BLUEBERRY SCONES (Submitted by the beautiful Sherrye Clark)

♥ Here u go darlin!, I cannot really believe u are using this, I'm a whole new level of dancey right about now ♥ They were so easy I couldn't believe it. When you head back to the coast, I'm on the way, we gotta get together and cook some ridiculously good stuff. I love you.

Blueberry Scones:

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut in chunks
* 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for brushing the scones
* 1 cup fresh blueberries

Lemon Glaze:

* 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
* 1 lemon, zest finely grated
* 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift together the dry ingredients; the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Using 2 forks or a pastry blender, cut in the butter to coat the pieces with the flour. The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream. Fold everything together just to incorporate; do not overwork the dough. Fold the blueberries into the batter. Take care not to mash or bruise the blueberries because their strong color will bleed into the dough.
*I'm gonna add a note here, because I used frozen blueberries. I drained them well, and they still broke apart a little and it made them "bleed into the dough" as warned. Who cares? The color was beautiful. I did need to compensate for the extra juice by working a little self rising flour in. *
Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 12 by 3 by 1 1/4 inches. Cut the rectangle in 1/2 then cut the pieces in 1/2 again, giving you 4 (3-inch) squares. Cut the squares in 1/2 on a diagonal to give you the classic triangle shape. Place the scones on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with a little heavy cream. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until beautiful and brown. Let the scones cool a bit before you apply the glaze.

Technically you should make this simple lemon glaze in a double boiler (i.e. over a pot of simmering water with a heatproof bowl set on top) but it's even simpler to zap it in the microwave. Mix the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar together in a microwave-safe bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon zest and butter. Nuke it for 30 seconds on high. Whisk the glaze to smooth out any lumps, then drizzle the glaze over the top of the scones. Let it set a minute before serving.

"The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce."~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., "Over the Teacups," 1891

ARTICHOKE AND CHEESE PIE

You may have never met a pie like this one before. It is decadent and a mushroom and artichoke lovers delight. When I make this I have to restrain myself from eating half of it at one time.

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 (14oz.) cans artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (4oz.) can sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder and pepper
1 1/4 cups milk
4 eggs
2/3 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet. Add onion and next 3 ingredients and saute until tender. Remove from heat and stir in artichoke hearts. Spoon this mixture into a greased 10-inch glass pie dish. Put the sliced mushrooms and the Swiss cheese over this. Combine the milk, eggs, Bisquick, cheese and seasonings in electric blender. Blend 10 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Pour over artichoke mixture. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until set.
Serves 6

HOT ARTICHOKE SPREAD

Five of my favorite things strut their stuff in this tasty appetizer....canned and marinated artichoke hearts, diced green chiles, mayo, and cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

1 (8oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained
1 (16oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
1 *4oz.) can diced green chiles
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop the artichoke hearts from can into small pieces and spread in a medium-size baking dish.

Chop the artichokes from the jar and spread over top of the first layer of artichokes.

Scatter the chiles over the artichokes.

Scatter the mayonnaise over the chiles and spread with a spoon.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for 15 minutes.

Serve with crackers, toasted pita chips and/or tortilla chips.

Excellent for a party dip.

ODE TO AN ARTICHOKE (Submitted by Jo Carpenter)

ODE TO AN ARTICHOKE

By: Pablo Neruda

The artichoke
of delicate heart... See More
erect
in its battle-dress, builds
its minimal cupola;
keeps
stark
in its scallop of
scales.
Around it,
demoniac vegetables
bristle their thicknesses,
devise
tendrils and belfries,
the bulb's agitations;
while under the subsoil
the carrot
sleeps sound in its
rusty mustaches.
Runner and filaments
bleach in the vineyards,
whereon rise the vines.
The sedulous cabbage
arranges its petticoats;
oregano
sweetens a world;
and the artichoke
dulcetly there in a gardenplot,
armed for a skirmish,
goes proud
in its pomegranate
burnishes.
Till, on a day,
each by the other,
the artichoke moves
to its dream
of a market place
in the big willow
hoppers:
a battle formation.
Most warlike
of defilades-
with men
in the market stalls,
white shirts
in the soup-greens,
artichoke field marshals,
close-order conclaves,
commands, detonations,
and voices,
a crashing of crate staves.

And
Maria
come
down
with her hamper
to
make trial
of an artichoke:
she reflects, she examines,
she candles them up to the light like an egg,
never flinching;
she bargains,
she tumbles her prize
in a market bag
among shoes and a
cabbage head,
a bottle
of vinegar; is back
in her kitchen.
The artichoke drowns in a pot.

So you have it:
a vegetable, armed,
a profession
(call it an artichoke)
whose end
is millennial.
We taste of that
sweetness,
dismembering scale after scale.
We eat of a halcyon paste:
it is green at the artichoke heart.

SPINACH ARTICHOKE BAKE (Submitted by Ricky Allen Fortune)

THIS IS GREAT SPINACH-ARTICHOKE BAKE U WILL NEED 2{10-OUNCE} PACKAGES OF FROZEN CHOPPED SPINACH 1{141/2-OUNCE} CAN ARTICHOKE HEARTS. UNDRAINED 1/2 CUPS FINELY CHOPPED ONION 1/4CUPS OF BUTTER OR MARGARINE. MELTED 1{8-OUNCE} OF SOUR CREAM 1/4 TEASPOON SALT. 1/4 TEASPOON PEPPER 1/2 CUPS OF FRESHLY GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE. ...DIVIDED. COOK SPINACH ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS DRAIN WELL. PRESSING BETWEEN LAYERS OF PAPER TOWELS TO REMOVE EXCESS MOISTURE; SET ASIDE. DRAIN ARTICHOKE HEARTS. RESERVING 1/4 CUP OF LIQUID. CHOP ARTICHOKE HEARTS SAUTE ONION IN BUTTER IN A LARGE SKILLET OVER MEDIUM HEAT UNTIL TENDER. GENTLY STIR IN SPINACH. ARTICHOKES HEARTS, RESERVED LIQUID, SOUR CREAM, CREAM, SALT, PEPPER, AND 1/4 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE SPOON INTO A LIGHTLY GREASED 1/1/2-QUART CASSEROLE; DISH SPRINKLE WITH REMAINING 1/4 CUP PARMESAN CHEESE. BAKE UNCOVERED, AT 350FOR 25 TO 3O MINUTES. MAKES 6 SERVINGS IT IS SO GOOD. U NEED TO TRY IT,

BAKED ARTICHOKE RISOTTO

Artichokes can be intimidating, but don't allow that to happen in your kitchen. They are actually easy to prepare in the end, and the result is always worth it. This recipe uses fresh or frozen hearts of the artichoke. Frozen makes it way easy. Use what you have.

1 small onion, finely chopped.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
8 oz of mushrooms, quartered.
2 cups of Arborio rice.
12 oz of artichoke hearts (fresh or frozen), quartered.
5 cups of vegetable stock.
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a suitably sized skillet over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms; sauté for 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and 1 cup of hot vegetable stock. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour the rice mixture into a shallow 2 quart baking dish. Add the remaining broth and stir to combine.

Bake for 1 hour, checking occasionally for dryness. If needed, add a little water to moisten the rice.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, then bake another 10 minutes.

Serve hot.
Serves 4 to 6

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”~
Bette Davis as Margo Channing in 'All About Eve' (1950)

GRILLED PINEAPPLE BURGERS

This recipe is not only unique, it is the bomb! I cannot remember where it came from, but I have been making and cooking these burgers on what ever grill I had at the time for many years. Lean ground beef gets seasoned with Italian dressing and pattied out, then a slice of pineapple gets slapped in the middle of the burger and wrapped in bacon. Have I got your attention yet? A bath of BB-Q sauce, brown sugar, honey and lemon juice finishes it off.

2 lbs. lean ground beef
3 tablespoons Italian dressing
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (15 1/4 oz.) sliced pineapple, drained
8 slices bacon
3/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon honey

Mix ground beef, Italian dressing, salt and pepper. Shape into 8 patties, 3-inches in diameter. Press pineapple slice into each patty. Wrap each patty with bacon slice; secure with wooden pick. Mix remaining ingredients. Place patties in 13X9 glass dish. Pour barbecue sauce mixture over patties. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Grill patties, pineapple side down, 4-inches from hot coals, 12 to 15 minutes. Turn, brush with barbecue sauce. Grill 10 to 15 minutes until done.

Heat remaining sauce; serve with patties.

Hamburgers in paradise!!!!
Serves 8