Artichokes

The best way to clean chokes is set them in the sink & cover with cold water for a 30 mins or so. Then take a shape knife & cut the stem back with an even cut so that they can stand upright in your pot or steamer without falling. After you cut the stem off, take kitchen shears & go around each choke & snip the tips of each leaf to remove the tiny stickers at the tops of each leaf. Run back under cold water again & now you can safely spread the leafs back some without getting pricked! Pull the center back & reach in with the tips of your fingers & pull out all of the little tiny purple leafs that are near the heart in the very center, they are too small to eat so remove them now to avoid a mess while eating them later. With the centers cleaned before cooking gives you an area to insert a fork into the heart to check for doneness, (beware of steam) when it goes in without any effort then they are done. I set them on a paper plate or some paper towels to cool some & this also helps remove any excess moisture so you don't end up with a puddle on your dinner plate. Artichokes are a little involved to clean & cook, so I now clean & cook four at a time & stick them in a big zip lock until we are ready to eat them. They last for quite a few days with no problem in the frig. I then set each artichoke in microwave proof (cereal size) bowl and nuke them for a minute or two to knock the chill off right before we are ready to eat them. Although these things taste excellent cold too!!

Steaming makes these the perfect texture. Like others, I added plenty of water (the water level was flush with the bottom of the steamer). In addition to slathering the artichokes with butter and garlic before steaming (great idea!), I also added slices of lemon and minced garlic to the water. I steamed them for 45 minutes and made two sauces to dip the leaves in--one with butter, garlic and lemon, the other with mayo, a little bit of balsamic vinaigrette and pepper. My husband loved these and so did I! Will definitely make again...

Pretty good. Like most other reviewers I needed considerably more water and fresh lemon juice (throw in the peel too) is quite good. BUT DON'T CUT OFF THE STEM, IT'S JUST THE END OF THE HEART!!! Just trim of the end (like you would cut flowers before placing in a vase). It also gives you a way to test for doneness. Pierce the stem with a knife,if it goes through easily, it's done. ALSO: try fresh lemon juice with salt, fresh ground pepper, fresh garlic and slowly beat in Extra Virgin Olive Oil for dipping. Ligh and velvety.