Favorite appetizer- Grilled Artichokes with a Spicy Sweet Remoulade Sauce

I have a lovely local restaurant that has some tasty treats called Dunlay’s On The Square. It’s located in the heart of Logan Square in Chicago. I had this awesome appetizer there and wanted try to recreate it at home. Grilled artichokes with a spicy sweet remoulade sauce. Sooo tasty and smoky. The combination of the grilled flavor of the artichoke with the spicy sweet of the creamy remolade was such a delight on my taste buds.

I knew that I had to probably pre-cook the artichokes some how and then make up a mayonnaise-based sauce with both spicy and sweet notes in it. I first tried it out on my mother who loved it so much, that it now is I believe her favorite appetizer for me to make for her just short of the Caprese salad. Mom does love her veggies! So here it is, my version of grilled artichokes with a remoulade sauce. This is a delight for any occasion.

Grilled Artichokes with a Spicy Sweet Remoulade sauce

Grilled Artichokes

Ingredients

4 large artichokes

1 lemon, halved

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

-Spicy Sweet Remoulade Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat.

Break off the artichokes' small outside leaves. Cut off the top with a knife and trim the sharp points of the leaves with scissors. Slice the artichokes in half, rubbing them with cut lemon as you go to avoid discoloration. Squeeze the lemon halves into a bowl of cold water, soak the artichokes for 10 minutes, and then wash with cold water to remove sand.  Place artichoke halves in a large steamer insert over simmering water and steam until heart is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes depending upon size (inserted knife blade will go in smoothly). Allow to cool. Remove the choke with a spoon.

Prep the cooled artichokes by brushing on the olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill the artichokes on both sides until golden on the surface with nice grill marks and heated through, about 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with the Spicy Sweet Remoulade Sauce.

Spicy Sweet Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients

1 c mayonnaise

1/4 c ketchup

1/4 c garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 t cayenne pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t paprika

1/2 t salt

1/4 c cilantro, finely chopped

Dash Worcestershire sauce

Dash ground black pepper

Dash lousiana style hot sauce (I prefer the original Louisiana hot sauce)

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and serve as a dip with the grilled artichokes.

Leftover sauce will keep, refrigerated, for up to 3 or 4 days.

Recipe guide:

T= Tablespoon/s

t=  teaspoon/s

c=  cup/s

Boy, do I love this dish. It was really fun for me, trying to recreate what I had in a restaurant at home with no recipe. It was a challenge, but a good for me to fine-tune my taste skills.

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a knack for tasting food and being able to pick out what spices and flavorings were in the dish. I guess I have a very sensitive palate. I’ve also read that women on the whole tend to have more taste buds then men, but start to lose them earlier around age 40 as opposed to 60 for men. Not sure how exactly accurate that is, but I have read many articles along those lines. And I sure do love to read about food, especially other blogs about food. And here is a great one that talks about movies and food. Who doesn’t love dinner and a movie?

So till my next yummy food blog post, live love and eat some fantastic food.