I had a lot of questions about artichokes, besides what to make with them.  Like what are they and how do I prepare them?  They are so pretty and elegant, I wanted to find out how to serve them to my family and friends.  So, I did a little research and found out a few things, like they are actually not a vegetable, but a blossom bud belonging to the sunflower family. 

So, now how do I cook them?  It’s not as difficult as I thought, really. Cut off the bottom stem, cut off the top a little, and stand it up in a big pot of enough water to cover the artichoke completely, and add some lemon or vinegar to keep the color bright.  Bring water to a boil and gently boil the artichoke, covered, for around 30 minutes depending on the size of the artichoke.  Pull it out and put it upside- down to drain.  When drained and cool enough to handle, turn it over, gently spread the pedals out a little and give the top “plug” a tug, discard, and scoop out any loose purplish stuff inside.  This cavity is where you would put some nice sauce for dipping.  You can have your serving dish and eat it too!

Simple enough.  But then comes the intimidating part… how to eat it.  I had to watch somebody eat an artichoke before I would try it.  I was in a restaurant and discreetly, I hope, peered over my husband’s shoulder to observe the fascinating technique.  Again, relatively simple… just pull off the pedals one at a time by grasping the end and gently tugging down, dip the end that you pulled off into the sauce or butter provided, put pedal in your mouth and pull out between your clenched teeth.  How funny is that!  You get all the pulp off the pedal, the yummy stuff, and discard the little pedal skeleton. 

Now for the dipping sauce.  From my understanding, this is where you can go wild.  There are Thai dips, Mustard dips, Seafood dips, and the list goes on.  I haven’t tried any of the recipes I’ve found yet because I’m a little leery.  I’m wondering if anyone has a favorite.