I was in a town today with the opportunity to shop in an upscale grocery store. Imagine my surprise to find these large, luscious artichokes at this time of the year! They are the largest and most unblemished that I have even seen on the east coast.
'Course, they may be tough as shoe leather because they are so large, but I'm sure there is enough meat on the base of the outside leaves to be worth making my (quick and easy) bernaise sauce. Yummy!
Here's the sauce:
Blender Bernaise
2 Tbs. white wine
1 Tbs. tarragon vinegar
2 tsp. chopped tarragon
2 tsp. chopped shallots
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter
3 egg yolks
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine wine, vinegar, tarragon, shallots and pepper in a skillet. Bring to a boil and cool rapidly until almost all the liquid diappears. In a small saucepan, heat the butter to bubbling but do not brown. Place egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne in a blender. Cover and pulse to just blend. Gradually add the hot butter. Add the herb mixture, cover and blend on high speed for 4 seconds.
Remove from blender, and distribute to individual serving dishes if desired. (I put mine in individual custard cups, and chill for an hour. Everyone gets their own serving dish to add atopgood filet mignon (or any steak) and/or steamed artichoke or vegetables.
(This recipe is from Craig Claiborne's "Original New York Times Cookbook" and I may have made some adaptations.)
Note: artichokes are fully cooked (in a boiling water bath with coriander added) when the lower leaves pull free easily, usually about 45 minutes). Drain, and chill for 45 minutes to one hour.
