Stuffed artichokes that will stuff your tummy!

One of my favorite dishes that my MiMi used to make is the beloved stuffed artichoke. When I think about her stuffed artichoke, I have a systemic reaction - my heart races and I begin to uncontrollably salivate. That's how I felt about most of her food....just mainly her stuff artichokes. I am so grateful she shared all of her recipes with those whom she loved. I watched my mom make them recently and now I can't stop making them! Now that I've shared the significance of this food with you, let me share the recipe!

First you rinse off your artichokes and trim the base. You have to trim the base so they can sit in the pot. 

With the untrimmed stem.

With a trimmed stem. 

I also provide Sir Artichoke with a bit of a haircut. I also trim the top with a knife so there are no rough leaves in sight. You have to trim the pointy tips because they are bitter and lack flavor. They are also quite dangerous and can prick you. 

So here's the fun part.. using your hand, push down on the artichoke to help open up the leaves before you stuff em.

 

Now that the elbow grease has been applied, I am going to work on the 'mix'.

1  c Italian bread crumbs

1 c parmesean cheese

1 boiled egg diced very, very fine 

1 lemon - a slice on top each artichoke and a little juice for your water

Lawry's Parsley Garlic Salt to taste

A pinch of Cheyenne pepper to spice it up

Drizzle with olive oil - just enough to moisten up the mix

 The fun part: let's get our STUFF ON! Stuff each and EVERY leaf, but don't get crazy.

Now put your lemons on top. 

You can feel free to use your leftover mix to stuff additional artichokes or on top of some zucchini's and bake em.

Let's drizzle some olive oil now

It's time to give these puppies a bath. Put about 1-2 inches of water in the pot. Salt your water and squeeze a little lemon in the water for yummy flavoring. 

Bring the water to a fast/hard simmer and plop the puppies in (gently, please). Lower your heat and cover the pot. You should still see the water simmering, just a low-medium simmer.

 Keep this going for about 20 minutes. Take some of the water from the pot and drizzle over the artichokes to add a little moisture to it. The only way to screw up an artichoke besides not cooking it long enough, is to have a dry choke. Once you drizzle some water over em, cover it right back up and continue steaming your chokes an additional 40 minutes. The total steam bath time is 1 hour. The only time you lift the lid is to add a little water.

The final product: