Artichoke Nirvana

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 1 large fresh globe artichoke
• 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon mccormick's montreal brand steak seasoning
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon pepper (or 2 tsp lemon juice + pepper)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons bernsteins light fantastic cheese fantastico low-cal italian dressing (13 kcal per tbs!)

Recipe

• 1 bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• 2 add onion, garlic powder, steak seasoning, celery salt, lemon pepper, salt, and pepper.
• 3 rinse artichoke and cut tough part of stem off. using a serrated knife, cut the top 1/3 of the artichoke off, and discard. if necessary, use scissors to trim any remaining excessively sharp points off of remaining leaves.
• 4 drop artichoke into boiling seasoned water, stem end down, but making sure all cut ends have been exposed to the lemony water, so they don't oxidize and turn brown.
• 5 cover pot and simmer until a sharp knife inserted into the center of the stem comes out gently and the stem is tender (30-45 minutes, depending on size of the artichoke). remove artichoke from water using tongs, and drain, upside down. cool for 5 minutes, until cool enough to handle.
• 6 while choke is cooling, pour low-fat italian dressing into a small container, cover, and microwave for ~30 seconds, until warm.
• 7 using a sharp spoon or melon-baller, scoop the hair-like choke and undeveloped inner leaves out of the center of the artichoke; scraping until the meaty heart is exposed.
• 8 peel off leaves, dipping into warm dressing, and scraping the meaty part of the leaves against your teeth. the remaining heart and tender stem are worth the effort and wait!