8 Artichokes with Homemade Hollandaise Sauce

Remember the scene from Julie and Julia where Julie has the pounds of butter in her fridge, and talks about how if the world was going to end she would eat all the butter she wanted?  And then she makes Hollandaise sauce that has been "whipped into submission".  Love that movie!

So here is my first attempt ever at Hollandaise sauce.  It's also my first time preparing and cooking an artichoke.  I figured let's knock out two intimidating foodies all at once.  For the artichoke, I used this article on Simply Recipes to help guide me.

I used a Hollandaise recipe from Katherine Martinelli's blog.  You should definitely check it out, her food is ah-mazing and photos are stunning.  She's also super sweet and has been so friendly since I started following her via FoodBuzz.

My taste testers loved the Hollandaise, commenting on the freshness and even saying it beat out some restaurant versions.

I love the artichokes.  A little salt and pepper, yum.  Reminded me of eating edamame...another green and earthy appetizer.

I didn't have a double boiler so as you can see I used a heat-safe Pyrex pitcher over my pot of water.  It worked perfectly!  I've done this before and once the boiling water somehow suctioned the pyrex to the pot - if this happens to you have no fear...once it cools it will release.

I put my hubs to work on whisking after my arm started getting tired.  He gets complete credit for whipping the butter and egg yolks into this creamy, tangy, fluffy sauce of perfection.

Serve as a dip with the artichoke leaves, drizzled over asparagus, or the well known Eggs Benedict.




Recipe:


Hollandaise Sauce:
(from Katherine Martinelli)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 egg yolks
Salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. Paprika

1.  Melt the butter in the microwave and skim the fat off the top.  Set aside to cool slightly.

2.  In a heat-safe bowl, whisk the 3 egg yolks completely.

3.  Add an inch or so of water to a pot that the bowl can rest on top of.  Heat the water over low-medium heat.

4.  Whisk the eggs constantly over the heat, be careful not to cook the eggs (keep the heat low), until lightened in color and doubled in size.  It will look thick and fluffy.

5.  Add a little of the butter and mix in.

6.  Slowly add the rest of the butter whisking constantly.  Katherine has a great point here, if it starts to look grainy add a tablespoon or two of cold water and whisk until smooth.  This happened to me and adding the water saved the day!

7.  Once all of the butter has been incorporated, remove from heat and add the lemon juice, salt, cayenne and paprika.

Enjoy!

For the Artichoke:

(from Simply Recipe)

1. Cut an inch off the top.

2. Use scissors to snip the ends of the leaves off, they can be thorny but are safe to eat.

3. Cut the stem but leave about an inch.

4. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.  Add the whole artichoke and cook for 25-40 minutes or until the outer leaves can be easily pulled off.

5.  To eat the leaves, you don't actually eat the entire leaf.  One side of the leaf is waxy and the other has a kind of meaty, pulpy part that can be scraped off.  Place the leaf in your mouth pulpy side down and pull through your teeth scraping off the yummy earthy part, especially the white end bite.  Yum!