um… obviously, that should be grocery store. :smack:
Question about stuffing artichokes, cutting them in half, etc. I’ve only eaten them the way I’ve described. (I have tried them with mayo, though.) That is, I pull off the leaves and work my way to the centre. How do you eat them when you stuff them, sauté them, etc.?
Just to clarify my last. Shoshanna’s recipe sounds delicious, but I’m not clear on how it’s eaten.
You mean get rid of the tender inner leaves? What do you do with them?
Is the stuffing used as a dip? That is, you dip the outer leaves in it (and the inner ones you’ve set aside somewhere?) and scrape with your teeth? Or is there some spoon technique? (As I said, I’ve only done the pink-n-scrape method, and nothing fancy as far as cooking.)
Sorry about the bad spelling, I was on high on the 'choke while I was typing. 
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[hands on hips]
Finally, some sort of explanation.
Remember, rehab is for quitters!
To stuff an artichoke, you must first sort of loosen the leaves - not pull them from the base, just away from one another. Then, you carefully moosh (that’s a technical term) the stuffing waaay down in between all the layers. (If you’re really committed to stuffing it well, you should reach inside, pull off the VERY inner leaves, scoop out the choke - a grapefruit sppon is very handy for this - and discard it first, but who the hell has that kind of attention span?) Steam it as you normally would, until an outside leaf pulls off with gentle pressure.
To eat it, you dip the individual leaves, cupping them so the stuffing doesn’t fall off, scrape the leaves with your teeth as per usual, only in addition to artichokey goodness, you also get a mouthful of seasoned breadcrumby goodness.
I love and will cheerfully eat unstuffed steamed artichokes, but stuffed with breadcrumbs, you just feel like you’re getting more food for you effort.
Must have with mayonaise, lemon juice and a lot of fresh cracked or ground pepper…I boil them with lemon juice, garlic and various Italian herbs…more for environmental smells than anything although the lemon and garlic does deposit some flavor into the leaves and the heart.
BTW, it’s scraping the teeth over to the leaves…then when you get real close to the choke, carefully take a spoon to get rid of the fuzz.
Oh and the artichoke is a flower for those that don’t know. Not technically a veggie or fruit if I remember correctly.
I used to make lemon butter to dip the leaves in, but I noticed that I wasn’t even bothering to dip! Just some coarse sea salt for me.
Usually just boiled with lemon and butter sauce on the side, but they are also good with Hollandaise sauce. Another good way is to grill them.
This is a good recipe, sounds a bit odd with the mint, but they are really tasty:
2 lemons, halved
6 large artichokes
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Squeeze juice from halved lemons into large bowl filled with cold water. Cut stem off 1 artichoke, leaving about 1 inch. Snap off outer 2 rows of leaves. Cut off top 1/3 of artichoke. Quarter artichoke lengthwise. Using small knife, cut out choke and prickly small leaves. Place artichoke in lemon water. Repeat with remaining artichokes.
Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Drain artichokes, add to pot, and boil until crisp-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain. Transfer artichokes to rack and cool.
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Whisk oil, 1/3 cup lemon juice, and mint in small bowl. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. Brush artichokes with dressing. Grill until tender and lightly charred in spots, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes. Transfer artichokes to platter. Drizzle with some of remaining dressing. Serve warm or at room temperature.
That pretty much covers it for me, except with artichokes I’m something of a purist: nothing but fresh garlic is good enough. I slice a couple/few cloves per dish of butter (I really like garlic). I haven’t had a decent artichoke since I left LA, you should see what they try to sell (at an outrageous price) as an artichoke around here. I love the things, but excepting the heart, I’m not sure if I like them for themselves or as a vehicle to get garlic butter in my mouth 
Does anyone remember the “Our Gang” short (don’t feel like looking up the title) where someone gives Stymie an artichoke to eat? He says, “It might choke Artie, but it ain’t gonna choke Stymie.”
He starts peeling down leaf after leaf with a bewildered look until he finally gets to the heart.
I tried a fresh artichoke one time. I got annoyed with all the spikes. A thistle with edible leaves, and more work than it was worth IMO. I do like them, though, as long as someone else prepares them.
I think Stymie was passing by a greengrocer when he said thet. IIRC, there was a bin of them outside the shop. I don’t remember him peeling it though.
I eat them almost exactly like Johnny L.A. described - steamed in the rice steamer (must cut the big ones in 1/2 to fit), leaves dipped in a mixture of real melted butter and fresh garlic or garlic salt. The main difference is that I put cheese (parmesan, romano or asiago) in the garlic sauce. That’s some good stuff.
Sam’s has them once or twice a year at $4.50 for a bag of 3 hugemungeous artichokes. If I can’t get them at Sam’s, they’re usually $2 each for much smaller ones. The idea above (planting them) is interesting. I might have to try that. I wonder where I can get artichoke seeds? 
Thanks for all the great recipes! I’m sure I’ll be trying some of them soon.
Trader Joe’s has packs of five small ones (like the ones I had the other day). I like the small ones because they cook quickly. Also, one regular-size artichoke isn’t quite enough, and two is too much.