Wine & Butter Basted Artichokes

So I have to warn you because if you don't like artichokes you might want to develop a taste for them. I mean after all The Fireman has. It only took him 20 years but the man is craving them and fortunately our little neighborhood market has had them on sale lately and I have been grabbing every time I run in there for just about anything.

Tonight's artichokes are a take on an appetizer we had when we went out to eat at The Hitching Post and I must say that they are just inspired by. If you have eaten there then you understand. The food is on another level. Although, The Fireman did say these artichokes were pretty close.

Wine & Butter Basted Artichokes

3 artichokes
1 TB butter
3 TB white wine
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp lemon zest (or so I didn't measure)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp honey
dash Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
Suzy Q seasoning (its a blend of garlic powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and sugar)

these babies were 79 cents each which is cheap here!
Take a pair of scissors and snip off the tips of the petals. Some have these pointy little stickers that are not fun when eating.
And then I am going to cut off the bottom and top. I have found that a serrated knife works best. You could rub a cut lemon on the cut ends to keep them from browning like a potato would but I am dumping face down into my steamer right away!

In the past I have always boiled. I even tried cooking in the microwave which was too much like boiling. I tried the rice cooker which was great for one but took just as long. My new favorite way is to steam them. It eliminates them from being all watery. I happen to have a pasta pot that has a strainer that sits in the pot. I filled the pot with water until the strainer was up to water. Three artichokes fit perfectly snug into the pot.
Cover and turn on HIGH until you hear it boiling and then turn the heat to MEDIUM HIGH for 45 minutes to one hour. They are done when you can stick a knife into the center
While the artichokes (or as The Fireman says it Artychokes) are cooking lets get the marinade cooking (there is no cooking) Melt one TB of butter.
Add a couple TB (3) of white wine. This is my favorite. I bought a case for The Tortured Teenagers graduation party and then hid it all in the back room after The Fireman and I drank a couple glasses on the patio one night. I've been milking the case ever since.
Now I have to admit I am making a double batch of the marinade so I can use the other portion on some chicken (that is another post) and if it wasn't so early in the afternoon a glass of this would end up consumed before the artichokes were even grilled
little lemon
just a little zest off the lemon. You dont need much
A little tsp of dijon
Now I said 2 cloves of garlic because you are going to use the zester to grate them down. I cant have raw garlic in this all chunky. So just trash what doesnt get grated
I love this zester!
A little tsp of honey. Not enough to make it sweet
I told you just a tad
And a dash of Worcestershire sauce. I like the low sodium version.
About 1/2 tsp pepper. Not too much. A good shake
Mix it all up
Like I said, this is being used on raw chicken too so into two containers and I will use two brushes
cut all the cooked artichokes in half. Looks like a mess, right? Because I steamed them, they are not all watery
Clean out the choke in each half. I dump it all onto a plate
All cleaned up. Onto a plate and out to the grill.
So a quick sprinkling of some Suzy Q Seasoning. If you dont have any, use a mixture of equal parts garlic powder, salt and pepper. Season both sides. Remember we did not add any salt to the marinade.
I am basting one side before I stick on the grill
Keeping my brushes separate
put onto grill. I have grill on low. Baste as you turn the artichokes
My fire was a little hot, so I moved them up
Artichokes are just about done (and chicken for that matter) time to whip up a quick dip for them. As a kid we used just plain ol' mayo. I've gotten pretty spoiled on this mixture.

you will need
1/2 cup mayo (light is fine)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp low sodium Worcestershire sauce
mix well
warning, addictive
You may not dinner after this!