LOL, John, it seems there is a day for everything and anything! An email this morning with some recipes informed me about this one, and I do love artichokes!

ETA - These are a couple of the recipes that came with the email.

https://julieblanner.com/chokes-cheese-dip-flat-branch-copycat-recipe/

https://julieblanner.com/lemon-spaghetti-with-artichokes/

Since we moved far from Monterey County a few years ago, I found it difficult to find real artichokes here in PA, not canned or marinated hearts but nice large artichokes. Have since found them at Fresh Market and now at Trader Joe's, so we can enjoy them often. I use the marinated hearts in salads, but we love the big ones. I'll trim and steam it, cut in half and clean the inside of the choke, serve with mayo thinned with lemon juice and dill added.

sushipup, they’re so good served that way. Speaking of big ones, years ago a coworker brought some artichokes his dad had grown here in SoCal (Fallbrook). He set them out for people at work to take home. They were the largest, most beautiful ones I’ver ever seen. I, of course, helped myself. At the end of the day several were still left so I nabbed them.👍🏻 Wish I’d taken a pic of those chokes. They almost looked artificial, like green velvet.

The ones that have been at the farm so far are small. I have a couple that need cooking, but nothing wow. Something I learned from a produce purveyor was that the ugly frostbitten ones have the best flavor, so these at least have that going.

As a kid, I loved Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts. They were packed in herbed oil. I don't have the will to make them, nor do the easily available artichokes lend themselves well to this kind of treatment. So I just looked and the snooty market has a larger jar of them than we used to get, but I put one in the cart to celebrate the day. They don't look the same in the picture, but we'll see... They're best right out of the jar. If they're plain, they'll probably go in sandwiches. ;)

... But then, my favorite way to eat an artichoke is steamed with a little dipping sauce, usually something I throw together at whim, though a particularly tangy 1000 Island dressing is surprisingly good, if it's ready in the fridge, I usually make something vinegary or wine forward with herbs and spice.

“As a kid, I loved Cara Mia marinated artichoke hearts.”

Same with me, plllog. These days we always have both TJ’s marinated and canned artichoke hearts. DH can’t seem to get enough of the marinated. I like their canned and think they have better flavor than frozen.

Have you ever bought fresh ones with the very long stems?

There was a special artichoke restaurant in Castroville that I liked to go to and get deep fried artichokes, which I love but have never made. However, I have not been to this restaurant in over 10 years, and so I don't know what it is like today.

I buy fresh with I guess a medium stem. I do peel about 3 inches of stem and eat that as well. Then we just boil the whole artichoke as they are and peel off a few outer leaves. Then to the deliciousness of peeling each leaf and dipping the end into a vinagrette. I deal with the choke when I get there.

Chloebud, Yes! The ones from the farm come with a longish stem (6-8"?), but I've gotten the really long ones (like a foot) locally. Sometimes, they're really really good--probably the good grocery store ones--but often enough they're not worth bothering with, especially from the farm.

Neely, me too! Though I steam them nowadays because I have a steam oven and it's easier. The current ones here don't even have sharp spines so if they're for home (not company) I don't even bother trimming them. I have a just right pair of tin snips that is specifically for trimming artichokes!

Lars, deep fried sounds good (or maybe I'm just hungry), but if the marinated artichoke hearts don't live up to my memories, I'm going to try that! I'm not sure I could make myself deep fry a whole artichoke, though, and will leave that to the restaurants of the world. ;) ... Grrr. Never mind. The store with Cara Mia doesn't have the groceries I actually need, or want the proverbial arm and leg for them.

“…but often enough they're not worth bothering with…”

That’s been my experience, too. The first time I saw the (very!) long stemmed ones I remember thinking ”What???😵‍💫” I also sometimes wonder about the first person who ever looked at an artichoke and decided to eat it. Just glad they did!👍🏻

They were probably very, very hungry . . .

I just steam them in a covered glass bowl for eight minutes. Dip the leaves in mayo and eat 😋

So the less snooty store had Mezzetta marinated artichoke hearts, so I got one with my groceries, but too late, yesterday. I was looking up the spelling on Amazon and there's a picture of Cento ones that look right. :)

I think I’ve seen the Mezzetta ones but not Cento. DH buys TJ’s constantly no matter how many jars we already have. I checked and right now we have one in the fridge and 3 in the pantry. I can guarantee a trip to TJ’s today will bring another.

He came home with two more jars yesterday.🙄

I have not had a fresh artichoke. I did use the canned in a copycat Mellow Mushroom Philospher’s Pie.

I knew I forgot something! I'd meant to put some of the Mazzetta artichoke hearts in the salad last night. I did put in blue cheese and hot honey both, and it turned out to be a really good combo, so maybe it's just as well. :)

So, I tried them right out of the jar, which is what I loved anout Cara Mia as a kid. The Mazzetta are fine. Especially if you're putting them into something you don't want them to diva all over. But it's thin sunflower oil, not thick olive oil, and while there is a complexity of flavor in the seasoning, it’s very subtle, and salt forward. So I thought they'd be nice in the next egg bake, but I still have a piece of the last one, and I have to do something with the leftover cheese. Some mozz or fontina could go on an egg bake, but there was way too much of both, plus the eggy, herby ricotta concoction.

Answer: Cheese pie. Not pastry pie. Not pizza pie. Just a cheese strata, to be served with vegetables and/or toast. But wouldn't the artichokes be lost? Nay! Last week's slightly dry mandarins need using up. The membranes are so thin, they not really noticeable (and you might be able to give me $10,000 for charity to get me to supreme several mandarines, but IRL heck no).

In the classic Northern European Jewish style—if in doubt, add another egg—I actually added four eggs to the ricotta to get a good texture, and if the cheese failed it could be custard. One of the minions took the leftover sage and tarragon, so I used a bunch of dried herbs, not wanting to go out in the wind to pick fresh. There was a glut of Italian parsley gently freezing in the fridge, so I decorated with that. If you look in the almanac under ”harmless herbs”, parsley will be at the top of the list.

But this is supposed to be about artichoke hearts. I remembered to take a picture:

Very creative, plllog! I likely wouldn’t have thought to add the oranges. Have you sampled yet?

Thanks! I just did. It's not fully cool (but needing to go in the fridge), but I couldn't help myself. And I learned something! I didn't have anything toastable handy (the bread is high fiber and good for sandwiches, but can't toast). I recalled the big bag of half sized twists of Ritz crackers in the freezer. Frozen Ritz crackers are delightful!

There was nothing worth taking a picture of. The artichoke hearts and orange sections down show or anything. It was still loose, but quite nice on the crackers. I can give you a better assement tomorrow. One of the cheeses was way salty, and pops in and out. The oranges are great. Bursting with flavor and no issues with the membranes, which perhaps even dissolved--at least turned transparent. All the herbs and stuff I put in as a foil aren't assertive, though that may change after cooling. The artichoke hearts are nice, but the too salty interloper cheese kind of overpowers them. ignoring all, that, spread lukewarm on a frozen Ritz it's really good. :) The counterpoint was a vinegary deli type salad with cabbage, carrots and peppers, as well as random other stuff.

ETA: Cooled, the saltiness has receded and the artichoke hearts have asserted themselves, along with the membrane on the mandarin segments. Not obnoxious, just noticeable. It's really rather delightful, with each bite a little different: cheese crust, soft eggy ricotta, artichoke, orange, toasty cheese top, all tasting a little different, different textures.

ETAA: Zapped on garlic naan is the best yet!

I like them juwt with a vinaigrette but sometimes I do it as the Italians do. Mix together some crispy breadcrumbs, parmesan, other melty cheese and seasoning. Sprinkle this between the leaves and put in the oven until the cheese melts.