Artichokes

Mid-March finds a good portion of the United States still wrapped in winters chill. In North-Central California it is not uncommon to find temperatures climbing into the 70s. It also hearkens the arrival of food favorites such as artichokes, asparagus, strawberries and spring garlic to name a few. Today I will focus on artichokes, in particular the Globe Artichoke which is the most common varietal in the US.

This perennial thistle is originally from southern Europe but has found a perfect home in Castroville, CA. About a half hour drive on Highway 1 south of Santa Cruz, Castroville has been dubbed the "Artichoke Center of the World" and host the annual Castroville Artichoke Festival every spring: http://www.artichoke-festival.org. In 1948, Marilyn Monroe was named the festival's artichoke queen.

May is a great time to visit the central coast of California. Every Memorial Day weekend Santa Cruz hosts a great blues festival (for those so inclined!):
http://www.santacruzbluesfestival.com.

The drive south on Hwy 1 from San Francisco is awesome. There are plenty of cool spots to visit along the way including the towns of Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Princeton-by-the-Sea, and Moss Landing to name a few. In April I will be driving this route and will give you some insight as to things to do and see in each of these locations.

Another nice thing about this drive is all the wonderful fruit and vegetable stands on Hwy 1. In mid-May you will find artichokes, asparagus, fava beans, English peas Bing cherries and Blenheim apricots among other delectable goodies. I can't wait!

Now let's talk artichokes! You may have shied away from buying fresh artichokes in the past due to its intimidating exterior. After all, it is a thistle! Besides, there are a ton of recipes you can "Google" that call for canned artichokes. Why bother?
One word...flavor!!!

Granted, using fresh artichokes is more labor intensive than just opening a jar, however, once you and your family try a hot-off-the-grill artichoke (see recipe below) you will never go back. Let's start off with the the basics, grilled artichoke.
There's something you can't do with the canned variety!

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot with 1-2 quarts of water. Turn the burner to high heat bringing the water to a rolling boil. Add a large pinch of salt and then toss in your artichoke. Note: each artichoke will feed two people as an appetizer. If you are serving four people use two. Cover the pot with a lid leaving it ajar just a bit otherwise your water may boil over into the fire.

2. Let cook 7-10 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your artichoke. The one below has a thick stem and it cooked the entire ten minutes. Use a knife to puncture the stem. You are looking to par-cook the artichoke so the point of your knife should enter the stem with some resistance.

Remove the artichoke from the water with tongs and place on a draining rack like the one pictured above. Let cool before moving onto step four.

This is a good point to start your grill. You can use wood/charcoal burning, propane or even a stove-top grill. I have done all three with my favorite method being a combination of mesquite and apple wood. Other fruit wood works well so any fruit wood you can get your hands on is a good thing. When I don't have fruit wood I just use Mesquite.  The fruit wood-mesquite combo is great for steaks, chicken and hamburgers as well. I like grilling a nice steak with artichokes.

4. Use a serrated knife to cut the artichoke in half when it is cool enough to hold in your hands.

5. Use a paring knife to remove the fuzzy center of the artichoke as pictured above. After cutting below the fuzz I grab my tongs and pull it out.

6.Coat both sides of the artichoke with pure or pomace olive and sprinkle with kosher salt.

7. Grill on both sides for about five minutes each. You want nice brown grill marks for carmelization which adds a nice sweetness to the choke.

You can eat as is or with your favorite dipping sauce such as melted butter or just plain mayonnaise. Another option is to make one or both of the sauces I have listed below.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Aioli

Ingredients:

2 Red Bell Peppers
1/8 teaspoon dried Pasilla Chili Powder (found in most Mexican grocery stores)
1/8 teaspoon smoked Paprika

Aioli: (if making both sauces double the ingredients)

2-3 cloves of garlic
To taste Kosher Salt
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1/2 lemon, juiced
2/3 cup pure olive oil
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Grill the red bell peppers until blackened on all sides

Pull off grill and place inside a plastic bag or baggie for 10 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the bag and peel off the blackened skin and remove the seeds.

Place peppers in mixer or blender and blend until you have a smooth puree. Add to the aioli along with the paprika and pasilla powder and fold into the aioli. Taste for salt and serve room temperature.

For the aioli:

Place garlic and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or in a blender. Pulse for two seconds then add the egg yolk and lemon juice, and pulse until blended. Begin adding the olive oil in a thin stream until you've added both oils. Transfer to a bowl and add remaining ingredients (above).

Myer Lemon Aioli

Ingredients:

1 each Myer Lemon (if not available us a regular lemon) zest, fine chopped and juice.
To Taste Kosher Salt

Aioli: see ingredients above

Directions:

After making the aioli, fold in the lemon zest and juice along with kosher salt.

In case you've never eaten an artichoke before...remove an individual leaf, it will pull away from the heart and stem, place the lower part in your mouth (the non-thistle end!) and pull between your upper and lower teeth allowing the soft part of the leaf to fall into your mouth. The outer leaves have less soft skin but the inner leaves will have more. Now that you have the hang of it, dip the portion of the leaf that you will be eating into the aioli of your choice and repeat the process.

The real treat is when you get the the heart. I usually cut it into bite size pieces and dip into the aioli. Some of the stem will be eatable as well. Cut into it and you will be able to tell when it becomes to stringy to eat. Bon appetite!

Pinot Noir

There are plenty of excellent red wines being produced in California. Lately, Pinot Noir has become my 'go-to' wine. Tuesday March 19th I will be writing about one of my favorite boutique wineries in California and its not in Napa or Sonoma but (drum roll) San Francisco! Huh? Yes that's right. What is really a scoop is that he still has a limited supply of his 2011 Pinot on the shelf. Ciao for now!