Mango Cream Tarts

Mango purée takes very little effort to make and can be used in a variety of ways. Probably the most obvious use for it is in drinks but this bright purée is endlessly versatile. You can use it on pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal, in desserts like parfaits. Or simply use it as an alternative to applesauce, which is very often used in quick breads and muffins.

Mangoes have long been a favorite fruit of mine. The fact that we can readily buy them year-round, make them a nice winter dessert ingredient. This mango cream filling is made very few ingredients. The fresh mango purée adds such a great taste.

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Mango Cream Tarts
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
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Shortbread Tart Shells
Mango Cream Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Shortbread Tart Shells
Mango Cream Filling
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Instructions
Tart Shells
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a bowl, combine butter & sugar, beat until light & fluffy. Mix in flour & baking powder; blend well. Press spoonful's into 12 individual tart pans. Prick shells with a fork. Bake until golden, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven & cool.
Mango Cream Filling
  1. In a small food processor, add mango chunks, ginger & water. Blend on high until smooth; set aside.
  2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar & extract until well blended & smooth. Fold in mango puree. Chill about 30 minutes.
  3. Divide mango cream filling evenly among 10 baked pastry shells. Cover the tarts with plastic wrap & keep chilled until ready to serve. Decorate each with mango slices, a blueberry & mint leaves if desired.

Apricot Raisin Five-Spice Oatmeal Cookies

I’ve always been a huge fan of Chinese 5-spice. The aroma and flavor are just pure magic. This peppery-sweet mixture provides endless options for its use. 

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this spice blend is how well it compliments both sweet and savory dishes.

In this recipe, the apricots offer a subtle sweetness to these cookies, while the Chinese 5- spice adds a spicy perspective and chopped pepitas add a nutty crunch. Blend that all together with oatmeal & raisins and you get a nice range of flavors.

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Apricot Raisin Five-Spice Oatmeal Cookies
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Instructions
  1. Cream butter & sugars together well. Add egg & vanilla; beat until light & fluffy.
  2. Sift together flour, five-spice powder, nutmeg, salt & baking soda.
  3. Fold the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture. When the dry ingredients are almost incorporated, add the oatmeal, raisins, apricots & seeds.
  4. Chill the dough for about an hour before baking for best results.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  6. Scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes. Do not over bake or the cookies will lose their chewy texture.
  7. Yield: 28 cookies

Shrimp Stuffed Whitefish w/ Hashbrown Crust

When you stuff fish, you expand the flavor profiles available with fish. It’s such a great way to make your fish dinner more interesting and flavorful. You can stuff a whole fish or wrap thin fillets around the stuffing and then bake or grill the fish as usual. 

Whitefish is a freshwater fish that is commonly called Atlantic Cod, Halibut or Flounder. Whitefish, when cooked, are dry and compared to other fishes, the flesh of the whitefish is completely white.

Whitefish can be classified into different, unique species that can easily be identified according to their appearance and where they live.

These flaky white fish fillets are stuffed with a creamy shrimp filling and flavored with onion, garlic and spices. For something different I gave them a spicy hashbrown crust. This seafood dinner is just as tasty as it is eye appealing and definitely not dry.

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Shrimp Stuffed Whitefish w/ Hashbrown Crust
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Instructions
Spicy Hashbrowns
  1. Thaw shredded hashbrowns on a paper towel. In a bowl, place the flour, cheese, onion, garlic, coriander, smoked paprika, salt & pepper & egg. Add 'dried' shredded hashbrowns. Using a fork, mix everything until combined being careful not to break up the hashbrowns. Set aside until stuffed fish is ready to be coated with the mixture.
Stuffed Fish
  1. In a saucepan, add olive oil & heat . Add onions until they begin to soften & caramelize a bit then add garlic. Add shrimp pieces, cream cheese, seasonings & chives; stir until well incorporated. Remove mixture from heat & allow to cool.
  2. Lay out whitefish, remove all bones, skin & wash & dry thoroughly. Place fillets between two pieces of plastic wrap & pound gently to flatten a bit for easier rolling. Lay on work surface & divide shrimp mixture between the two fillets & spread until it is even.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  4. Roll up each fillet with the seam side down in a greased baking dish. Spoon hashbrown mixture over stuffed fillets. Press down coating to ensures it adheres well to top & sides of each stuffed fillet.
  5. Bake for about 45 minutes or until fish flakes easily. Cut each fillet in half to make four servings. Nice to serve with a few roasted cherry tomatoes & a side of guacamole.

Chicken Pancakes w/ Mushroom Sauce

ENJOYING SHROVE TUESDAY!

Shrove Tuesday is a ‘holiday’ with a movable date, due to its relationship to Easter. The final day before Lent, it has many meanings, both spiritual and practical. The spiritual purpose of Shrove Tuesday is to take stock of the year and determine what things one must bear in mind during repentance.

Practically speaking, Shrove Tuesday is the last day before the great ‘fast’ of Lent. As a result, many would take it as an opportunity to have a final feast and party. Because this holiday marked the last day to use up one’s stocks of fats and eggs, a British tradition was born: Pancake Tuesday. Pancakes make use of ingredients that were banned during Lent and would spoil before its end.

Although many traditions of the past have gone by the wayside, whether you know its history or not, Pancake Tuesday seems to still be a ‘thing’. Brion & I don’t eat pancakes a lot but certainly enjoy them when we do. As always, I can’t resist a new idea, so today we are having some chicken pancakes w/ mushroom sauce. Yum!

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Chicken Pancakes w/ Mushroom Sauce
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Instructions
Mushroom Sauce
  1. In a skillet, heat oil & add mushrooms & onions. Sauté for about 5-8 minutes until moisture releases & evaporates. Whish in flour & allow to cook for about 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add garlic, thyme, salt & pepper; cook an additional 30 seconds. Add milk, whisking constantly until cooked & thickened. Remove from heat & set aside.
Pancakes / Chicken
  1. In a skillet, heat oil & add ground chicken, herbs & spices. Scramble-fry until chicken is no longer pink. Remove to a dish & set aside.
  2. In a bowl, combine flours & baking powder; add cooked chicken & grated cheese.
  3. In a small container, whisk together eggs, milk & oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry & mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Be careful to not over mix the batter. Let mixture stand for about 3 minutes before cooking.
  4. Heat griddle to about 250 -300 F. Place a small amount of butter on the griddle to coat the surface.
  5. Cook pancakes on one side until golden brown then flip to the other side & cook until golden as well. I made 4 large pancakes with this amount of batter.
To Serve
  1. Place one large pancake on each serving plate, top with 1/4 of the mushroom sauce, another pancake & another 1/4 of the sauce. We found this to be a very filling meal!

Mushroom, Chard & Brown Rice Loaf w/ Mustard Sauce

Veggie loaf, who thought of this? It seems it was one of many recommended meals during WWII to help housewives provide nutritious and varied meals while being faced with food shortages and strict rations.

The veggie loaf was meant to achieve several purposes – use leftovers (veggies & stale bread), replace meat, provide variety and use ingredients that were readily available and economical such as beans and carrots.

From what I recall, there were few vegetarian loaf recipes until the late ’60s. By the end of the 1970s, however, there was at least one veggie loaf recipe in every natural food’s cookbook. Over the years, though, vegetarian loaves gained a bad reputation. Sadly, many early recipes came out of the oven resembling bricks and were just about as appetizing. If you followed a typical recipe as it was written, you wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough food to go around. No one wanted a second helping. Times have definitely changed, with the increased interest in the vegetarian lifestyle of today.

Even though Brion & I are not vegetarians, I have always loved vegetables, so incorporating a veggie loaf into a meal with meat works for me.

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Mushroom, Chard & Brown Rice Loaf w/ Mustard Sauce
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Instructions
Vegetable Loaf
  1. In a small pot, bring 1 cup water & a pinch of salt to a boil. Add rice, lower heat to a simmer & cook rice until water has been absorbed & rice is tender. Set aside.
  2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions & cook until translucent. Stir in garlic & celery; season with salt & pepper. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.
  3. Add mushrooms & herbs; cook until mushrooms release their juices & the liquid evaporates, about 5 more minutes. Add chard & cook until wilted. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, then remove from heat & let cool slightly.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 F. Generously grease a loaf pan with olive oil.
  5. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, mustard & broth. Add vegetable mixture & rice; stir to combine. Pour vegetable mixture into loaf pan & smooth flat with a spatula.
  6. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until edges are nicely browned. While the vegetable loaf is baking, prepare mustard sauce.
  7. Allow to cool slightly, then run a knife along the edges & flip onto a serving platter & slice. Serve with mustard sauce.
Mustard Sauce
  1. In a small pot, melt butter then add flour to form a roux. Cook until bubbly & flour is lightly browned, stirring constantly. Add vegetable broth & mustard. Bring to a simmer & cook for about 5 -10 minutes. Remove from heat & serve with vegetable loaf.

Strawberry Love Notes

No sooner is Christmas behind us than the next ‘special’ event is coming up fast, Valentine’s Day. It isn’t a true holiday, but it sure gets treated like one. Most every mainstream holiday has some candy or treat representing it. Christmas has candy canes, Halloween has candy corn, and Valentine’s Day has chocolate and strawberries.

There’s also a lot more romantic history to strawberries than meets the eye. Our favorite red berry dates back to Ancient Rome where it was considered the symbol of Venus, the goddess of love, because of its bright red color and intoxicating taste. The fruit looks so alluring in fact, that strawberries were carved into church altars and cathedral pillars in medieval times to represent perfection. Legend has it that when two people split a strawberry, they’ll fall in love.

Strawberries are one of nature’s true pleasures; they do not contain much sugar, but they have a sweet and wonderful taste, so they can be enjoyed without any guilt!

Brion & I have never felt the need to give gifts on ‘occasions’ but rather just a card with a loving and sincere verse. As we grow older, it comes clearer every day, the special privilege it is to simply have each other to share life with. I thought these little strawberry love notes were fitting for a Valentine blog.

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Strawberry Love Notes
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
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Instructions
Pastry
  1. In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or your finger tips. In a 1/2 cup measure, place the beaten egg & vinegar then add enough ice water to fill measuring cup. Make a well in flour mixture & add wet ingredients. Mix with a fork until combined into a pastry dough. Chill until filling is ready.
Filling
  1. In a bowl, combine strawberries, sugar, cornstarch & vanilla. Set aside.
Assembly
  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Open a 4 x 51/2-inch paper envelope & use as a pattern. Reduce the pattern to make a smaller envelope if desired. Cut pastry into 6 envelopes & 12 small heart shaped cut outs.
  2. Fill pastry with strawberry filling, but not on the back flap. Following the folds of the paper envelope, fold the cut out pastry, leaving the upper flap open.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
  4. Place a couple of heart shaped cut outs on folded edges of the pastry envelope. Place pastries on parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with egg wash then sprinkle with sanding sugar.
  5. Bake pastries for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Do not remove from baking sheet until completely cooled.
Recipe Notes
  • I used an AIR-BAKE pan so the tops would not overbake by the time the bottom was browned.

Millet Tea Cake

Millet is not just a key ingredient in bird seed and animal feed.  While it is used for these purposes, millet has been an important food source for a large part of the world’s human population dating back to prehistoric times!

It’s a primary ingredient in flatbreads, beer and other fermented beverages, and porridges. Though technically a seed, millet functions like a whole grain, and you can cook with it like you would other whole grains such as rice or quinoa.

The name ‘millet’ refers to several different varieties of a cereal grass, the most common in North America being the proso variety, while ‘pearl millet’ is the most common variety cultivated worldwide. India and parts of Africa are where millet is thought to have evolved.

Millet falls on the sweeter end of the whole grain scale; some people liken the flavor to corn. It also readily takes on the flavor characteristics of the ingredients in a sauce or a dressing. The small, butter-yellow grains cook up light and fluffy, similar to couscous. When ground to a flour, millet’s soft, starchy consistency makes it ideal for gluten-free baking. On its own, millet can taste somewhat bitter, which is why it’s best blended with other mild flours; doing so allows millet’s other flavor notes (buttery, nutty, grassy) to shine. 

Millet is available pearled or hulled: opt for hulled, which is the true whole-grain variety (hulled still retains plentiful fiber, as only the outermost layer is removed). Out of the hull, millet seeds look like tiny yellow beads with dark dots on the side where the plant’s stem was attached. 

Millet is one of the ways in which you can add the perfect gentle crunch to baked goods such as this millet tea cake.

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Millet Tea Cake
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword millet tea cake
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Course Brunch
Cuisine American
Keyword millet tea cake
Servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment paper making sure to have overlap on the sides for easy removal from the pan.
  2. Whisk oats, flour, sugars, baking soda & salt together. Add buttermilk, oil, egg, vanilla, millet & dates. Whisk to blend. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water & let stand for 5 minutes. Scrape into baking pan & level out with a fork.
  3. Bake cake 25-30 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. During the cooling stage drizzle cake with lemon curd if you wish. Slice & serve warm or at room temperature.

Apricot Orange Newtons

Do you recall the iconic Fig Newton? For some, fig newtons were the loser cookie – the one you would only eat out of pure desperation if there was nothing else resembling dessert in sight. What could be worse than mysterious, brown fruit ‘goo’ wrapped up in flavorless, dry ‘cake’? They felt that it was not a treat, it was a healthy breakfast disguised as a cookie.

I really don’t remember eating any amount of fig newton cookies myself, probably because my mother always baked. When I did finally taste them as an adult, I actually liked them. Maybe that had something to do with my love for figs or maybe I just like cookies…not sure!

The ‘fig newton’ was one of the earliest commercially baked products in North America. Introduced by the Kennedy Biscuit Company in 1891, fig newtons were named after the town of Newton, Massachusetts, which was near the factory that first produced the cookie commercially. Kennedy Biscuit eventually merged with several other bakeries to form the National Biscuit Company, now known as Nabisco.

The recipe for the fig filling was the brainchild of Charles M. Roser, a cookie maker born in Ohio, USA. Roser worked for a bakery in Philadelphia who sold his recipe to the Kennedy Biscuit company.

The manufacture of fig newtons was made possible by the creation of Florida inventor James Henry Mitchell, who revolutionized the packaged cookie business by building an apparatus that could make a hollow cookie crust and fill it with fruit preserves. His machine worked like funnel within a funnel; the inside funnel supplied jam, while the outside funnel pumped out the dough. This produced an endless length of filled cookie, which could then be cut into smaller pieces. 

Original fig newtons were the only variety available until the 1980s and as of 2012, Nabisco now makes several varieties of the ‘newton’, which, in addition to the original fig filling, include versions filled with apple cinnamon, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry and mixed berry.

As Nabisco likes to remind us, ‘newtons aren’t just cookies’, they’re fruit and cake. Bringing me to the idea of apricot newtons. There seems to be numerous versions of them around so we shall see how these one turn out.

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Apricot Orange Newtons
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Course dessert
Cuisine American
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Dough
Filling
Course dessert
Cuisine American
Servings
Ingredients
Dough
Filling
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Instructions
Dough
  1. Whisk the flours, baking powder, cardamom & salt together in a medium bowl.
  2. Beat the butter & brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until light & fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer & add the egg & vanilla. Finely grate the zest of the orange into the bowl (save the zested orange for the filling). Beat on medium speed until incorporated. Stop the mixer & scrape down the sides of the bowl & the paddle with a rubber spatula.
  3. Return the mixer to low speed, gradually add the flour; mix until just combined (the dough will be very soft and sticky). Scrape the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap & press into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap the disk tightly in the plastic wrap & refrigerate until firm, but still pliable, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, make the filling.
Filling
  1. Place the apricots in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment & process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan. (No need to wash out the food processor; you will use it again.)
  2. Juice the zested orange and add 2 tablespoons of the juice to the pan. Add the water & honey. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apricots plump up and all the liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes.
  3. Transfer the mixture back to the food processor and process into a smooth paste, about 1 minute. Let the mixture cool completely.
Assembly
  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper & set aside. Transfer the cooled apricot mixture to a piping bag or resealable plastic bag.
  2. Dust a work surface generously with flour. Unwrap the disk of dough and cut it into 3 equal pieces (about 6 1/2 oz (185 gm) each). Place one piece on the work surface, rewrap the other 2 pieces back in plastic wrap; refrigerate those 2 pieces.
  3. Reshape the remaining piece of dough into a log about 2 inches wide and 4 inches long. Place the log with the short side facing you, generously dust the top with flour, and roll into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long.
  4. Using kitchen shears, snip off a bottom corner of the plastic bag or piping bag. Pipe enough filling down the center of the piece of dough so that it is 1-inch wide and 1/4-inch thick.
  5. Using a bench scraper, scrape up the right side of the dough & gently fold it over the center so it reaches the middle of the filling. Repeat with the left side of the dough. Gently pat the top of the dough down with your hands, pinching it together as needed, so that it completely covers the filling and flattens slightly. (It should now be in a Fig Newton shape.)
  6. Cut the filled dough in half crosswise. Using the bench scraper, carefully flip each piece over & transfer to the baking sheet so that it is seam-side down. Repeat with the rolling & filling of the remaining 2 pieces of dough, using flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. You will end up with 6 filled & shaped pieces of dough on the baking sheet, so space them in 2 rows of 3 each, about 2 inches apart.
  7. Chill the logs for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Meanwhile, arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350 F.
  8. Bake until just lightly browned around the edges, 15 to 17 minutes. Cut each bar crosswise into 5 pieces and let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Potato, Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Perogies

As the days get shorter, darker and colder in the winter, many turn to food as a source of internal warmth and comfort. Besides being essential for life, food brings people together and generally just makes us feel good. This is especially true during the chilly winter months we get here in Canada, where tasty comfort food is more than welcome.

 In 1966 when the term ‘comfort food’  was first used, one would turn to foods that were prepared in a traditional way and reminds the person of their childhood, home, family and friends.

Commonly eaten in the Canadian prairie provinces, perogies, pierogi, perogy – (however you spell it) are a delicious filled dumpling with origins from Central and Eastern Europe. They can be stuffed with potato, cheese, bacon, and more, and they taste absolutely perfect with their typical sour cream topping. There’s also a giant perogy statue in Glendon, Alberta, showing you exactly how important the food is viewed in Canada.

The ultimate in comfort, peasant food or gourmet cuisine, as a main event or side, perogies can do no wrong.

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Potato, Mushroom & Caramelized Onion Perogies
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Perogy Dough
  1. In a bowl, beat egg, soft butter & sour cream together. Add flour & salt, combining until smooth. Scrape dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured work surface & knead dough for 5 - 8 minutes. Wrap dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate until ready to use.
Filling
  1. Chop onions. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet & sauté onions until caramelized. Remove from skillet & set aside.
  2. In the same skillet, melt another 2 Tbsp butter & add the chopped mushrooms. Salt & pepper the mushrooms & sauté until they are tender & all the liquid excluded by the mushrooms has evaporated, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. While you are cooking the onions & mushrooms, peel & quarter the potatoes & place in a small pot. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then lower heat & simmer until soft enough to mash, 15-20 minutes. Drain & place in a large mixing bowl.
  4. Mash & whip potatoes with grated cheddar cheese until smooth & fluffy. Fold in the cooked mushrooms & caramelized onions until well blended. Salt & pepper to taste.
Assembly
  1. Remove perogy dough from refrigerator & cut into 24 equal pieces. Roll each piece into about a 3-inch round. Place a heaping Tbsp of filling in the middle of pierogi. Dip your finger in a bowl of water & run it along the edge of the dough. Fold perogy in half, carefully pinching together edges to seal it completely.
Cook & Serve
  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Carefully drop perogies in & boil until all the perogies float to the surface & dough becomes somewhat translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Remove perogies with a slotted spoon, making sure to let as much of the excess water drip off as possible. In a large skillet, heat a Tbsp of butter. Place drained pierogis in skillet. Do not over-crowd so that they can all lightly brown on both sides.
  2. If you wish , you can make a few extra onions & mushrooms for a garnish. Serve with either sour cream or Ranch dressing.
Recipe Notes
  • When making the pierogis, nothing wrong with rolling out all the dough at the same time & cutting your circles with a cookie cutter. I just personally like dividing the dough so I don't have to do any re-rolling with the scraps. Just personal preference.

Potato Pie w/ Artichokes & Sausage

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes and is noted for its regional diversity and abundance of difference in taste.

Tortiera di Patate Carciofi e Salsiccia or ‘potato pie with artichokes and sausage’, is classic, simple comfort food at its finest. A seasonal dish that can serve as a hearty vegetable side dish (omitting the sausage) to a meat or fish meal, but which can also be the main course by adding the sausage meat as I did here.

Being a vegetable lover, I think vegetables are all good, but put together they make for fantastic preparations. 

This is a very easy preparation, which does not require special techniques or even special skills. Potatoes go very well with artichokes and sausage, making it a dish with a harmonious and truly savory taste.

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Potatoes Layered w/Artichokes & Breadcrumbs
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Instructions
Béchamel Sauce
  1. In a small saucepan, add milk. Slowly whisk in flour until blended then add salt, pepper & smoked paprika. Bring to a boil over medium heat while whisking constantly. Reduce heat to low & simmer, stirring for about 5 minutes. remove from heat & stir in parmesan.
Veggies & Sausage
  1. Cook potatoes in microwave until soft but not overcooked. Peel (if you wish) & slice into 1/4-inch slices; set aside.
  2. Clean artichokes, remove the harder outer leaves, cut them into fairly thin slices & brown in a pan with oil, season with salt. Add water & cook only until soft. Drain any excess water & set aside.
  3. Scramble fry sausage meat, remove from heat & drain on paper towels. Grate cheese. Prepare some breadcrumbs for topping.
Assembly
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Line a 8-inch round baking dish with foil & brush with oil. Place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of pan then top with a layer of artichokes. Sprinkle half of the sausage meat on top then half of the grated cheese. Spread half of the béchamel sauce over all. Repeat the same procedure to form a second layer.
  3. Bake for about 45 minutes or until bubbling & hot. Remove from oven & allow to cool about 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Carefully remove foil & sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Serve.