How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

This is from simplyrecipes.com- one of my favorite food websites:
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_cook_and_eat_an_artichoke/

I can imagine, that if you didn't grow up eating artichokes and if you were encountering them for the first time, they might seem a little intimidating. How one cooks and eats an artichoke is not obvious from its appearance. If you've always wondered how to cook and eat them, here are the steps:

 How to Cook an Artichoke:

1. If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut off the thorned tips of all of the leaves. This step is mostly for aesthetics as the thorns soften with cooking and pose no threat to the person eating the artichoke.

 2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke. (This step is optional)

 3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.

 4. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them.

 5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.

 6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes). Insert a steaming basket. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Note: artichokes can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (about 15-20 minutes cooking time). Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook.

 How to Eat an Artichoke:
Artichokes may be eaten cold or hot, but I think they are much better hot. They are served with a dip, either melted butter or mayonaise. My favorite dip is mayo with a little bit of balsamic vinegar mixed in.

 1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time.

 2. Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all of the petals are removed.

 3. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat (or just bite straight from the stem)

Artichoke Pasta with Alfredo

I usually make this with bottled artichoke hearts - because that's what I have. But a quick google search tells me how to cook the artichoke and work with just the hearts. (Click the link for video instructions or written instructions on a few ways to cook an artichoke.)

So I'm excited to use fresh artichokes for one of my favorite recipes this week!

Ingredients:

• Pasta (bowtie or rotini)
• Chicken (boiled and shredded) 
• Peas, frozen
• Artichoke Hearts
• Alfredo Sauce (a bottle, or the delicious recipe below)
• 2 c low fat milk
• 1/3 c low fat cream cheese
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 c freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Alfredo Sauce

1. In a blender, blent the milk, cream cheese, flour and salt until smooth and set aside.
2. In a large nonstick saucepan, melt butter on medium high heat and add the garlic. Saute the garlic for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly to prevent the garlic from sticking and burning.
3. Add the milk mixture to the pan. Stir constantly for 3-4 min or until it just comes to a simmer. Keep stirring and let it cook for a few minutes more or until the sauce thickens, about 6-7 min.
4. Once the sauce has started to thicken, remove from heat. Whisk the cheese into the sauce and immediately cover the pan. 
5. Allow the sauce to stand for at least 10 min before using. It will continue to thicken upon standing. 
6. Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 5 days. The sauce will become very thick once refrigerated. To use it, reheat the sauce and add a little milk until the desired consistency is reached. 

Pasta

1. Cook chicken & shred it. 
2. Cut up artichokes & warm the peas.
3. Combined cooked pasta with chicken, artichokes & peas.
4. Add Alfredo Sauce & mix well.
5. Serve warm with delicious bread & a salad! (the come back and tell me how much you loved it.)