Artichokes are a giant pain in the ass. This did not come as a surprise. I mean, look at them. Even from the outside they look intimidating, and once you find out about their fluffy “choke”, it’s even scarier. But darn if they’re not pretty and delicious. So when they were 40¢ apiece at the store, I decided it was finally time to try them.

I’m not sure if I’ll do it again.

My discouraged attitude comes from the fact that I’d already been burned by the frozen discount salmon I pulled out of the fridge yesterday, all fishy and questionable. A stop at the grocer on the way home from work fixed that, so victory was close. I sprinkled the salmon with some Penzey’s magic, their Trinidad Lemon-Garlic Marinade and some dried dill, then broiled it for about 15 minutes, and it was simply perfect.
QUICK TIP: Place a layer of wax paper on your baking sheet before baking or broiling salmon. It keeps the pesky skin from sticking to the pan, making cleanup infinitely easier.

The artichokes were another story altogether. I prepared them according to Mark Bittman’s instruction in How to Cook Everything, and I did everything right…Until I didn’t. Instead of steaming the artichokes for the full 45 minutes, I removed them with about 15 minutes to go, figuring I’d just sauté the quarters with the leftover pasta, butter and garlic that would become my side dish. Bad idea. The artichokes that were fully cooked were remarkable and tender; the ones that weren’t (most of them) were a little on the spiky side and a disappointment.

But boy were they pretty!

Sticking them back in the steamer helped, but still: giant pain in the ass. However, the flavor is very different from canned artichoke hearts, and that’s pretty spectacular. Worth making again? Oh, who am I kidding; probably.