Food and Wine - Spinach and Artichoke Galette

Today’s post comes courtesy of the Food and Wine Annual Cookbook of 2024 and it’s the Spinach and Artichoke Galette. In trying to clear out some of these cookbooks I have laying around, I’m picking out some recipes to try that I might want to add to my recipe cards.

I love a spinach and artichoke dip and a galette is just a cousin to a flatbread so this seems like an easy win. Let’s revamp some classic fan favorite flavors into a new delivery vessel!

This recipe has a base of pie dough, a sour cream/garlic/lemon zest/hot sauce layer on top of that, then of course - cheese, spinach, and artichokes. Easy. Fold the edges over, give it an egg wash, and pop it in the oven for less than 25mins and call it a meal.

I love how quickly this came together and it’s an easy recipe to edit a little - add some protein on top or get rid of the hot sauce for a more mild taste. The only thing is, this galette isn’t super filling. It’s a great quick snack to toast up and it’s portable enough if you need it to be, but I want to eat half of this thing in a sitting and I’ll still be hungry in the blink of an eye.

Great marks for simplicity but dock a few points for heartiness.

ITHACA - Zocalo

Today was a little chaotic but we' eventually fed ourselves so it all worked out! Caleb and I wanted to have a little lunch date to go see the new Guardian’s of the Galaxy movie and decided we would get lunch first, so far so good. We discussed getting some DiBella’s since it’s one of our go to’s whenever we get close to Ithaca and it travels well. While Caleb did want Dibella’s he didn’t feel like sitting in there for lunch so we eventually decided we would go after the movie to grab some subs for dinner. This still left us open for lunch and I threw Ithaca Bakery in to the ring but was hesitant to go get sandwiches for lunch when we would be eating subs for lunch. I like a little more variety in my meals for a day. Instead Caleb suggested we just hop over to Friendly’s. We’ve never been there together and it’s one of those chains we joke about going to but have never actually committed to. Well, it turns out the joke was on us because the location we were planning on going to by The Shops at Ithaca Mall has turned into a bank! So we were driving around parking lots debating just going to Ithaca Bakery when Caleb decided to pull the tigger and head to the mall food court! (Basically).

LOCATION: 40 CATHERWOOD RD., ITHACA, NY 14850 (next to food court)

That’s how we ended up in Zocalo, a Mexican restaurant in the mall that we always pass by shrouded in mystery. Zocalo is dimly lit and can get very busy, from what we’ve noticed when we’ve walked by in the past. The wait staff felt very indifferent to us and just customers in general, a very hands off approach to the dining experience and not welcoming in the least bit. Still, this doesn’t affect the food so it’s minor in the scheme of things and while indifferent, they weren’t rude which is the real deal breaker. The waiter brought over warm tortilla chips and salsa immediately too which is ideal honestly. A great snack to get while we ponder the menu.

Caleb went back and forth a little but landed on ordering the Chimichanga, an item I’ve never gotten for the shear fact that I have no idea what it is. A sauce covered burrito? Close. Turns out it’s a burrito (chicken for Caleb) that’s covered in queso which also came with a small side of lettuce and tomato (I wouldn’t quite call it a salad) as well as rice and beans. Pretty standard sides. I, of course, went with tacos. Now, unlike Village Taqueria, this place doesn’t sell them individually so I had to go with one type, choosing between chicken, steak, or their Al pastor. I went with the Al Pastor Street tacos which comes with pork marinated in pineapple, achiote and annato then grilled and served in corn tortillas and topped with onion and cilantro. This also came with a side of rice and beans. Also, to my surprised I got 4 tacos. The tortillas are a little smaller than typical but four tacos felt like a little bit of a challenge that I was willing to take.

Overall, the tacos were pretty good. I made it through all four enjoyably and was pretty full in a good way. I did get a little bit of flavor fatigue and I would’ve had more fun trying one of each taco they had to offer instead of getting 4 of one type. I was also too full to have any of the rice and beans but Caleb let me know that they weren’t great and were overly salted so I didn’t miss out on that at all. Not a bad choice for lunch but also not great. During the meal we agreed that it’s not a place we would crave enough to go back but it is a convenient spot so we wouldn’t knock it either. I think just being able to pick various tacos means I would prefer Village Taqueria over Zocalo.

DRYDEN - Village Taqueria and Grill

DRYDEN - VILLAGE TAQUERIA AND GRILL

We’re back for round 2 here at Village Taqueria! We were passing by on our way home from our friend’s birthday nearby and decided it was the right place for dinner. We hesitated because we weren’t sure if they were open or if it was too close to closing, we don’t like being those people that push it down to the wire at all but a couple of people/groups came after we ordered which made us feel better for sure.

LOCATION: 2 E. MAIN ST. DRYDEN, NY

No tamale sightings this time so tonight was a taco only night. I couldn’t quite remember how I felt about the tacos the last time we went so it was a fresh slate for me this time around when I ordered. I decided to go with my standard order and went with a Carnitas Street Taco. an Al Pastor Street Taco, and a Baja California Fish Taco. Caleb found my order to be annoying since I got three different types of tacos but I’m convinced it’s totally normal. I always get three different tacos whenever I go to a taco place like this. There’s a reason that they sell them individually! He’s more of a burrito person though so I guess if he got tacos he would just order one type. Where’s the fun in that!?

Since I’ve already written about the Baja California Fish Taco last time I’ll glaze over it and just say it was a perfectly good battered fish taco. On to the meat! The Street tacos are listed as coming on a grilled corn tortilla with onions, cilantro, radish, and lime. The al pastor however, came with pineapple instead of radish which is a pretty typical substitute. This was a pretty good sweet addition but as you can see in the photo, the pineapple was a huge chunk and would’ve been a little more enjoyable if it was cut more uniformly for the taco. The Carnitas Street Taco was flavored well and had a good balance overall. It doesn’t stand out at all but it was a good taco.

I think my take away from the Village Taqueria after two visits is that it’s a pretty good place for tacos and Mexican food but it doesn’t quite live up to all our friends hyping it up. I haven’t been blown away by anything and while the ingredients are good, they don’t feel impressive or exceptional in any sort of way to me. They have a standard menu and if I’m passing by I’ll stop but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

ITHACA - Maru Ramen

ITHACA - MARU RAMEN

We’re going on an adventure!! Caleb and I don’t have an official date for our anniversary so a couple of years ago I picked April 15th as an arbitrary anniversary date and every year I remind him that while it’s the date that I made up, it kind of marks another year together! Success! We typically don’t really do much for it but seeing as this year we hit 5 years together Caleb decided we should have a more adventurous date day and try a new restaurant for a meal. We decided to finally go to this ramen place that we pass often in Ithaca that we’ve continued to claim we would try one day. Well, today is that day.

LOCATION: 512 W STATE ST., ITHACA, NY 14850

Maru Ramen has a cute pink storefront with big front windows that’s hard to miss and while I love ramen and was excited to try this place, Caleb tends to be more weary to try something new. Their menu has a few different types of cuisine included baos and pho along with ramen and dishes with kimchi so they’re really running the gamut of asian cuisines. Whenever I see a menu like this I tend to get a little weary about the quality or the authenticity of ingredients but I was hopeful that the namesake ramen would be enjoyable.

I tend to try tonkotsu ramen when I go to new places because it can really tell how good the restaurant is and I love a good pork belly but this time I decided to mix it up and go with the Tantan-men Ramen which, here, is made with a chicken broth, spicy tantan dashi, and includes their pork belly chashu, soy-cured soft-boiled egg, toasted sesame seeds, seaweed. ginger, and scallions. Originally, Caleb was going to get a chicken bibimbop which a classic safe choice for him. Chicken and rice usually can’t go wrong and doesn’t stretch too far beyond his comfort zone but before our waitress came back he changed his mind and decided to venture out and try some Tori Ramen which is Maru’s spicy shredded chicken ramen option. This also comes with the soy-cured soft-boiled egg, sesame seeds and all the veggies included in my ramen as well.

When it came out the bowls looked very promising. Caleb felt the bowls were quite big and deep though his had a more conical shape which give the illusion of being fuller from above than it actually is volumetrically. That doesn’t discount that this is a very generous serving of ramen which excited me. The top of the broth had a spicy oily top layer and a creamier fuller broth underneath which is always a good sign. I could tell right away that I wouldn’t like the chashu as much as I was hoping based on the cut and the lack of pork belly fat swirled throughout the pieces. They looked much leaner and therefore more dry than I was hoping for. After mixing in the toppings and the broth I also quickly noticed the straighter noodles as opposed to the wiggly chewy ones that I also prefer. Straighter noodles typically indicate a softer noodle with less chew that tend to get soggy after sitting in the broth for too long. There are, of course, straight noodles that are thinner and tend to hold up better but these were not those noodles. A good broth with average ingredients mean this place likely won’t be top of my list to revisit. While it was still a tasty dish with a great amount of kick and eggs done well, the noodles make or break this dish for me. I’m glad we ventured out and finally tried Maru Ramen but I can’t say I’d petition to go back again soon (though I’m also not opposed).

CORT - Pita Gourmet

CORT- PITA GOURMET

Another day, another lunch craving. Today, we’re headed to Pita Gourmet which is usually somewhere I like to go during warm weather just because of that Mediterranean feeling in the summer but I’ve struck a craving for Dolmas today so off we go.

LOCATION: 41 MAIN ST., CORTLAND, NY, 13045

I’ve eaten here before and I’m kind of surprised I haven’t written a post about it yet so here we are. When I think if Pita Gourmet I have positive thoughts but I think my expected vs. reality ideas of it don’t quite line up. I like walking in there and ordering at the counter from the founders of the restaurant who seem so nice and get right down to business. The place feels authentic and it makes me excited to eat the food so maybe I’m just ordering the wrong thing and that’s why it’s not quite living up to my expectations.

My normal order is the Mazza combo which lets you try three of the five options: tabouleh, hommos, baba gannush, grape leaves or falafel. I love this option because it allows me to try a few different items and graze a little then switch it up so the flavors never get boring. I’m a fan of tapas or appetizer/sample platters for this very reason so ordering something that gives me multiple samples is ideal for me.

So when it comes down to it, I tend to order the mazza combo with hommos, grape leaves (my favorite Mediterranean dish), and falafel. This combo comes with warm pita for dipping which I also love. Warm Pita is just comforting all around. However, though this place delivers with options, I’m usually let down a little with the actual food.

The grape leaves (dolmas) are perfect to me and I love that they’re warm and zesty so there’s no complaint there but I could see them being a little too acidic/sour for some. The hommos is a little bit of a let down and isn’t really anything to write home about. It doesn’t have much interest to it and while it’s not bad, it’s not great either. The falafel really loses me and is so dry and overly salted. It comes on a little bed of tomato and lettuce that’s a little sad to look at and I can’t say that I rush to eat it either. It helps to eat the falafel dipped in some of the hommos to bring down the salt levels and add some moisture but I can’t imagine eating it with the pita because it would be dry dry dry. I could substitute out the falafel and get baba gannush or tebouleh but I can’t imagine getting the baba gannush AND the hommas as they’re too similar in texture. I also will admit that I’m not a huge fan of tebouleh so that’s not a great choice for me either. If it were, I would just order the Fabulous Five which is the combo with all of these options.

At the end of it, I want to love Pita Gourmet and I want to go more often but it’s tended to let me down the few times I’ve gone and my visits are few a far between. Maybe writing this post will be a reminder for me to expand my ordering and try something new next time. I just love the grape leaves so much and this combo always looks so appealing to me just on variety alone. Stay tuned. I promise I’ll order a different dish the next time I go. I’m sure there’s something wonderful here that' I’m just missing.