# Let's talk artichokes..



## Kayelle (Jan 29, 2014)

I have an over abundance of big beautiful artichokes and I came across this *great *video. I like it because it moves so fast and gets right to the point with great music to boot. I paused it the second time I watched it so I could write down the ingredients. Before I get into the kitchen, I thought I'd share it with all of you......

Stuffed Artichokes - YouTube


So do you like artichokes, and what do you do with them?


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## PrincessFiona60 (Jan 29, 2014)

I love artichokes, they are too "fussy" for Shrek, so I tend to wait and fix them when I am dining alone.  I usually just trim and steam, serve with home made aoli.


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## pacanis (Jan 29, 2014)

I only buy the jarred kind and add them to something "Greekish" I might be making, but I may branch out.


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## 4meandthem (Jan 29, 2014)

I hate wasting the stalk. I use a peeler on it to get the woody stuff off but still save the meat. Since these need to stand up I would saute and add them to the stuffing.


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## Kayelle (Jan 29, 2014)

Great idea 4me! I'm also adding some chopped spinach to the stuffing.


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## larry_stewart (Jan 29, 2014)

I sometimes steam them, then dip in either a garlic/oil/lemon dip, or an Italian dressing.

When I'm in the mood Ill stuff them with a stuffing made up of , tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, Bread crumbs, olive oil, garlic and parmesan cheese ( i usually stuff before i steam.

I just recently saw an episode of Julia and Jacques, on PBS, where they cut out the hearts and stiffed them with a mushroom and shallot mixture, and also a spinach mixture.  I haven't tried this yet , but its on my list of things to do.

Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home _ Vegetables - Video Dailymotion

Sometimes, ill find a bunch on the discount rack.  The outer leaves dont look so good, but I'll strip them, and just use the hearts and stem.  Ill quarter them, fry them up in some olive oil and garlic, sprinkle with salt and parmesan cheese and serve as an appetizer.


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## Addie (Jan 29, 2014)

I have a set of four grapefruit spoons. They have serrated tips and make removing the choke much easier. And they are small enough that they fit right down into the inside of the artichoke.

Correction: I HAD four grapefruit spoons. My daughter confiscated two of them. For her artichokes.


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## Kayelle (Jan 29, 2014)

I used to have those spoons too Addie. Don't know what became of them so I need at least one more for this job. It sure would make the job easier.


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## Addie (Jan 29, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> I used to have those spoons too Addie. Don't know what became of them so I need at least one more for this job. It sure would make the job easier.



My daughter probably took them. I can't tell you how many times my kitchen has been raided by my kids. You can usually find those spoons in your local Dollar Store.


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## CatPat (Jan 30, 2014)

We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.

We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.

When we get to the heart, we scrape off all of that scruffy part with a knife, then we cut up the heart of it into bite sized pieces into our cups, and eat that.

It's so very good! Does anyone do this?

With love,
~Cat


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## Cooking Goddess (Jan 30, 2014)

Cat, we ate them exactly the same way you describe, but I haven't made artichokes for ages (Himself thinks they take more time to eat than they are worth). I would make them for our kids when they were little.  The three of us would have them as an after-school snack and they thought they were soooo grown-up when they were eating them!  ~~  Now I have a taste for artichokes...


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## Cheryl J (Jan 30, 2014)

Artichokes are pretty much a staple here in my house.   I have them so often that I have learned to love the leaves just plain, and save the enjoyment of maybe a tablespoon of garlic and lemon butter just for the lovely hearts. Otherwise, it would be an insane amount of butter weekly, as I sometimes have 3 or so a week. 

 When I was a child, my dad taught me how to use a butter knife to separate the choke from the heart, once the leaves were gone. I have never used a serrated spoon.  

Kayelle, thank you for sharing the video of stuffed artichokes. That looks amazing! Copied and saved.


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## sparrowgrass (Jan 30, 2014)

I microwave mine.  Rinse them well, drain, put in a covered dish and steam on high power til they are tender. I haven't done any for a while, but I think about 5 minutes for one will do it.


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## taxlady (Jan 30, 2014)

CatPat said:


> We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.
> 
> We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.
> 
> ...


That's how my mother served them, when I was a kid.


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## Aunt Bea (Jan 30, 2014)

CatPat said:


> We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.
> 
> We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.
> 
> ...



That is the way we eat them.

We put a big pottery bowl in the center of the table, everybody tosses the scraped leaves into it, it always looks like we have more in that bowl than we started with!

IMO artichokes are one of those foods where the original person to eat one must have been desperate and extremely hungry before they gave them a try.


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## Kayelle (Jan 30, 2014)

Aunt Bea said:


> IMO artichokes are one of those foods where the original person to eat one must have been desperate and extremely hungry before they gave them a try.



I was thinking the same thing Bea!

Our dipping sauce for the leaves and hearts is a mixture of mayo, fresh lemon juice, garlic powder, with fresh snipped chives if I have them.

*Report:* Last night I made the stuffed artichokes from the video I left, and they were a *spectacular* success! I highly recommend this recipe!
Granted, they are quite labor intensive but *well worth it, *and a complete meal in themselves. They would be very impressive served for a company meal with the home made tomato soup we've been discussing!


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## Addie (Jan 30, 2014)

It goes against our nature, but when we shop we want to get the most for our money. So we tend to buy the biggest artichokes. I too have to remind myself to look for the smaller ones. The choke is smaller and the leaves more tender. I have finally convinced my daughter to do the same. With the large ones, by the time we get to the last leaf, we are sick of working on the whole thing.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 30, 2014)

CatPat said:


> We don't trim them. We do cut the stem where it is equal and flat up against it, then we boil them until you can insert a fork into the stem easily.
> 
> We serve them whole, and peel the leaves and dip them into a cup of melted butter, cracked black pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder. We scrape the meat part off the leaves with our teeth and discard the leaves.
> 
> ...




That's exactly how we do it at our house too.  We place 2 individual ramekins by the plates, and half fill one with mayo, and the other with melted butter.  We eat them like you do.  We do steam the artichokes, and cut the pointy tips off of the leaves.

I may try adding garlic to my butter the next time I make them.  I wonder how they would be if cooked in a covered grill, using indirect heat.  Hmmmm.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## Oldvine (Jan 30, 2014)

I love artichokes.   When I was growing up my dad had a job hauling produce from the Delta into the packing sheds.  It was amazing how many crates of produce....artichokes, asparagus, corn, squash, potatoes, celery.. bounced off the top of his truck.   Some times supper was a huge pot of the day's mishap,  perfect for our vegetarian mother.


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## Addie (Jan 30, 2014)

We have a produce distribution center in the next town over. You can go there are buy for just pennies, the damaged foods.


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## Kayelle (Jan 30, 2014)

Oldvine said:


> I love artichokes.   When I was growing up my dad had a job hauling produce from the Delta into the packing sheds.  It was amazing how many crates of produce....artichokes, asparagus, corn, squash, potatoes, celery.. bounced off the top of his truck.   Some times supper was a huge pot of the day's mishap,  perfect for our vegetarian mother.



So much beautiful produce comes from the central valley of California. If we don't get some much needed rain to get us out of this drought, the entire country will feel the hurt.


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## Cheryl J (Jan 30, 2014)

+1....

 Kayelle, thank you for posting back of your success with the stuffed artichokes.  I am SO going to try this!  It sounds and looks wonderful.


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## Mad Cook (Jan 31, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> I have an over abundance of big beautiful artichokes and I came across this *great *video. I like it because it moves so fast and gets right to the point with great music to boot. I paused it the second time I watched it so I could write down the ingredients. Before I get into the kitchen, I thought I'd share it with all of you......
> 
> Stuffed Artichokes - YouTube
> 
> ...


Very simple tastes. Boiled/steamed and eaten with hollandaise sauce or balsamic vinaigrette.


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## Mad Cook (Jan 31, 2014)

Addie said:


> My daughter probably took them. I can't tell you how many times my kitchen has been raided by my kids. You can usually find those spoons in your local Dollar Store.


I had a set once too but they disappeared. Perhaps grapefruit spoons are nomadic. 

 Never been able to find any in the shops. Must look on line.

 As regards the recipe which does sound gorgeous, I'm afraid I have to paraphrase Shirley Conran and say "Life's too short to stuff artichokes"


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## Kayelle (Jan 31, 2014)

Mad Cook said:


> I had a set once too but they disappeared. Perhaps grapefruit spoons are nomadic.
> 
> Never been able to find any in the shops. Must look on line.
> 
> As regards the recipe which does sound gorgeous, I'm afraid I have to paraphrase Shirley Conran and say "Life's too short to stuff artichokes"



I believe the quote is mushrooms, although I think the life of a foodie is long enough to stuff both.


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## CatPat (Feb 3, 2014)

Why do I never see artichokes served in restaurants like the way I described? I've never seen this here.

With love,
~Cat


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## Janet H (Feb 3, 2014)

CatPat said:


> Why do I never see artichokes served in restaurants like the way I described? I've never seen this here.
> 
> With love,
> ~Cat


My guess is the reason you don't see steamed artichokes in restaurants often (in this simple form) is that they take a long time to cook. The area of the country you live in may also be a factor but I had an artichoke recently at Early Girl in Asheville so maybe this is changing...

I routinely see small artichokes served in italian and spanish style restaurants, pan seared with tomatoes or served with pasta.


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## Addie (Feb 4, 2014)

This thread got me to hankering. So I bought four small artichokes yesterday. I will just steam them and dip in melted butter. Two for me, and two for The Pirate. But  until the time comes for them, we will be having chicken salad sandwiches. We had KFC Original yesterday. It was horrible. Too dang salty. There were eight pieces, four for The Pirate and four for me. One piece each was all we could get down. But did make a massive dent in the cole slaw. So tonight I peeled off all the skin and meat from the other pieces. Cut up a med. onion and four stalks of celery. Will mix in some celery seed and mayo tomorrow. But will be looking forward to the artichokes. Been a couple of years since I had one.


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## DianaP81 (Feb 4, 2014)

Herry, Italian dressing is it?
I cook the artichokes in the same way and I cook in a pan the stem and the heart to part with pepper and bacon


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## Kayelle (Feb 4, 2014)

Addie, I ordered 2 new grapefruit spoons on ebay ($6.00, free shipping) and they arrived this morning. 

Guess I need to go get more artichokes!

Another question for everyone...

Do you cook your artichokes stem up or stem down? I noticed in the video they were cooked stem up in the pot with liquid and I've always done them stem down. I wonder which way would be better?


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## Cheryl J (Feb 4, 2014)

I trim the top part of the leaves off so they'll sit flat and steam them stem side up, so that much of the water can drain back out as they steam. It's also easier that way to check for doneness by poking a skewer through the stem. They just seem to cook more evenly that way, at least for me.


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## Dawgluver (Feb 4, 2014)

Cheryl J said:


> I trim the top part of the leaves off so they'll sit flat and steam them stem side up, so that much of the water can drain back out as they steam. It's also easier that way to check for doneness by poking a skewer through the stem. They just seem to cook more evenly that way, at least for me.



How do you do it, Cheryl?  Your pics are all so gorgeous!


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## salt and pepper (Feb 4, 2014)

Cheryl J said:


> I trim the top part of the leaves off so they'll sit flat and steam them stem side up, so that much of the water can drain back out as they steam. It's also easier that way to check for doneness by poking a skewer through the stem. They just seem to cook more evenly that way, at least for me.


   That looks yummy, nice job Cheryl


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## Cheryl J (Feb 4, 2014)

Thank you Dawg, and salt.  That pic was from summer when I still had flowers blooming. 

 Dawg, I just point and shoot with my cellphone.     I have a little Nikon Coolpix but I rarely use it anymore.  My cell is always handy, always charged, and takes better pics than my camera does.


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## Dawgluver (Feb 4, 2014)

I use a cellphone too, but my pics don't look nearly as good, Cheryl!


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## Cheryl J (Feb 4, 2014)

Oh I don't know about that, Dawg, your sewing projects looked crystal clear to me.


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## Cheryl J (Feb 7, 2014)

I made two stuffed artichokes today, from the recipe on the video that was posted.  I had one for dinner, and wrapped up the other one to reheat tomorrow.  

 Very, very good!  The only thing I did different was I subbed fresh chopped baby spinach for the herbs, because that's what I had on hand.  Next time I'll steam the artichokes for a less amount of time, because many of the outer leaves fell off once I stuffed them.  I oversteamed them. 

 But it was still very good, and I'll definitely make these again.


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## Kayelle (Feb 7, 2014)

Cheryl J said:


> I made two stuffed artichokes today, from the recipe on the video that was posted.  I had one for dinner, and wrapped up the other one to reheat tomorrow.
> 
> Very, very good!  The only thing I did different was I subbed fresh chopped baby spinach for the herbs, because that's what I had on hand.  Next time I'll steam the artichokes for a less amount of time, because many of the outer leaves fell off once I stuffed them.  I oversteamed them.
> 
> But it was still very good, and I'll definitely make these again.



Glad you liked the recipe too Cheryl! It's funny that I also used spinach in place of the herbs, great minds I guess.  Next time I also will under cook them before the final cook in the oven.

As you recommended, I cooked my last two artichokes stem up a couple of nights ago. As I said before I've always done them stem down. I drained them upside down for about a half hour and they were still so full of water I had to hand squeeze the excess water out. I felt that some of the flavor went down the drain too. Did I do something wrong, or is this normal for the method?


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## Cheryl J (Feb 10, 2014)

Yep, great minds, Kayelle!  I almost always have fresh spinach and use it in so many things. Even if I had fresh basil, I don't think I would have used it, it just didn't seem right in this dish. 

Your post really gave me food for thought. I almost always have to squeeze some water out of the artichokes, even after draining, no matter if they are cooked upside down or right side up. I looked back on my dad's method of making artichokes when I was a child and I don't recall them being watery at all. He didn't trim them, or open them up to rinse them first, like I do. But I didn't watch every step he made, I just ate them and loved them. I remember being horrified when he first served them, I couldn't believe I was expected to eat something with thorns that looked like they did. 

I get pretty good results with my steamer basket, it keeps them up and out of the water. The only thing with that, is my steamer basket will barely hold two artichokes without trimming them down quite a bit. I think I'll use the steamer basket method again next time, and not open them up as much to clean them.

I'm on a mission now to make unwatery artichokes and think I'll try them different ways until I find the perfect way. If that's possible. 

One way that looks sooo good to me, is steaming them about halfway, then cutting them in half vertically and grilling them the rest of the way.


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## Addie (Feb 10, 2014)

I purchased four small artichokes. The leaves didn't have to be trimmed at all. But I did rinse them and trimmed the stem and about a half inch off the top. Put them into water with lemon juice. Instead of draining off the water, I steamed them right in the lemon water. They were really tender although with a lot of liquid in them. I just put them upside down to drain a bit. The Pirate couldn't wait. He melted some butter with a smashed garlic clove and dug into the first one while the others were draining. He could taste the lemon and liked it. Will do that again the next time. Two of them had no chokes. The other two had very small ones. Easy to remove with a grapefruit spoon. A bonus! 

All four of these artichokes were just the right size. And steaming them in the lemon water give them added cooked in flavor that wasn't expected.


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## Kayelle (Feb 10, 2014)

Cheryl J said:


> Yep, great minds, Kayelle!  I almost always have fresh spinach and use it in so many things. Even if I had fresh basil, I don't think I would have used it, it just didn't seem right in this dish.
> 
> Your post really gave me food for thought. I almost always have to squeeze some water out of the artichokes, even after draining, no matter if they are cooked upside down or right side up. I looked back on my dad's method of making artichokes when I was a child and I don't recall them being watery at all. He didn't trim them, or open them up to rinse them first, like I do. But I didn't watch every step he made, I just ate them and loved them. I remember being horrified when he first served them, I couldn't believe I was expected to eat something with thorns that looked like they did.
> 
> ...



Ahhh Haaa....you use a steamer basket instead of putting them upside down in about 3" of water like I always do stem down. Like your Dad, I don't open them up to wash them either, I guess I figure there's no bugs in there. Actually, I've never noticed an excessive amount of water in the chokes when cooked stem down. I'm going on a hunt for the perfect pan to cook three large chokes as we eat two with dinner and split the third for lunch. 




Addie said:


> I purchased four small artichokes. The leaves didn't have to be trimmed at all. But I did rinse them and trimmed the stem and about a half inch off the top. Put them into water with lemon juice. Instead of draining off the water, I steamed them right in the lemon water. They were really tender although with a lot of liquid in them. I just put them upside down to drain a bit. The Pirate couldn't wait. He melted some butter with a smashed garlic clove and dug into the first one while the others were draining. He could taste the lemon and liked it. Will do that again the next time. Two of them had no chokes. The other two had very small ones. Easy to remove with a grapefruit spoon. A bonus!
> 
> All four of these artichokes were just the right size. And steaming them in the lemon water give them added cooked in flavor that wasn't expected.



I always cook them in salted lemon water with the squeezed lemon halves thrown in for the rind flavor. Glad you enjoyed them Addie.


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## Addie (Feb 10, 2014)

My daughter uses her Dutch Oven to steam her artichokes. It holds four very nicely and they don't tip over. If she is cooking more, she uses her stock pot.


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## Kayelle (Feb 10, 2014)

Addie said:


> My daughter uses her Dutch Oven to steam her artichokes. It holds four very nicely and they don't tip over. If she is cooking more, she uses her stock pot.



Yep, right now I'm using my dutch oven to cook three large ones and I use a Pyrex custard cup to take up some space so they don't fall over.


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## msmofet (Feb 11, 2014)

I hope you don't mind my take on stuffed artichokes.


*Ms. Mofet's Stuffed Artichokes* 


Nice large firm artichokes
Romano cheese - block - cut or shaved into small, thin slivers
Parmesan cheese - block - cut or shaved into small, thin slivers
Fresh garlic - slivered or shaved into thin slices
Mozzarella - block - cut into small slices
Water
Lemon juice
Salt
Olive oil

In a bowl mix the following to taste:

Plain bread crumbs (depends on how much bread crumb stuffing you want in your artichokes)
Grated Romano & Parmesan cheese
Dry herbs and spices - to personal taste

*Dry Herbs*

Thyme
Rosemary
Oregano
Basil
Parsley

*Spices*

Granulated Garlic powder 
Onion powder 
Goya Adobo seasoning 
Accent (or MSG) - optional
Ground sea salt 
Ground peppercorn blend
Cayenne 
Paprika (hot and sweet Hungarian)
Ground red pepper flakes (I put mine in a grinder) 


Clean artichokes by cutting off stems and sharp tips off the leaves. Boil in salted water with lemon (to prevent discoloration). And cook till you can just pull a center leaf out easily with a tug. Remove from pot and run under cold water to cool and stop cooking. After cooled remove as much of the fuzzy stuff (the deadman or choke, I also use a serrated edge grapefruit spoon to do this ) as you can from the centers and rinse.

*(TIP:* For microwave steaming of artichokes that I got from a microwave cookbook by author Barbara Kafka.
Clean and trim artichokes. Place in a microwave safe container that they will fit in one layer bottoms down. Place water and lemon juice in container (then dip the cut surfaces in the juice water to prevent discoloration and replace bottom down). Place foil *ONLY* over the *TOP* of chokes (so long as there is *MORE* food exposed than is covered by foil it will be safe. I have been doing this for 25 years so it* IS TNT*)

Place a sliver of garlic and a sliver of each cheeses between each leaf of choke. In bowl mix crumbs, grated cheeses, herbs and spices to taste. After chokes are stuffed with cheese and garlic they will be "open" enough to just sprinkle crumb mixture over the top of chokes and it will fill in the leaves. Any extra crumb mixture can be used to fill in the center of artichoke. Place in a deep pan or pot with small amount of the salted water/lemon juice cooking liquid. Drizzle chokes with olive oil. Baste the top of each with the salted water/lemon juice from the pot. Cover and steam till leaves pull out easily and cheese is melted. (*OR* Microwave covered (microwave safe cover or plastic wrap) for about 5 - 7 minutes on medium power or until cheese is melted and leaves pull out easily.) 

*(Pictures below are from microwaved artichokes)* 

*Before*







*After
*


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## Kayelle (Feb 11, 2014)

Good golly MSM they look and sound just terrific and I can't wait to try them!
By the way, you're one of my very favorite cooks here and I'm so happy to see you posting again. I've missed you!


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## msmofet (Feb 11, 2014)

Kayelle said:


> Good golly MSM they look and sound just terrific and I can't wait to try them!
> By the way, you're one of my very favorite cooks here and I'm so happy to see you posting again. I've missed you!


Thank you Kay. I look in but typing isn't much fun lately.


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## GotGarlic (Feb 11, 2014)

msmofet said:


> Thank you Kay. I look in but typing isn't much fun lately.



I just wanted to say I've missed seeing your posts, too. Sorry about the pain in your hands.


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## Somebunny (Feb 11, 2014)

Those chokes sound delish!  I want to say how much I have missed you too MSM!


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## msmofet (Aug 5, 2017)

GotGarlic said:


> I just wanted to say I've missed seeing your posts, too. Sorry about the pain in your hands.


 


Somebunny said:


> Those chokes sound delish! I want to say how much I have missed you too MSM!


 
Thank you so much. I don't know how I missed these posts. Sorry for the much delayed TY.


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