Artichoke Hearts with Crab

Dijon Viniagrette (see recipe below)
1 1/2 pounds cooked blue crab meat, lump crab meat, or Dungeness crab meat*
3 medium-size lemons, divided
3 quarts cold water, divided
6 large artichokes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 strips red bell pepper, diced, for garnish
1 small head Radicchio

*If you can't get fresh crab, look for the pasteurized crab usually sold in the refrigerated case of your supermarket or fish store.

Prepare Dijon Vinaigrette and set aside until ready to use. If using fresh (not canned) crab meat, carefully clean the crab meat of any shells or cartilage; set aside.

Into a large bowl, squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into 1 quart of the water. Cut the stems of the artichokes even with the bottoms. Pull off and discard all leaves. Using a melon baller or a spoon, remove and discard the choke. Trim the bottoms and put them in the lemon water.

Into a large pot, squeeze the juice from the remaining 2 lemons into the remaining 2 quarts cold water. Add the vegetable oil and whisk in the flour. Bring the liquid just to the boil; add the artichoke bottoms. Reduce the heat to low and simmer artichoke hearts approximately 12 to 15 minutes or until the point of a knife penetrates them easily. Remove from pan and let cool.

Place each artichoke bottom on an individual serving plate. Spoon 1 tablespoon Dijon Vinaigrette into each artichoke bottom and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon chives. Divide the crab meat into 6 equal portions and mound it onto the artichoke bottoms, drizzling with additional Dijon Vinaigrette. Sprinkle each with another 1/2 teaspoon chives and a few pieces of red bell pepper. Pass any remaining vinaigrette separately.

Makes 6 servings

Dijon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
12 cup walnut oil

Process the wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper with the metal blade of a food processor, about 5 seconds. With the motor running, pour the walnut oil through the feed tube in a steady stream. Process until mixed, about 5 seconds.

Baby Artichokes  

1 baby artichoke for each guest
Best Foods mayonnaise
French’s mustard
Salt & pepper
Dill weed

Boil artichokes, completely submerged in salted water until tender, 10-20 minutes, depending on their size. Drain well and cool.

Discard tough outer leaves, cut off stem so that the artichoke will stand by itself on a plate. Cut across the top part of the artichoke, 1/2�?or so, and use scissors to decoratively cut across a few of the remaining outside leaves to resemble a “flower�? Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Mix mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. When ready to serve, use a spoon to place a thick line of the mayonnaise-mustard mixture off to one side of each individual small flat serving plate. Use a clean, unused comb, or similar, to draw wavy lines on the plate through the sauce. Place the cooked artichoke on the plate and sprinkle dill weed atop the “wavy�?sauce, and serve.

Artichokes and Green Beans

1/2 lb Sm Jerusalem artichokes; (sunchokes). sliced
3/4 lb Fresh green beans;
2 cl Garlic; minced
2 ts Walnut oil;
1/2 Red pepper; diced
2 tb Fresh lemon juice;
1 tb Walnuts; chopped
Pepper to taste

Wash and trim artichokes and beans. Bring a large kettle of water to a boil and cook artichokes until tender, about 15 minutes minutes. Add green beans and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and keep warm. Saute garlic 1 minutes in walnut oil, tne add bell pepper to warm. Mix all ingredients together and serve.