Mine was in 1969. A classmate of my then-boyfriend invited us over for dinner to meet his new girlfriend. Apparently they were getting pretty serious and classmate Neil thought it was time for us all to meet. Violet was petite, pretty, graceful, intelligent, and, Neil said, a wonderful cook. That night she made us a lovely dinner of beef bourguignon, with perfectly seared beef braised in a delicious red wine sauce.
But for our first course, Vi set out steamed artichokes on square white plates and supplied each of us with a small bowl of creamy mayonnaise mixed with fresh lemon juice. When I confessed I’d never eaten an artichoke before, she kindly explained the process.
She had used scissors to cut off the sharp points of each leaf, and a sturdy knife to cut off the fibrous tops. Then she removed the long stems on the bottom so the artichoke would stand upright. After rubbing lemon halves on the tops and tossing the lemons into a large pot of water, Violet steamed the artichokes for about 30 minutes.
Then, dipping a leaf end into the lemon mayonnaise, she showed me how to slide each piece silkily between my teeth. One leaf at a time, we made our way to the middle of the vegetable until we got to the heart of the matter.
At that point, my then-boyfriend took over and showed me how to gently disgorge the spiky fuzzy bits around the middle and then enjoy the meaty part… the reward at the end of all that work. What an interesting food, I thought; it seemed I had more on my plate when I finished than when I started! But it was delicious, all at once lemony and sweet, and I felt so sophisticated as I began to master the technique.
Fast forward all these years: the “then-boyfriend” is the “now-husband,” and last week, for no reason in particular, we had artichokes with lemon mayonnaise every night. It made us nostalgic for those old days, and in fact, Violet, if you’re reading this, expect a call very soon!
Whether you use melted butter, lemon mayo, aioli, or any other dip, we think you’ll find that the prize is worth the work when it comes to artichokes. And if you meet a guy who can patiently teach you how to get to the heart of it, we suggest you hang on tight!
Dear Rhona,
What a fun trip down memory lane. I DO remember our first, special dinner, and how I bought large wine goblets in which to serve the cherries jubilee (flambe)! We had some wonderful meals together during our early years before kids. I still love artichokes and learned another way to serve it for company after having had it at a restaurant near SF. The artichokes are cooked first, split down the middle, and chokes (fuzzy part) are removed. I then drizzle a home made vinaigrette (with some lemon juice and white wine vinegar and good EVOO) over the top, sprinkle with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and broil for a few minutes to melt the cheese (careful not to burn it), then serve with other courses.
I so enjoy your blog and learn so much from it.
Love, Violet
Wow, Violet, this sounds amazing; I’m definitely going to try it your “new” way! And yes, those goblets for the flambe… I remember how impressed I was with your elegant table setting too! Class act then and now 🙂
What a lovely story—-tasty morsel.
Yep, artichokes are in season now and we can’t get enough of them, right? How do you like them? I hear they’re good with baked salami on the side! 🙂
Is it sad that cooking an artichoke is on my bucket list? (So is backing up my driveway..)
I’ve never ever cooked an artichoke at home and recently I bought one and the directions were so confusing that I got scared, chickened out an tossed it in my compost bin.
You have renewed my courage – but I would still enjoy a detailed video on your blog on how to do this.
We’ll actually try to post a video on this. But meanwhile, by all means give it a try — you can do it, Chris! Follow our directions… trim edges with scissors, cut top off and rub with lemon, then, well, then comes the hard part. Stay tuned… we’ll see what we can do!
Artichokes are my favorite! I grew up with my mom’s delicious steamed artichokes cooked for 45 min with lemons and basil. I was always in charge of making the dip…the perfect balance of mayo & dijon mustard. Oddly enough, I always let my dad eat the heart when I was a kid but now I know better! And, for a nice switch to your story, I taught my then boyfriend/now husband how to eat an artichoke!
PS – My mom’s artichokes aren’t actually “steamed”. She puts them in a large pot of water and completely submerges the artichokes. Then she squeezes lemon and drops the whole lemon in the water along with the basil. That way the artichoke absorbs the flavor of both ingredients.