Hello everybody! I am so excited to be able to share with you tonight yet another awesome dinner! My roommate Anna is responsible for this masterpiece, and was it bangin! Tonight we had artichoke dipped in butter and penne pasta with alfredo sauce. It was so cool to have Anna make something that Juli had never had before, and something that I have not had since I was a little girl. It sure brought back some good memories. And it was really fun to eat too because it was so interactive and made you get your fingers all dirty and buttery...and there is NOTHING wrong with that! Since the artichoke was the batman of the night, it needed it's robin. That is where the alfredo penne comes in. It was creamy and delicious! Not too heavy on the alfredo, but just enough for some great flavor and a perfect addition to the artichoke.
Well you might be asking yourself, "how in the world do I cook an artichoke and how do I eat one?" Well it's your lucky day because I am going to tell you just how to do both! Here are the directions for cooking and eating an artichoke:
Cooking Directions
1. If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut of the thorned tips of all of the leaves.
2. Slice about 3/4 inch to an inch off the tip of the artichoke.
3. Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base and on the stem.
4. Cut excess stem, leaving up to an inch on the artichoke. The stems tend to be more bitter than the rest of the artichoke, but some people like to eat them.
5. Rinse the artichokes in running cold water.
6. In a large pot, put a couple inches of water, a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, and a bay leaf (this adds wonderful flavor to the artichokes).
7. Add the artichokes. Cover. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 25 to 45 minutes or until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off. Cooking time depends on how large the artichoke is, the larger, the longer it takes to cook. (www.simplyrecipes.com)
Eating Directions
1. Pull off outer petals, one at a time.
2. Dip white fleshy end in melted butter or sauce. Tightly grip the other end of the petal. Place in mouth, dip side down, and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy, delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all of the petals are removed.
3. With a knife or spoon, scrape out and discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the "choke") covering the artichoke heart. The remaining bottom of the artichoke is the heart. Cut into pieces and dip into sauce to eat. (www.simplyrecipes.com)
Juli is so good at cutting out these fuzzy
insides!
Now you are an expert at cooking and eating an artichoke! Pretty easy huh? Well now that I have explained the art of the artichoke, lets move on to the alfredo penne. There was no recipe, but it's pretty straight forward. All you have to do is boil some penne, drain and return to pot. In another pan warm up some alfredo sauce (we used store bought alfredo from a jar). If you're feeling adventurous you can try making your own alfredo! Then in a large pasta bowl mix penne with warmed alfredo, sprinkle a little salt and pepper and your ready to eat!
Just a little blurb about what is going on in Laramie this week and weekend with Kara, Juli, Anna and I: We have been busy bee's in the kitchen making these stunning dinners on top of being college students. Which as you can imagine keeps a busy schedule. But more importantly this week, so many parents and friends are coming to Laramie for the Homecoming weekend! We have Juli's parents coming, Kara's mom coming, Anna's boyfriend coming, Krista coming, and my dad coming. Wow! It is going to be a hoot and a half! All of these lovely festivities are taking place from Thursday through Sunday so it's time to hold on to our cowboy hats and get ready for a weekend of pure hilarity.
Stay tuned tomorrow for yet another fun, effortless, and mouthwatering dinner! Au revoir!
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