roasted artichoke

I grew up loving steamed artichokes served with lemon butter.  My favorite part was the artichoke heart at the end, once all the leaves had been eaten, and eating the heart dipped in more lemon butter.  I saw this recipe for Roasted Artichokes the other day on Pinch My Salt and had to try it.  If you try making this, make sure to cook the artichokes long enough for their size, probably about an hour and 15 minutes, otherwise they turn out being slightly bitter. Both artichokes tasted pretty good, but the smaller artichoke of the two tasted better.

WHOLE ROASTED ARTICHOKES

What to do:
Preheat oven to 425. Rinse the artichokes, and cut off the top quarter of the artichoke, and the bottom of the stem so that it can sit flat on the base as it bakes.  Rest each artichoke on a piece of aluminum foil that you've drizzled with olive oil.  Stuff 2-3 garlic cloves in the leaves of each artichoke, douse with the juice of half a lemon, and about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Wrap entire artichoke in aluminum foil and bake at 425 for about an hour and 15 minutes.  Serve with lemon butter or the lemon and oil juice that results from baking.  Don't forget to eat the heart once you've finished all the leaves.

art to art...dip de dip

Pat had the HMG over to her house on Bainbridge a few weeks back, and made the best artichoke dip. Ever. I liked it when I tasted it, and I liked it even more when I saw that the recipe called for an entire jar of mayonnaise. You can't go wrong with that.

2 (14 oz.) cans artichoke hearts, drained, chopped coarsely

8 oz. jar mayonnaise

2 cups shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated parmesan

1 teaspoon garlic powder, dip

Paprika (for sprinkling on top)

Mix artichokes, mayonnaise, cheeses and garlic powder. Pour mixture into greased casserole pan. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Pat Beal recommends serving this with Garlic melba rounds...or another sturdy cracker of your choosing.