Artichokes

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

I love them and always have. My family always cooked them and ate them hot with drawn butter. OR cold with a mustard vinaigrette that my Dad made. Only these 2 ways.

Then, I discovered that some people eat them with MAYO! I had to retire to a darkened room with a cloth on my face for a week before I could re-emerge into the sunlight.

There seem to be 2 varieties of artichokes these days. I prefer the type that is firmer, taller, and has pointier leaves with a sticker at the end. The other type seems to be softer, rounder and with a more petally leaf that is softer with no points.

My preferred method is gently boiled, steamed for approx 30 min or until a leaf at the base can be easily pulled away and nibbled with no resistance. I heat a little SmartBalance in the micro wave with a dollop of dijon mustard and some chopped capers. If the sauce splits - just whisk in a little more smart balance or mustard to make it whole. Yummm.

[NMDemDist2]

1. i'm in a mixed marriage

he eats em with butter, I like mayo

here's a taste treat for you, mince some garlic and mix it with melted butter, pry open the leaves a bit and drizzle it into the chokes before you steam em

you'll love it!

[TygrBright]

2. Same for the DH & I-- except in our case...

...I dip 'em in Wishbone Italian Dressing, and he swabs 'em in mayo.

We mince up a little garlic, and put it in the water along with a drollop of vinegar or a little lemon juice, a bayleaf, and some fresh ground pepper. Then stand them on their bottoms and let them steam/simmer gently for an hour or so.

This past winter I discovered another way to do them: Get a bowl of lemon juice & water ready, and quarter the artichokes; that is, cut them in half lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise again. Drop the ones you're not working on in the lemon-infused water, and dip the one you are working on; it keeps 'em from going all brown (though going brown has no impact on how they taste). Trim each by removing choke, peeling the outer side of the stems (stems should be 2-3 in. long) and (optional) trimming off the sticker ends of the big leaves. Leave them soaking in the juice & water while preparing (in a slow cooker or dutch oven that can be used on the stovetop):

About a half-cup of chopped tomato
A good splash of white wine
A couple of cloves of garlic, minced
A medium shallot, minced
Half a cup or so of chicken broth
Fresh ground pepper, lots-- about a quarter tsp

Then go and cook two slices of bacon to medium consistency, and leave the drippings in the pan while they're draining. Crumble them and add them to the stuff in the cooker/dutch oven, and set it all to warming on low heat.

Turn the heat up under the drippings in the bacon pan, and thoroughly blot dry the quartered artichokes. Sear them briefly in the hot bacon fat, turning with tongs, so that each cut side gets a few browny bits, and then chuck the whole boiling, drippings and artichokes, into the dutch oven or slow cooker. Let it all do its thing on low heat for a couple of hours, and sprinkle with a good shake of kosher salt the last few minutes before serving.

These can be eaten right from the pot with the goop spooned over them and no other dressing/sauce, etc. The stems are tender and yummy and can be cut with knife & fork into sections and eaten, just slightly less creamy-yummy than the bottom. Of course you do have to do the peel-the-yummy-stuff-off-the-leaves-with-your-front-teeth thing.

Dang, I better go see if the macaroni hotdish is done...

hungrily,
Bright

[NMDemDist2]

3. wow! that sounds great! nt/

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. That does sound really, really good

I am also curious about the "Roman" method of pan deep-frying small artichokes. Apparently, you take small artichokes and smoosh them like sunflowers in hot oil and cook them and then serve them with a dipping sauce. Has anyone tried this method/recipe?

[Duer 157099]

5. I only do them one way (so far)

trim the artichokes, then steam with a good handful of oregano thrown into the water

the dipping sauce is mayo plus lots of fresh lemon juice plus lots of fresh ground pepper

i want to deviate but can't seem to

[Gormy Cuss]

6. Mayo or yogurt-based dips here.

Usually one with mustard and herbs and another with chipotle. My only requirement for the artichokes is a good chunk of meat on most leaves. The crop was awful this Spring -- it was hardly worth the effort.

[Tab]

7. And in the latest (old) crime news

A young husband, tired of constantly being broke, and stuck in an unhappy marriage, decided to solve both problems by taking out a large insurance policy on his wife (with himself as the beneficiary), and arranging to have her killed.

A "friend of a friend" put him in touch with a nefarious underworld figure, who went by the name of "Artie." Artie explained to the husband that his going price for snuffing out a spouse was $5,000.

The husband said he was willing to pay that amount, but that he wouldn't have any cash on hand until he could collect his wife's
insurance money.

Artie insisted on being paid SOMETHING up front. The man opened up his wallet, displaying the single dollar bill that rested inside.
Artie sighed, rolled his eyes, and reluctantly agreed to accept the dollar as down payment for the dirty deed.

A few days later, Artie followed the man's wife to the local Safeway grocery store. There, he surprised her in the produce
department, and proceeded to strangle her with his gloved hands.

As the poor unsuspecting woman drew her last breath, and slumped to the floor, the manager of the produce department stumbled
unexpectedly onto the scene. Unwilling to leave any witnesses behind, Artie had no choice but to strangle the produce manager as well.

Unknown to Artie, the entire proceedings were captured by hidden cameras and observed by the store's security guard, who immediately
called the police. Artie was caught and arrested before he could leave the store.

Under intense questioning at the police station, Artie revealed the sordid plan, including his financial arrangements with the
hapless husband.

And that is why, the next day in the newspaper, the headline declared,

"ARTIE CHOKES TWO FOR A DOLLAR AT SAFEWAY."

[Stinky The Clown]

8. We do 'em in the pressure cooker

Cut the flower top off so it looks like it got a flat top haircut. Cut the stem end flat so they stand up. Put some water in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Douse the tops of the 'chokes with olive oil, then sprinkle with dried parsley, oregano, and basil, and a generous amount of finely chopped chopped raw garlic. Let 'em rip for about 20 minutes.

The olive oil goes all through 'em with the herbs and garlic hitching a ride. No need to dip 'em in anything. Just pluck a petal and scrape away.

on edit .... since someone will be using this, I see I need to make some typo corections.

[Duer 157099]

9. H2S has convinced me

I'm trying that next time

I am *so* trying that

(it was when he said "basil" that he hooked me)

[grasswire]

10. have you tried curried mayo?

We like them chilled with mayo mixed with curry powder and a bit of lemon juice.