archive entry: sausage stuffed artichoke

Growing up Italian, stuffed artichokes were always part of every holiday meal - so this year when I had to miss out on easter dinner I decided to take matters into my own hands. Along with making these artichokes myself I was able to improve a bit on my families traditional recipe.... don't get me wrong I love tradition but sometimes its just better to put your own spin on things. In my version I used chicken sausage since I like the taste better than traditional pork sausage.


Stuffed Artichoke w/ pan seared scallops and cilantro& celery mayo (with a few bites taken out!)



Close up of the artichoke... that thing was packed full with stuffing!

stuffed artichokes (makes 2 servings)
2 large artichokes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 c water
1 slice lemon

stuffing
2 chicken sausage
1/4 green bell pepper - diced finely
1/4 red bell pepper - diced finely
1/4 onion - diced finely5 mushrooms - diced finely
1 c panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil

1) wash and clean artichokes - remove outer layer of leaves, trim top 1" of each artichoke off with knife and then use scissors to cut of sharp point on each leaf. Use lemon to prevent cut edged from getting brown
2)steam in pan w cover for about 30 min or until leaves are soft and easily pulled off
3) remove from heat and plunge artichoke into ice cold water to stop cooking
4) remove choke from center (its the little furry part in the center - check out you tube if you haven't done this before)
5)prepare stuffing:in frying pan - reove sausage from casing and brown in pan. Crumble while cooking
6) add veggies and cook until soft
7)add breadcrumbs and butter - cook on low/med until they start to brown
8) let mixture cool slightly and stuff into artichokes -try to get each leaf if possible!
9)pour about 1 tbsp oil on top of each artichoke and place in broiler on low for about 5 min or until top starts to brown

Pan seared Scallops with cilantro and celery mayo is from a cooking light recipe http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=549779

the trick to searing a scallop is to start with a 'dry" scallop - this means one that doesn't have water added to increase its weight. These scallops are usually a bit more expensive but are worht it - some ways to tell is if the sallops are sitting in liquid its usually not a good sign - or just ask your fish store! also make sure to have a hot pan (with oil) and dry your scallop off on a paper towel before dropping it in the pan - also give it at least 3-5 min per side to brown completely.