More Willie.
 
Artichokes!
 
One thing I love to do when I have time is cook. If you don’t know me you might be surprised by this, but it’s true. One of my favorite foods to cook with or just steam and eat plain is artichokes. If you don’t know what an artichoke is then you are missing out. It is a vegetable and is used most often in Italian food. An artichoke can be a very intimidating vegetable to prepare. Most varieties have spines on the tip of the leaves and they can be a pain when handling them. Also, the inside of the artichoke is kind of complicated and it too has spiny parts called the choke that can give you a good poking. So can you actually eat this thing? YES! And it is delicious. Once prepared, you can scrape off the bottom of the outer leaves with your teeth, eat the entire tender leaves, and the best part..the heart. My Nana used to make stuffed artichokes for Sunday dinners (I’ve taken over the job when I go home now) and since there are lots of leaves and only one heart per artichoke, things had a tendency to get feisty when everyone was trying to get their hands on the hearts. Actually, the part of the leaves that you scrape off with your teeth is a part of the heart where the leaves attach to the rest of the artichoke. Pulling off the leaves and then scraping off the bottom is actually really fun and makes artichokes a great food for social occasions. You can relax and talk and snack on the leaves. Then fight over the heart. Plus, artichokes are considered an aphrodisiac by a lot of people. So how do you prepare an artichoke? Here is the most basic and traditional way. Steamed Artichokes: How to Prepare: 1) Wash the artichokes. Cut off the very top of the artichoke (As pictured below). Then cut off the sharp points on the end of all the leaves. It’s easiest to just use scissors. Cut the large stem so that the artichoke can sit flat and not fall over. 2) Fill a large pot with about one inch of water. You want the artichoke to be able to stand up on its own and not float, so not too much water. 3)Place the artichoke(s) in the pot. There is usually only room for two or three since artichokes can be pretty large. Cover pot and turn heat on medium to high. Let cook for awhile...about 2 to 3 hours or until the outer leaves are soft and almost falling off or are falling off. How to Eat: Pull off the outer leaves and use your upper teeth to scrape off the part of the leaf that attaches it to the artichoke. Many people like to dip the leave in butter or another type of sauce first. Nothing too heavy that will kill the flavor of the artichoke though. Once you get to the inner leaves, you can eat the whole leaf. You will be able to tell because the inner leaves are really soft. Once you’re done with the inner leaves, you will come to the choke...the soft, but bristly inner part with a spiny top. Here is the tricky part. You have to cut around the base of the choke to separate it from the heart. If you do it well, you should be able to pull the choke off of the heart without leaving any little “hairs” behind. If not, just scrape off the hairs with the knife. The heart is the bottom and should be very soft. You can eat it plain or put some salt on it. It is the best part and it is amazing! Variations: 1) Stuff base of each leaf with a mixture of bread crumbs, garlic, and basil. Drizzle with olive oil before cooking. 2) Cut the artichoke in half and pull out the choke before cooking. Stuff the heart with bread crumb mixture. 3) Grill artichokes. 4) Save hearts, saute’ with garlic, top with risotto. You can also buy canned artichokes in a variation of forms...whole artichokes, hearts, chunks, etc... 
Personally I’m not a big fan of the canned artichokes because they are always marinated in some type of oil and it takes away the flavor. If you do need an artichoke fix quick and buy the canned ones, wash them thoroughly with water to try get all the oil and canned crap off of them. The best uses I have found for the canned ones are: 1) Buying the canned whole artichoke bottoms, washing them a lot with water, sauteing with spices and herbs, and then topping with risotto, eating with salt, or chopping up and putting into pasta. 2) Buying the canned artichokes that are cut up into chunks, wash them thoroughly, and then toss into pasta with a proscuitto or anything else that you have in your kitchen or like. If you haven’t tried artichokes, I would suggest it. Even if you just order them on your pizza next time. They are delicious. And did I mention they were an aphrodisiac? “Artichoke? I don’t even know what an artichoke looks like!” -Vince
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
Food of the Day: Artichokes!
Pulling out the choke.
Off with the head!
<-------Artichoke Bottoms
 
Artichoke Chunks------------>