How about not dipping them at all? While they are still warm I place each in a ziplock sandwich bag and pour a little italian dressing over them, then seal them (sucking out as much air as possible). They are excellent eaten either cold or reheated for a minute or two in the microwave. Nicely marinated.

My favorite is egg salad. Just chopped hard-boiled eggs and mayo. Pinch of salt.

We use Galeo's Miso Caesar dressing. Low cal, low fat and YUM!

Or you could use lemon, finely grated parm cheese and a drop of EVOO to bind them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Miso Caesar Dressing

Yum! The real story is that I am perfectly happy with drawn butter or mayonnaise and all the resulting incarnations. Alice won't eat either one (she likes butter but avoids it and simply doesn't like mayonnaise) and claims not to like artichokes. She admits it's been a long time since she's tried one and is willing to do so again but not with butter or mayo. Italian dressing is a great idea as she likes that. I like the sound of other options very much. Where do I find that yummy sounding Caesar dressing?

Fra Diavolo Sauce!

I guess it's time for me to try artichokes again. Elery loves them, I've always felt they don't really taste like anything at all except whatever they're sauced with, might as well just eat the sauce, LOL.

Yup, I think the 7 year rule is about to kick in, I ought to try them with some lower fat sauce, instead of in that artichoke and spinach, cheese laden appetizer dip with a zillion calories and fried chips to scoop it up with.

Annie

I love the idea of adding the Italian dressing after they're cooked! Sometimes I'll put some in the water as they're cooking, but I'm definitely going to try it after.

We love artichokes that have been split and grilled. It's easier to cut them in half when they're cold - I pull the fuzzy stuff out, then drizzle with olive oil and garlic. Throw them off to the side on the grill so they heat up while the main course is cooking - yummy :-)

You almost don't need a sauce when they've been grilled, but we like chipotle mayonnaise with them. I use Best Foods light mayo so I suppose it's not too bad...

Becky

Chipotle Mayonnaise

1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Yield: about 1 cup

Eileen- I buy the Galeo's Dressing at Whole Foods, Gelson's, Bristol Farms or the best price is from Albertson's. There doesn't seem to be a problem finding it here in the L.A. area. Or you can order from the website, but check with them to see where it's carried in your area.

It has never occurred to me to use anything other than drawn butter with lemon. But now that the question is raised, how about using Buffalo wings sauce? The original recipe from the Anchor Bar is simply drawn butter and Frank's Hot Sauce in a 50/50 mixture. If that's too picante for this use, just change the ratio.

Jim

I've been eating artichokes since I had teeth and the only way my mom or grandmother prepared them was with a breadcrumb, garlic, olive oil, grated cheese stuffing. No dipping sauce.

Steamed in a pot. Now I just steam them with water, olive oil, and garlic.

That was the way in our Italian household.

Sue

Alice tried the one I left for her in the frig with the hummus I made. Her verdict: "It's better than I remember but still not that great. Sort of tastes like nothing. I must be the only person in the world who doesn't like artichokes." I told her, no, that she and Annie share the same opinion. :)

Next up, grilled! Who doesn't like grilled anything!

cookingrvc: Your method sounds delicious! Can you give me the proportions of the stuffing mix and also how much olive oil and garlic do you put in the steaming water?

Grilled artichokes are yummy!!

My family is the same as Sue - I've never had them any other way that beats the breadcrumb/olive oil/garlic stuffed.

I don't measure anything, I just eyeball how much I need depending on the number of artichokes. My mother always uses Progresso Italian style breadcrumbs, throw in some grated cheese, fresh snipped parsley, and minced fresh garlic. Add olive oil and maybe a little warm water to moisten if you don't want to go heavy on the oil. Then cut the spikey tips off the leaves, use your fingers to "open" up the artichoke a little to make space between the leaves, and cram in the stuffing to whatever level you like - you can be heavy handed or only use a little. Then she'd put a few inches of water in a pot - enough to come an inch or so up the sides of the artichokes, puts a splash of olive oil in the water along with some salt and a good amount of chopped fresh garlic, covers them, and simmers them until they're done.

Lisa

liz-beth gardner: We do it the same as lisazone6_ma.

After you trim the pointy leaves and spread out the leaves, just take a handful of the breadcrumb mixture and run it down the side of the artichoke, so it catches in each leaf.

Baste them a couple of time as they steam.

If you;re just steaming them, add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the water, some salt, and about 4 garlic cloves chopped fine.

Sue

I recommend that you drive down to Castroville on May 15-16 for The Artichoke Festival - maybe I could meet you there. You should get some good ideas there. I went to a restaurant in Castroville that had a huge statue of an artichoke outside, and they made really good deep-fried artichokes, served with ranch dressing.

I used to have an artichoke plant in my back yard in Venice, but it got too huge, and the older it got, the more (and smaller) artichokes it made. I liked that I could keep the stems as long as I wanted because they are almost as good as the hearts.

Lars

Ooh Lars - I'm jealous that you can grow them yourself!! We usually only have them on Christmas Day and on Easter. Once in a while I'll pick a few up if I see them on sale, but that's rare. We usually have to pay between a dollar and a dollar fifty per artichoke!!!

And I know what you mean about the stems! I decided to make them sauteed one time and I cut them up and left a good bit of the stems on, which ordinarily if I were making them stuffed, I'd cut off so they'd stand upright in the pot. I was surprised that the couple inches of stem were just as good as the heart!

Lisa

If you want a ridiculously rich treat, dip the leaves in hollandaise sauce. Sinful.

BTW, pressure cookers are great for steaming artichokes; they get done in 14-16 minutes.

Lars, that would be fun. I'd have to take the train as I no longer drive. Perhaps Alice would want to go. She drives.

"Posted by arley -----
BTW, pressure cookers are great for steaming artichokes; they get done in 14-16 minutes. "

Not only that, the long stem that comes with the chokes gets very tender and quite edible. You also get a little juice if you use a container. the juice is very nice to cook with other dishes.

dcarch

I agree, pressure cooking is a fast method. I sent my pressure to live on a sailboat for a year. I'll have to wait!

When I used to live in the San Gabriel Valley, CA...
I had an artichoke at the Cheese Cake Factory (Colorado Blvd. Pasadena, CA).

The artichoke was cut in half and grilled, and covered with a reduction sauce (Balsamic vinegar).... It was wonderful!

I have tried this at home. I steamed the artichokes until almost done, then cut in half lengthwise, then grilled until done. Baste the artichoke with the balsamic vinegar reduction sauce until the artichoke is done.

Wonderful!

Kathy (lynn1965)