food post!

I made a tasty snack yesterday:

Artichoke with garlic butter

artichoke
some salt
butter 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) -- actually, that's more than you need for one artichoke but it's cool if you have other stuff to dip, like bread. For one artichoke, probably half that amount would be enough.
garlic, 1 clove
any other seasonings that strike your fancy; I used a pinch of white pepper

1. Get a pot big enough to submerge an artichoke and boil water in it.

2. Place the artichoke in the water and sprinkle in a little salt. Leave on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until tender.

3. Retrieve the artichoke from the water WARNING: DO NOT SPLASH BOILING WATER ON YOURSELF.

4. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until the artichoke is cool enough that you can pull off scales without scalding yourself WARNING: DO NOT GET IMPATIENT AND ATTEMPT TO EAT STEAMING HOT ARTICHOKE SCALES.

5. Meanwhile, slice up the butter and crush the garlic; place both plus any seasonings in a small bowl and microwave for two periods of 30-45 seconds each, until the butter is melted, stirring between meltings.

6. Serve artichoke with garlic butter dip WARNING: TASTY ARTICHOKE SCALES HAVE NASTY POINTY THORNS ON THE END (these can be cut off prior to cooking if you plan ahead, which I did not).



For those of you who've never eaten artichoke, you pull off a scale and scrape off the tender, pale, fleshy part with your teeth then discard the tough, darker part. And dip it in melted butter first. It's gooood. I actually just did one artichoke for myself, and had it for dinner with soup and bread; one artichoke would be enough for a party snack, but you'd probably want to make two if it's a side dish for a group meal.

You can also hollow out the center of the cooked artichoke and fill it with a thick, creamy dip. Then people can pull off the scales and dip them.

Artichokes are a good source of magnesium and deliciousness.