All Choked Up

When I was a newlywed I was a very adventurous cook. I had subscriptions to Bon Appétit and Food & Wine magazines, and read them cover to cover.   I made quite a few of the fancy recipes--main dishes, side dishes, and desserts. 

Fast forward to today.   My recipe ingredients are simple and I don't bother spending a lot of time on elaborate preparations.   However, when I saw a nearby store had fresh artichokes on sale I couldn't resist.  For the first time in about 30 years we had whole steamed artichokes for dinner

I used the cooking directions from Better Homes and Gardens.  The steps:

• Wash
• Slice off the stem ends
• Remove outer leaves
• Remove the tops
• Trim leaf tips
• Boil or steam
• Eat!

While the artichokes were cooking I made a dipping sauce with butter, water, garlic, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard.  When the artichokes were done I put each one on a plate along with the rest of the food, and set a large bowl in the middle of the table to hold the discarded leaves. 

There were three of us for dinner.  Hubby Tony and I showed Son Donald (who had never had an artichoke) how to break off one leaf at a time, dip it into the sauce, then draw the base of the leaf through his teeth to remove the tender portion.  After he got down to the base, he figured out how to scrape off the inedible prickly "choke" and expose the heart.

When we were done there was a large pile of discarded leaves in the bowl, and not much else.  I know I enjoyed mine, and I'm pretty sure everyone else did, too.

Five years ago today: Blowout