I was lucky to have a mother who cooked artichokes well and often. It is still one of my favorite foods. You can serve them warm, at room temperature, or cold (they're better marinated if served cold), cored and stuffed, cored with the dressing in the center cavity, or with the dressing in a shallow dish on the side. You want a delicate yet flavorful dressing. Clarified butter with or without lemon is the classic traditional dressing, but homemade mayonnaise or garlic mayonnaise (aioli), hollandaise, or mousseline are all delicious. Cold marinated artichoke is good with a mustard vinaigrette. Rise No 1 restaurant serves a sauce they say is made like hollandaise but with olive oil instead of butter, and they add chopped hard-boiled egg and capers. I haven't tried to make it yet, but I intend to -- it is wonderful! The calorie-conscious can use a low-fat salad dressing or vinaigrette.
Poached Artichoke
You really do need to start with a fairly decent artichoke. No amount of careful cooking will overcome an old, dry artichoke. Choose one with tightly closed leaves.
Tear off the tough outer leaves, cut off about 1/4 inch from the top of the globe, trim the sharp ends of the remaining leaves with scissors, and cut the stalk so that the artichoke can stand upright on the plate.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (there should be enough water to cover the artichokes). Additions to the water can include olive oil, garlic, coriander...I usually add sliced lemon and a bay leaf. Add the artichokes, lower heat and simmer covered until the leaves pull off easily -- about 40 minutes. Remove from water and drain upside down.
To remove the choke (which is not necessary, but a nice touch), carefully spread the leaves apart until you can see the cone of pale green leaves in the center. Pull these out. This will reveal the choke, which you can scrape out with a spoon. The rich solid mass beneath the choke is called the heart. Dressing can be placed on top of the heart, and leaves dipped until you are ready to eat the heart: cut into small pieces and eat with a fork. One of the great culinary treats!
To marinate for serving cold: pour vinaigrette over artichoke, making sure to saturate between the layers of leaves. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerator for several hours or up to two or three days. Serve with the same vinaigrette, adding a little mayonnaise and/or Dijon mustard if desired (the "country style" is good with this).
Dressings
Clarified butter: Melt butter over low heat. Let stand for a few minutes until solids settle to the bottom, then skim the butter on top.
Lemon butter (meuniere): Cook clarified butter slowly in a saucepan until it is light brown. Add lemon juice to taste.
Mayonnaise: You can beat olive oil and a little lemon juice into store-bought mayonnaise for a fresher flavor. Don't try to make fresh mayonnaise in a thunderstorm or humid weather -- it will not bind. With all ingredients at room temperature place into a blender: 1 egg, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, a dash of cayenne, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 cup olive oil. Blend until thoroughly combined. Then, as the blender continues to run, remove the cover and slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil, then 3 tablespoons lemon juice. When this is thoroughly blended, slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil and blend until thick.
Garlic Mayonnaise (aioli): When mayonnaise is done (above) add crushed garlic cloves to taste and blend for about 10 seconds. If you are using store-bought mayonnaise, put the garlic through a press and add to mayonnaise then blend with a fork.
Hollandaise: Beat 4 egg yolks in a saucepan over low heat until you see the bottom of the pan with a stroke of your whisk. On the very lowest setting, add two sticks of butter cut into small chunks -- one chunk at a time, stirring after each addition. Then stir in a pinch of cayenne, salt to taste, a pinch of white pepper, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Moousseline: Fold whipped cream into hollandaise -- 1 part whipped cream to 2 parts hollandaise.
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