive oil, olives, capers, anchovies (optional) basil and thyme leaves. Spoon mixture evenly over gratin and return to oven until heated through, ten minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Courtney Tsitouris is a home cook, culinary student, graphic designer and the authorof epiventures.com, a blog about dining in and dining out in Cincinnati.
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Now I’m tortured by your posts in two places.
And its glorious.
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