Wednesday, April 7, 2010

April 7th - Artichokes with Lemon Garlic Butter


MY FIRST TIME
I can't believe this is my first time ever working with fresh artichokes.   You'd think we would have worked with them in culinary school, but we didn't.   Needless to say, they look a little intimidating.  But really, they're super easy to prepare.   I used this video from the wonderful website OCEAN VIEW FARMS.  They have all the information you need to know about artichokes



Then on youtube I found this video on how to eat an artichoke.  I like it because the woman gives the camera a crazy look.
 

 
Another tip I picked up is to season the water you are either boiling or steaming the artichokes in.   You can add a bay leaf, whole cloves of garlic, some lemon pieces, peppercorns, etc.  It imparts flavor into the artichoke.
 
I had a really hard time finding fresh artichokes.  I ended up going to 4 different grocery stores in search of them.  Luckily I was able to pick up the last 2 in a shop on my fourth try.  I don't think I'll need to make these again.  They were good, but they're a lot of work to eat (and to find).   I suppose, if you're up for a culinary challenge pick some up and give it a try.
 
THE RECIPE
Ingredients:
Artichokes: $5.29 (yeah, pricey)
Olive oil: had
Garlic: had
Thyme: had
Lemons: $0.39
Butter: $1.79
 
Total: $7.47
 
THE RESULTS
 
FAST:  Not really.  The artichokes take 45 minutes to steam.  You can get the butter done while it's cooking.  Prep could take you about 10 minutes so you're looking at close to an hour before this recipe is done.
 
EASY:  Again, if you follow the Ocean Mist Farms video, prepping the artichokes will be really easy.
 
FRESH:  Fresh artichokes taste wonderful, but the lemon garlic butter makes them even better.
 
OVERALL:  This was a great learning experience.  I'm glad I got to try something I've never done before.  It really builds up your confidence.  Yeah, I didn't rub the cut artichoke with some lemon so it discolored while cooking.  Yeah, I tried to reheat Brian's artichoke and it got really mushy.  But I made it and it tasted delicious.
 
Tomorrow we've got fish on the menu.  See ya then.
 
 

1 comment:

nik.zimm said...

I remember eating fresh artichokes at my relatives' house in Switzerland several years ago. It was the first and unfortunately last time I had them. The sauce was somewhat more like hollandaise. They were so good.