Stuffed Artichokes

I love artichokes.

I grew up eating artichokes.

My parents made them all the time. They were always the special appetizer at Christmas and Easter.

My brother, now a Poet Laureate and author of over 20 books of poetry, would always say "It might choke Artie but it won't choke Stymie". This quote from one of our favorite TV shows, The Little Rascals. AH, a poet's beginning begins somewhere!

I most often now use artichokes on pizza as pictured here:

Artichoke, Caper, Roasted Red Pepper, and Sun-dried Tomato Pizza

I last made Stuffed Artichokes on New Year's Eve. They were delicious.

Here is a basic and simple recipe for 2 (And please feel free to improvise):

1/2-1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/2-1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
3 garlic cloves; 2 whole and 1 chopped
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

(We also add cooked sausage or ground meat (if we have it around).

2 artichokes, trimmed, left whole, chokes removed (put 1/2 of lemon juice into each cavity)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Par-boil artichokes (I do this for about 30 minutes). Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, meat (if adding meat) and oil in medium bowl.  Mix in lemon juice, oregano, parsley, chopped garlic and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper. Place 1 whole garlic clove into each artichoke cavity. Stuff artichokes (Do this by putting stuffing between leaves and into cavity). Bake in tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water till tender.