Whole Artichokes

this weekend my roomate made artichoke for me in a way ive never had it before. you kinda just boil the whole artichoke in water for a while. (flavored with garlic peppers wahtever you want) then you just peel off the little leaves and suck the yummy-ness off of them. i was suprised how great it was. do any of you do this?

Yes!  I love artichoke leaves dipped in a lemon, olive oil, herb sauce.  The traditional way is to dip in melted butter, but we won't go there.

I usually dip mine in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and herbs... yummy!

it's all about the dip...

you can also prepare artichokes by trimming the stem down and the very outer leaves off (like you should for boiling anyway), rinsing it so water stays on (don't dry it, water should be trapped between the leaves) wrapping it in waxed paper like a burrito or an old-fashined butcher's wrap or sandwich wrap, and microwaving for 5 minutes.

it's not artichoke season, though. in-season artichokes are AWESOME. even my dog likes them.

LOL... that's the way I grew up eating artichokes... but there were 7 kids in my family so we had to share an artichoke between two of us...YUK!... out on my own, i'll sometimes make a whole meal out of 2 artichokes... but unfortunately, like the Saroful mentioned, they're not in season right now (spring is artichoke season)...

A hint for a low cal dipping sauce is 1 tbsp of Earth Balance (or Smart Balance) buttery spread melted with the juice of one lemon (that's enough for 1 artichoke)... we grew up dipping them in just melted butter...not an option now

a tasty dipping sauce I enjoy is "Annie's Green GOddess Dressing"... YUM!
can't beat a good artichoke.

LOVE artichokes, thanks for the microwave idea, only bad thing about "chokes" is how long they take to cook.  I grew up eating them, can't get enough, I'll eat one a day all spring.  They are great boiled with lemon in the water.

We had them with butter or mayo when I was a kid, now I like them "au naturale", but I gotta try some of your ideas.

yep, that's how i've grown up eating them. i usually have a dipping sauce made out of mustard and vinegar for it as well (yeah, it's pretty tart, but i like it).

Artichokes are love. End of story :)

Try steaming them with white wine, garlic cloves, a halved lemon, and bay leaf added to the water.

I usually ate them stuffed with homemade toasted bread crumbs mixed with some grated aged cheeses, parsley, garlic, bits of chopped artichoke stalk, olive oil, and egg. That was the old days before I came to calorie-count. Maybe I should analyze my recipe before trying it again!

when we had artichokes growing up, our mom would either give us melted butter or... get this... MAYONNAISE to dip them in. It was sooo good. We also dipped sliced tomatoes in mayo. and added mayo to canned spinach. Now when I think about it, it kinda makes me want to puke. I dont even use mayo on my sandwiches anymore... i just use mustard!

I love artichokes. It's a veggie that just gets better and better as you eat it. Just be aware that they will alter the taste of anything you eat immediately after; it'll taste sweeter than usual.