There would only be 2 good reasons why I would move back to California. Well…truthfully, there probably are 4,098 reasons why I LOVED living in California, but only 2 of those reasons are valid at 1:15 a.m. when I’m absolutely craving something munchy, something savory, something a little crisp, something that goes great with a nice, cold beer. Fried Baby Artichokes is one of those reasons. (I’ll write the other reason, Killer Cajun Shrimp, in another post)

In San Francisco, I would frequent a Spanish Tapas restaurant called Esperpento, where they had a dish called Alcachofas a la Plancha - which translates to “an artichoke dish that gives you midnight cravings that Godiva chocolate cannot even cure.”

Well, as of today, I now only have 1 good reason left to move back to California (sorry Mr. Arnold Schwarzen-gold-digger) because I’ve just re-created that dish even better than I remember it to taste!

Artichokes are in season now until end of May - the baby artichokes are so tender and sweet. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about the vicious choke stabbing at your throat - the baby artichoke is almost all edible. Just snap away the outer leaves until you reach the light, pale colored leaves. The choke is actually very soft and fuzzy - totally edible.

Ok, a correction- according to the bible, McGee’s On Food and Cooking, the little artichokes are not babies at all. They are fully grown adult artichokes that are grown close to the ground and not on the main stalk. Therefore, they grow slowwwwlllllyy and their chokes do not develop. But what the heck, I like the sound of “Baby Artichokes” much better than “Malnourished Under-Achieving Chokes.”

I pan fry them in olive oil and garlic until the leaves are charred little wisps that gave a nice, satisfying crunch. Please try these while your supermarket or farmer’s market has them fresh!

Fried Baby Artichokes

serves 4 as side dish

18 baby artichokes (they should be no larger than 3″ wide. any bigger than that I wouldn’t consider them babies - I’d probably call them big mamma runts with pokey chokey chokes)
1 lemon, halved & squeezed into a large glass bowl with water.
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil to fry
kosher salt & pepper
a nice squeezin’ of a lemon half to finish off the dish

Clean and prepare your baby ‘chokes: Have your bowl with lemon/water ready. Snap off the outer layers of the leaves until you get to smooth, light pale green leaves.

With sharp paring knife again, peel the dark green layer off the stem. Also cut off the top 1″ of the artichoke.

Now, with top of the artichoke facing down against the cutting board, cut the artichoke into thin 1/4″ slices. Place slices in lemon water. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

In a large skillet, put enough olive oil to at least cover the bottom of the pan. Let the olive oil heat up over medium-high heat. When hot, add the garlic and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add only enough artichoke slices to make 1 layer in the pan (you may have to do this in a couple of batches). You don’t want to overcrowd the pan, otherwise the artichokes will steam, not fry. Fry the artichokes until the edges are a little charred and crispy, about 5 minutes, flipping over once. Repeat with remaining. Top with a sprinkling of kosher salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Important- if you don’t cook the artichokes long enough, they will taste bitter. So make sure that you only have 1 layer of artichokes in the pan at a time. Make sure that you cook them through. The best way to judge? Snag a piece and taste! They should be tender at the heart, and charred-crisp at the edge.

Here are other great dishes to go with your Fried Baby Artichokes:

Tropical Island Salmon

Baby Back Ribs with Asian Orange-Ginger Glaze

The Best Roast Chicken

I don’t know about you, but cooking a chunk of meat larger than the size of my head sometimes intimidates me. How do I get the thing to cook evenly? Do I need to rotate it? Breast side up or down? Will it implode like Clark Griswold’s turkey on Christmas Vacation? Ah, I have the perfect recipe for you..the chicken skin thin and crisp, the meat succulent and the sauce divine. Best of all, its so easy.

I was inspired by watching Joanne Weir’s cooking show on PBS last night. The secret is to flatten the bird by using sharp kitchen shears to cut out the backbone. With the whole bird on the cutting board, breast side down, take your shears and start at the tail end, about 1″ to the right of the backbone. Cut all the way up to the neck. Repeat on the other side of the backbone. Flip the bird over, and using the palms of your hands, push to flatten out the bird even more. The flatter, the better, as more of the surface will touch the hot pan and crisp the skin.

The sauce is so simple and only takes minutes to finish. For the photo above, I used fresh artichoke that I trimmed and sliced. But to make the recipe even easier, use baby portabella mushrooms. (if you want to make the artichoke version, read to the end of the recipe) The sauce is pan drippings plus some wine and a quick squeeze of a lemon half. The absolute best way to eat this bird is to pile it on one large plate, pan dripping sauce and all, and devour it with a friend. Here is another roast chicken recipe to try:

Szechuan Peppercorn Roasted Chicken

The Best Roast Chicken Recipe

from Joanne Weir(serves 4) - well, in our case, it was just the 2 of us, but it was so darn good that we ate it all.

One 3.5-lb organic chicken, split (see above)
kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces baby portabella mushrooms
1/2 tsp dried Thyme
1/2 tsp freshly chopped parsley
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lemon

1. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees. On your stovetop, heat a large fry pan on high heat(big enough to fit the bird, and one that can withstand high heat in the oven). Add 2T canola oil to the pan. While the pan heats up, make sure your bird is patted as dry as possible. When the pan is smoking hot - gently place the bird SKIN side down in the pan. Season the top of bird with salt and pepper. Immediately place the entire pan in the 475 degree oven for 10 minutes.

2. Carefully remove hot pan from oven. flip the bird over. The skin should be beautifully golden and crisp. Generously season the skin side with salt and pepper. Return pan to the oven. Roast another 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, place chicken on a plate and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm.

3. Put the hot pan (careful! the pan is very hot still!) on the stovetop. Discard all but 3T of the pan drippings. Add mushrooms and fry until softened, about 2 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, dried Thyme, lemon. Reduce the sauce by half, about 2 minutes more. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped parsley. Serve chicken with sauce. Eat. Enjoy. Eat more. Can you tell I REALLY love this recipe?!

Fresh Artichokes I’m so frugal-minded that I have a hard time purchasing a large, heavy artichoke and after trimming, end up with a tiny, 3-bite bit. My preference is to steam the whole thing, and slowly savor each and every leaf with a dipping in home made bagna caulda. But today, I was determined to use it in my Roast Chicken sauce.

Here’s a step-by-step on how to trim, complete with photos to teach you. After trimming the artichoke, I sliced thinly and placed in a bowl with lemon wedge to prevent browning while I heat up my pan. In a small fry pan, heat a little olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 tsp minced garlic, fry for 20 seconds until fragrant. Add artichokes and 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Turn heat to low and cook until artichokes are softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside until you are ready to make the pan sauce. Then, just add the sauteed artichokes to the pan sauce in place of the mushrooms in above recipe. Enjoy!