Stuffed Artichokes are nothing to be afraid of,hon!

     When I was a kid, my mom warned me of the difficulty of making homemade pie crust.  For years, I never considered anything but store-ready to hold my luscious fillings, but then one day I thought I'd try anyway and you know what?  It was EASY.  That's right, all those years that I avoided mixing a little flour with a little butter and a sprinkle of water was for naught.  Mom was wrong.  Somebody had probably told her the same thing and they were wrong too.  The same holds true for artichokes.  Sure they look scary with their pointy leaves and thick, green stems and maybe the thistle is a pain to pluck out, but it can be done.  And make no mistake about it, once you have removed the tough outer leaves, clipped the remaining, dutifully scraped away the thistle and stuffed that glorious bulb, it will all be worth it!

     I love artichokes anyway I can get them, but my favorite is served at Carmine's in NYC.  Here is my version of that delectable wonder.  Enjoy!!!

Stuffed Artichokes - Carmine Style

2 globe artichokes (the BIG ones)
2 cups of chicken broth
1/2 loaf of brioche (you can use any bread, but this one is decadent) - grated into crumbs
1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese-grated

2 tbsp of minced sweet onion
2 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
5 basil leaves (fresh if you've got them)
1/8 cup olive oil

Prepare your artichokes by cutting the stem so that the bottom can fit flat in the pot. Remove outer leaves and cut 2 inches off top.  Remove thistle.  I do this by scraping with a spoon and using some muscle.  It might take a few tries, but hey, it's a good work out. Clip the rest of leaves until it looks nice--no brown ends and such.  Now stuff that bad boy with the above.  Place in large pot and pour the chicken broth in the bottom.  Drizzle top with olive oil until all is wet.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.  You can thank me later ;)