A dear friend of mine emailed me the other day requesting that I post how I eat an artichoke.
Artichoke dip is divine but my favorite way to eat an artichoke is by steaming the whole thing and eating it, leaf by leaf until I get to the heart...the best part of the whole artichoke.
So Rochelle, here's how I eat my artichoke:

If the artichoke has thorns on the ends of the leaves you can cut them off (I usually skip this part. Remove stem. Rinse the artichoke in running cool water.
In a large pot add about 2 cups of water and a slice of lemon (lemon is optional and only used if I have a lemon on hand).
Add artichokes and bring water to a boil allowing to boil for 2 minutes then bring down to a simmer. Cook for 25-45 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke. You know it's done if you can easily peel the leaves off.
How to eat:Everyone uses a little something different to dip their artichokes in. Mayo, melted butter, sour cream...these have all been mentioned to me before.
Mayonaise is not my favorite and can't fathom ruining my artichoke by dipping it in straight mayo...gag! You can add a dab of mayo to some homemade vinaigrette dressing (let me know if you want my recipe) or if you don't have any homemade on hand the BEST dressing to use on salads and artichokes is pictured above. It's the closest thing I've found to my mom's homemade red wine vinaigrette dressing.
Pour some dressing in a small dish (add a dab of mayo if that's your thing). Pull off petals one at a time and dip them into the dressing. You don't have to dip the whole leaf into the dressing, just the bottom where you can see the "meat".
Tightly grip the top of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft,delicious portion of the petal. Repeat this process until you reach the baby leaves that are white in color. You can pull multiple baby petals off and dip together.
Work your way down to the middle (the heart) of the artichoke. Remove the few baby petals that cover the heart. Covering the heart is a fuzzy layer known as the "choke". Remove the choke with a spoon and discard.
Once the choke has been removed cut the heart into bite size pieces. Dip pieces into dressing and savor.
Artichoke hearts are used in most artichoke dips and found canned in grocery stores, but nothing can compare to a fresh artichoke heart.Eating an artichoke is an enjoyable and delicious process and my favorite way to enjoy artichokes.
Do you like artichokes? How do you eat yours? What do you use to dip your petals in? Have any good artichoke recipes you'd like to share?


































