Let's talk artichokes..

[Kayelle]

I have an over abundance of big beautiful artichokes and I came across this great video. I like it because it moves so fast and gets right to the point with great music to boot. I paused it the second time I watched it so I could write down the ingredients. Before I get into the kitchen, I thought I'd share it with all of you......

Stuffed Artichokes - YouTube


So do you like artichokes, and what do you do with them?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I love artichokes, they are too "fussy" for Shrek, so I tend to wait and fix them when I am dining alone. I usually just trim and steam, serve with home made aoli.

 

[pacanis]

I only buy the jarred kind and add them to something "Greekish" I might be making, but I may branch out.

 

[4meandthem]

I hate wasting the stalk. I use a peeler on it to get the woody stuff off but still save the meat. Since these need to stand up I would saute and add them to the stuffing.

 

[Kayelle]

Great idea 4me! I'm also adding some chopped spinach to the stuffing.

 

[larry_stewart]

I sometimes steam them, then dip in either a garlic/oil/lemon dip, or an Italian dressing.

When I'm in the mood Ill stuff them with a stuffing made up of , tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, Bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese ( i usually stuff before i steam.

I just recently saw an episode of Julia and Jacques, on PBS, where they cut out the hearts and stiffed them with a mushroom and shallot mixture, and also a spinach mixture. I haven't tried this yet , but its on my list of things to do.

Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home _ Vegetables - Video Dailymotion

Sometimes, ill find a bunch on the discount rack. The outer leaves dont look so good, but I'll strip them, and just use the hearts and stem. Ill quarter them, fry them up in some olive oil and garlic, sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese and serve as an appetizer.

 

[Addie]

I have a set of four grapefruit spoons. They have serrated tips and make removing the choke much easier. And they are small enough that they fit right down into the inside of the artichoke.

Correction: I HAD four grapefruit spoons. My daughter confiscated two of them. For her artichokes.

 

[Kayelle]

I used to have those spoons too Addie. Don't know what became of them so I need at least one more for this job. It sure would make the job easier.

 

[Addie]

I used to have those spoons too Addie. Don't know what became of them so I need at least one more for this job. It sure would make the job easier.

My daughter probably took them. I can't tell you how many times my kitchen has been raided by my kids. You can usually find those spoons in your local Dollar Store.

 

[CatPat]

We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.

We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.

When we get to the heart, we scrape off all of that scruffy part with a knife, then we cut up the heart of it into bite sized pieces into our cups, and eat that.

It's so very good! Does anyone do this?

With love,
~Cat

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Cat, we ate them exactly the same way you describe, but I haven't made artichokes for ages (Himself thinks they take more time to eat than they are worth). I would make them for our kids when they were little. The three of us would have them as an after-school snack and they thought they were soooo grown-up when they were eating them! ~~ Now I have a taste for artichokes...

 

[Cheryl J]

Artichokes are pretty much a staple here in my house. I have them so often that I have learned to love the leaves just plain, and save the enjoyment of maybe a tablespoon of garlic and lemon butter just for the lovely hearts. Otherwise, it would be an insane amount of butter weekly, as I sometimes have 3 or so a week.

When I was a child, my dad taught me how to use a butter knife to separate the choke from the heart, once the leaves were gone. I have never used a serrated spoon.

Kayelle, thank you for sharing the video of stuffed artichokes. That looks amazing! Copied and saved.

 

[sparrowgrass]

I microwave mine. Rinse them well, drain, put in a covered dish and steam on high power til they are tender. I haven't done any for a while, but I think about 5 minutes for one will do it.

 

[taxlady]

We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.

We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.

When we get to the heart, we scrape off all of that scruffy part with a knife, then we cut up the heart of it into bite sized pieces into our cups, and eat that.

It's so very good! Does anyone do this?

With love,
~Cat

That's how my mother served them, when I was a kid.

 

[Aunt Bea]

We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.

We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.

When we get to the heart, we scrape off all of that scruffy part with a knife, then we cut up the heart of it into bite sized pieces into our cups, and eat that.

It's so very good! Does anyone do this?

With love,
~Cat

That is the way we eat them.

We put a big pottery bowl in the center of the table, everybody tosses the scraped leaves into it, it always looks like we have more in that bowl than we started with!

IMO artichokes are one of those foods where the original person to eat one must have been desperate and extremely hungry before they gave them a try.

 

[Kayelle]

IMO artichokes are one of those foods where the original person to eat one must have been desperate and extremely hungry before they gave them a try.

I was thinking the same thing Bea!

Our dipping sauce for the leaves and hearts is a mixture of mayo, fresh lemon juice, garlic powder, with fresh snipped chives if I have them.

Report: Last night I made the stuffed artichokes from the video I left, and they were a spectacular success! I highly recommend this recipe!
Granted, they are quite labor intensive but well worth it, and a complete meal in themselves. They would be very impressive served for a company meal with the home made tomato soup we've been discussing!

 

[Addie]

It goes against our nature, but when we shop we want to get the most for our money. So we tend to buy the biggest artichokes. I too have to remind myself to look for the smaller ones. The choke is smaller and the leaves more tender. I have finally convinced my daughter to do the same. With the large ones, by the time we get to the last leaf, we are sick of working on the whole thing.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.

We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.

When we get to the heart, we scrape off all of that scruffy part with a knife, then we cut up the heart of it into bite sized pieces into our cups, and eat that.

It's so very good! Does anyone do this?

With love,
~Cat

That's exactly how we do it at our house too. We place 2 individual ramekins by the plates, and half fill one with mayo, and the other with melted butter. We eat them like you do. We do steam the artichokes, and cut the pointy tips off of the leaves.

I may try adding garlic to my butter the next time I make them. I wonder how they would be if cooked in a covered grill, using indirect heat. Hmmmm.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North

 

[Oldvine]

I love artichokes. When I was growing up my dad had a job hauling produce from the Delta into the packing sheds. It was amazing how many crates of produce....artichokes, asparagus, corn, squash, potatoes, celery.. bounced off the top of his truck. Some times supper was a huge pot of the day's mishap, perfect for our vegetarian mother.

 

[Addie]

We have a produce distribution center in the next town over. You can go there are buy for just pennies, the damaged foods.