stuffed artichokes

I've never bought nor tried to cook artichokes before. My husband told me how good they are served with a melted butter dip. I sometimes see them at the grocery store but it never occurred to me to buy them. When a bunch showed up in our produce box sometime ago, I knew it was my chance to finally cook and taste them. My research led me to two most popular ways to cook them. One was a simple steamed version and the other one was stuffed. Since I wasn't familiar with them, it was helpful to watch this tutorial video from Ocean Mist Farms showing how to properly prepare them.

artichokes two ways ~ stuffed and steamed

Stuffing the artichokes was also a great way to introduce more flavor to them. I decided to use a similar stuffing to the one I always turn to for the baked stuffed mushroom appetizers that we like. I found this Italian-inspired stuffing recipe from the Saveur website which suggested pecorino cheese but I substituted grated parmesan. I mixed it with the rest of the stuffing ingredients instead of sprinkling it over the artichokes and cut back on the cooking time by eliminating the broiling step. We truly enjoyed both the steamed and stuffed versions. I'm glad to finally experience the flavor of this unique vegetable.