Artichokes and a most pleasant evening

The leaves were mostly still on the trees. The weather was perfect. The bugs were at bay. The artichokes were ripe. Can you think of a better way to spend a delightful Saturday evening?

A beautiful stack: rattan charger, bone china and green Portuguese china on a sea of Mediterranean blue.

A well-ed plate especially for artichokes. The center well is for the artichoke, the upper well is for the spent leaves and the lower portion is for the golden hued dipping sauce - lemon butter.

 

Gentle radiating ridges encircled by small bands and dots are all the adornment that is on the white bone china.

Rosewood handled flatware. Place setting adorned with a simple golden, woven napkin rolled simply and placed across the top of the plate.

 A gleaming copper and brass rechaud to keep the extra golden hued lemon butter at the right consistency.

 French hand-blown crystal hued the faintest green.

A golden olive server. Large portion for the olives, smaller bowl for the pits.
 

The color of the Mediterranean, clear blue overprinted with black olives - so very Provençal.

Wrought iron centerpiece chandelier with 8 votive cups on two different levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dusk has arrived and so has dinner.

 

 

The bewitching blue hour

 As we chatted late into the evening in the glow of the candlelight.

Thanks for dropping in today, I'm glad you could join us.I love to have you come by.

Before we get to the recipe, the players in this evening drama are:

Rattan chargers - World Market

Wedgwood Windsor China

Neto and Gomes artichoke plates 

Rosewood brass flatware - gift from Mom

Tablecloth - purchased in Santa Fe, NM from a vendor on the square

Votive light chandelier - Mineral Wells, Texas

napkins - so old they could be vintage

French glasses - Santa Fe, NM

How to cook an artichoke:

1. If the artichoke has points on the ends of the leaves, trim off the points with scissors.

2. Slice off 3/4" to 1" of the tip of the artichoke.

3. Remove the smaller leaves toward the base of the artichoke.

4. Remove excess stem, leaving only about 1". I tend to leave less than that so that the artichoke will sit nicely on a plate.

5. Rinse the artichokes in cold water.

6. In a large pot, put a couple of inches of water. Use either an artichoke stand (one per artichoke) or a steamer basket placing the artichokes above the water. Steam for 25-45 minutes, until the lower leaves easily peel off the stem. Length of cooking time is relative to the size of artichoke, the larger they are the longer they cook

How to eat an artichoke:

1. Pull off the outer layers of leaves, one leaf at a time.

2. Dip white fleshy end into lemon butter or sauce of your choosing.

3. Place in mouth, fleshy part down, pull through your teeth to remove the fleshy portion. Discard the uneaten portion.

4. Continue in this manner until all the petals are gone.

5. The heart is left and once the "choke" is removed, it can be eaten too. Take a spoon and scrape out the hairy, soft bristles covering the heart. Cut the heart into pieces and dip into sauce and enjoy!

 Will be linking up with the hostess with the mostet - the gracious Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. Be sure to jump over there on Thursday to visit the others and be inspired to take your dishes out of mothballs!

Also, click on over to Creative Journeys too - I'm giving away a Martha Stewart Halloween appropriate edge punch this Monday, October 18th, 2010.