Steamed Artichokes With Grainy Mustard And Bacon Dressing Food

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH GRAINY MUSTARD AND BACON DRESSING

Steps:

• Make an ice-water bath: Fill a bowl with ice and water; set aside. Trim artichokes; snap off tough outer leaves. Cut in half, and cut off top quarter of artichoke. Snip remaining leaf tips with scissors. Trim bottom of stem; using a vegetable peeler, peel off tough outer skin. Spread leaves to gain easier access to choke; scoop out choke with a melon baller. Squeeze some lemon juice onto heart; squeeze more lemon juice into the ice bath; add lemon halves and artichoke halves to ice-water bath while preparing the rest.
• Fill a saucepan large enough to accommodate all artichokes with 2 inches of water. Add salt, peppercorns, thyme, garlic, and 2 tablespoons olive oil; bring to a simmer. Add artichokes, stem end up; cover saucepan. Steam until tender, about 25 minutes. Leaves should pull off easily; heart should feel tender when pierced. Drain well. Cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium-low heat until bacon is brown and crisp and fat is rendered. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from saute pan, and set aside.
• Depending on the amount of bacon fat in the saute pan, add enough olive oil to make a total of 1/3 cup fat and oil. Add shallots, carrots, and celery, and cook until vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir in grainy mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Return bacon to saute pan. Arrange artichokes on serving platter. Spoon hot mixture into the cavity of each artichoke. Serve immediately.

STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Set a steamer basket over rapidly simmering water with 1/2 lemon, a few parsley stems and 2 smashed garlic cloves in the water. Trim 4 large artichokes, removing the stems. Stand upright in the basket. Cover and steam over medium heat, adding more water as needed, until tender, about 45 minutes. Serve with melted butter for dipping.

HOW TO COOK ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• With a pair of kitchen scissors, snip off the tips of the artichoke leaves. They're pokey, and that's no fun.
• With a super-sharp, heavy-duty knife, lop off the top of the artichoke - about 3/4 of an inch worth.
• With the same knife, cut off the stem at the base of the artichoke so that it will sit flat.
• Remove the bottom row of leaves.
• Rinse well under cold water.
• Fill a large pot with about two inches of water and set in the artichokes, bottom side down. Optional but tasty: add a bay leaf, a slice of lemon, and/or a garlic clove. Set on the stove and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the temperature on the water to medium, reducing it to a simmer. Cover.
• Steam the artichokes for about 30 minutes, until tender. You can check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife into the bottom (if it goes in with only a little resistance they're done) or by pulling off a tester leave (it should come off easily).
• Remove from water, allow to cool a bit, and serve with whatever dip you like (here are a few ideas!)

EASY STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Prepare artichokes for steaming: Snap off tough outer leaves. Using a serrated knife, cut off top 1/3 of artichoke. Snip remaining sharp or spiky tips using kitchen shears. Trim stem so artichoke stands upright. Rub cut surfaces with lemon to prevent discoloration. Repeat with remaining artichokes and lemon.
• Set a steamer basket in a large pot; add enough water so it reaches just below the basket. Squeeze lemon juice into water and add 1 tablespoon salt; bring to a boil. Place artichokes in steamer basket, stem-side up. Cover pot, and steam until heart is tender when pierced with a tip of a paring knife, and inner leaves pull out easily, 25 to 35 minutes; add more water to pot, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature with Easy Hollandaise or melted butter, if desired.

STEAMED WHOLE ARTICHOKES WITH SPICY LEMON CAPER MAYONNAISE

Steps:

• Place each artichoke on its side on a flat surface. Use a serrated knife to saw off the stem at the base of the artichoke so it can sit upright on a plate without falling over once cooked.
• In a large pot, add 3 inches of water. Insert a steamer basket. Place the artichokes top-down in the basket, wedged in a single layer. Cover. Bring the water to a boil over high heat and cook until tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 35 minutes. If the pot runs out of water while cooking, simply add more to the bottom.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, oil, capers, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce and red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Garnish with the chives.
• Serve the artichokes with the dipping sauce.

WARM ARTICHOKE SALAD WITH BACON AND MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Prepare a blanc: Place the four in a large pot and beat in enough cold water to make a smooth, medium-thick paste. Then beat in 2 quarts of cold water, the lemon juice and the salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove hearts from artichokes.
• Add the artichoke hearts to the water, bring to boil, the simmer gently until the hearts are just tender when pierced with a knife (about 25-30 minutes). Remove pot from heat and allow the hearts to come to room temperature in the liquid.
• Gently fry the bacon slices. Do not cook until crisp. Remove and reserve on paper towels.
• Place the mustard in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, beat in the vinegar. Drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream, beat in the olive oil; the mixture should be medium-thick. Add the garlic, and season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper.
• Remove warm artichoke hearts from liquid and cut in sixths. Place in large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Cut each bacon slice into 6 pieces and add to bowl. Toss with vinaigrette. Serve on 8 individual plates, sprinkled with chopped parsley.
• As a first course: Serve just as in this recipe-preferably on stark white plates for a real bistro effect. As a buffet item: This quantity will provide small portions for about 15 people.

SIMPLE STEAMED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut stem from artichokes and discard, making sure the bottom of each artichoke is flat. Cut top 1 inch (or so) of the artichoke and discard. Snip the thorny ends from each artichoke leaf with a pair of kitchen scissors.
• Fill the bottom of a pot with a couple of inches of water, adding garlic, lemon juice, and bay leaf to the water. Place a steamer basket in the pot, making sure that the water does not flow over the bottom of the steamer basket.
• Place the artichokes in the basket, resting on the flattened bottoms.
• Bring water to a boil, cover the pot, and cook until the leaves can be easily pulled from the artichoke, 20 to 30 minutes.

BACON WRAPPED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Cut your bacon strips in half. Wrap a half slice of bacon around each quarter of an artichoke. Spear with a toothpick to hold it together.
• Place in a foil-lined jelly roll pan. Drizzle a little of the extra artichoke oil on top.
• Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes (until bacon is crisp).
• Put on a plate and serve.

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH MAYONNAISE-MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Place one to two inches of water into a large pot with a tight-fitting lid and add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and whole peppercorns to the water.
• Insert the steaming basket and place artichokes and trimmed stems inside the basket. If you don't have a steamer, it also works to place the artichokes directly into the water, bottoms down.
• With lid off, heat until water boils, then put lid on and turn heat down to low to maintain a simmer.
• Steam or simmer for 25-30 minutes or until a sharp knife can easily pierce bottoms of the artichokes near the stems. To be sure, test them all. Larger artichokes will take longer to cook. Remove hot artichokes from the pot with tongs.
• To make the sauce: Mix about one part of yellow mustard into six parts of good mayonnaise. The sauce should be light yellow and not taste like either mayonnaise or mustard, but like a new sauce all its own. Add more of either ingredient as needed to get the "new" sauce.

STEAMED ARTICHOKES WITH VINAIGRETTE DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Lay an artichoke on its side on a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, cut away the entire top quarter in one slice. Rub the top with the cut lemon. Cut off the stem at the bottom, so the artichoke will stand upright, and rub the bottom with lemon. Pull off the tough bottom leaves (bracts). Then, using scissors, cut away the thorny end of each remaining bract. Rub the edges with lemon.
• Bring two inches of water to a boil in a steamer or pasta pot, and place the artichokes in the steaming basket. If they are too big to fit, place them directly in the water. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes or until a leaf easily pulls away. Remove from the heat. Serve hot or at room temperature with a sauce for dipping the leaves. Use your teeth to scrape the flesh from the bottom of the leaf. Have a bowl or plate on the side for the discarded leaves. When you reach the papery leaves that cover the heart in the middle, cut them away along with the choke and discard. Divvy up the heart and enjoy.
• Whisk together the vinegar, salt, Dijon mustard and garlic. Whisk in the mayonnaise, yogurt and olive oil, and blend well. Taste, adjust salt, and add pepper. Use as a dip for artichokes or other vegetables.