appetizers for sharing

This Ultimate Stuffed Artichoke Recipe is packed with incredible, aromatic flavors and is out of this world.  Serve it for a scrumptious vegetarian first or main course. And it's great for sharing too!*Serves about 6 as a starter, &amp; 2 to 4 as a main course.

The Ultimate Stuffed Artichoke Recipe

(approximately 1-pound) artichokes, (washed and dried (Lyons if possible))

juice of 3 lemons, (divided (about 1/2 cup))

unsalted butter

shallots, (finely chopped)

garlic, (minced)

dry white wine

breadcrumbs

Italian parsley, (washed and dried, finely chopped)

Parmesan cheese, (finely grated)

sea salt and black pepper

Fill a steamer pot with a few inches of water, and place a steamer basket on top. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer.

Use a Chef&#x27;s knife to cut off about 1-inch from the top of each artichoke, and enough off of the bottom to form a nice base. Remove any especially tough outer leaves and discard them. Then use kitchen scissors to cut off the sharp tips of the leaves.

Using your hands, carefully pull the leaves away from the middle of the artichoke -- just enough so that you can see down to the choke. Now use a spoon to reach down and gently scrape away and discard all of the fuzz, to reveal a clean heart. (See above image.) This will take a bit of muscle, but must be done. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice inside and over each one.

Place the artichokes, stem-end up, in the steamer basket, cover, and steam until they are almost as tender as you like them, about 15 minutes. (They'll finish cooking in the oven.) Check for doneness by pulling off an outer leaf — it should come off fairly easily. Set them aside to cool.

While the artichokes are steaming, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over low-medium heat. Let it simmer until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Pour in about 1/3 cup of lemon juice and the wine. Stir and let this simmer on low heat for about 4 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and parsley, stir to blend and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper (here&#039;s how), and set aside to cool.

Place the artichokes, sitting on their bases, in a baking dish.

Use a spoon and/or your hands to carefully fill the center of each artichoke with the stuffing -- fill it to maximum capacity! (If you think there&#039;s too much stuffing, don&#039;t worry just pack it in.) Then fill all of the spaces between the leaves as much as possible. Sprinkle the top of each one with 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan.

Place the stuffed artichokes in the preheated 375°F oven and bake until the breadcrumbs are golden and the cheese has melted, 15 to 20 minutes.

I like serving these whole for sharing.

Sweet Potato Tempura with the lightest, crispiest batter is so much easier to make at home than you may think!

Sweet Potato Tempura

eggs

salt

ice water

flour

Vegetable oil

potato

Beat eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Mix in salt, ice water and flour until just incorporated. Batter should still be lumpy.

Pour about 2 inches of oil in a saucepan and heat to 350 degrees F.

Pat sweet potato slices dry on both sides with a paper towel. Dip a few slices in the batter, letting excess batter drip back into the bowl and fry until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with remaining sweet potato.

Serve a few pieces of tempura over Annie Chun’s Miso Soup Bowl, and serve the remaining tempura on the side with soy sauce or other desired dipping sauce.

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Sweet Potato Tempura

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