Grandma Dis Artichokes Recipes

GRANDMA'S BEST STUFFED ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Add the sausage, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, parsley, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. Add the stuffing to a bowl and stir in the pine nuts.
• Prepare the artichokes by trimming the stems from the artichoke, cutting it flat so that the artichoke can sit straight in the pot.
• Next cut the top third off of the top of the artichoke, cutting straight across.
• Open the artichoke up using your fingers and pull out the center as much as you can so there is room for the stuffing. You can use a spoon to scrape most of the chokes out.
• Divide the stuffing into 6 equal parts and start stuffing the artichokes. Add a portion the center of each artichoke and then add the rest to the outside parts of the leaves.
• Place the artichokes into a dutch oven large enough to hold all the artichokes in a single layer, use two pots if you don't have one big enough.
• Now add 1 part white wine to 3 parts water, filling the pot so the liquid comes up only halfway up the artichokes. If you are using a smaller pot you might only need 1/2 cup of wine to 1 1/2 parts water.
• Season the artichokes with more salt and pepper on top and then sprinkle on the remaining 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.
• Drizzle the artichokes with olive oil and add the bay leaves to the cooking liquid.
• Cover and cook in the oven for 1 1/2 hours, checking the artichokes after an hour. The artichokes are done when a single leaf pulls out easily and the sausage is cooked through.
• When the artichokes are done, add each artichoke to a bowl and spoon some of the cooking liquid over each artichoke.
• Garnish each artichoke with a few more of the toasted pignoli nuts and fresh chopped parsley.

ROBERT GALANO'S ARTICHOKES ITALIAN-GRANDMOTHER STYLE

Steps:

• Cut stems off bottom of artichokes; peel and save. Pound bottom of each artichoke on table (not so hard that they squash) two or three times to open leaves. Cut off points of artichokes and snip side points with scissors.
• Cut garlic into a total of 20 pieces. Punch (with finger or end of wooden spoon) one piece of garlic down into center of each artichoke (You may have to separate the leaves a bit with your fingers) and three more pieces between outside leaves.
• Repeat with the parsley.
• Cut stems in two and stuff one down each center like garlic and parsley. If stems are too long, cut off part.
• Place artichokes in a pot so they gently touch the sides and each other. Be careful not to pour water into artiichokes; pour enough into pot to reach half way up the sides of the artichokes. Add three or four tablespoons olive oil, basil and oregano to water.
• Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil to center of each artichoke. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover pot and cook over high heat until boiling; reduce heat to simmer. Simmer 45 minutes to one hour until a center leaf removes easily. Do not overcook. Drain and reserve liquid.
• Serve at room temperature or chill overnight and bring to room temperature before serving.