
Wow, it has been a hot minute since Troy and I have had a date night. And not just a night on the town date night, but even a stay in and have some wine with a nice dinner date night.
Life has been very unpredictable lately…to say the least. I will be jumping back into the swing of things here pretty soon (hopefully).
With school being out and Troy going into the office, I am on my own during the day. Trying to find a schedule for myself, as well as activities to do, has been difficult. With the pandemic still in full swing, and quarantine still a very real thing, I am stuck at home majority of the time. This is definitely not an easy transition and I need to stay on top of it to make sure I’m not in pj’s all day, eating chips in bed, and watching reruns of my favorite food and design shows….hypothetically speaking…*ahem*.
When Troy and I see artichokes on a menu we almost ALWAYS order them. They sound like a daunting task at first, but when you become familiar with the process of making them it becomes an easy feat and makes you look like you worked really hard…and who doesn’t like that, right? I will for sure be making these again for our next stay at home date night!
How to break down an artichoke:
It sounds harder than it actually is–I promise! And if you need a visual there are lots of videos and websites that have a step by step process.
Step 1: Peel any leaves on the stem of the artichoke.
Step 2: Using a sharp knife, cut about an inch off the top of the artichoke.
Step 3: Cut the pointy part of the leaves off around the artichoke with scissors.
Step 4: Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise and drizzle with lemon juice. This will keep them from turning brown while you work with them.
Step 5: Using a spoon, hollow out the artichoke to remove the “choke”. This is the fuzzy part at the stem. Rinse with water to make sure it is removed.
Step 6: Rub the cleaned artichoke with a lemon to keep it from browning. Repeat with these steps with remaining artichokes.
Ingredients
2 artichokes, whole
1 lemon, cut in half
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup Toum (Mediterranean Garlic Sauce)-recipe coming soon– or 4 garlic cloves microplaned
4 tsp Italian seasoning
4 teaspoons dried dill
Salt and Pepper
Instructions
Roasting the artichoke:
Prepare the garlic and chive aioli- recipe is below.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Rub the artichokes with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper all over.
Working with the flesh side up, evenly distribute the Toum or microplaned garlic into each of the artichokes cavities.
Top each artichoke with a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and dried dill. Flip the artichokes over, flesh side down on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes cover the pan with foil and continue roasting for 25-30 minutes until a knife can easily pierce the stem.
Serve artichokes with garlic and chive aioli and lemon wedges.
Garlic and Chive Aioli: Mix 1 cup of mayonnaise with 1/2 tbs lemon juice, 1 large microplaned garlic clove, and 1/2 tbs of fresh chives. Salt to taste. Leave aioli in the refrigerator while you prepare the artichokes. If you are a big fan of garlic, feel free to grate an extra clove in there! We are BIG fans of garlic in this house so there is always more, lol.