Stuffed Artichokes

I got my April issue of food network magazine and they had some articles are artichokes!  And then we went to the grocery store and they were on sale!  So we bought two.  The recipe below makes two servings.  One choke per person.

Ingredients:
1 lemon
2 medium artichokes
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 bunch mint (we left this out)
1/2 bunch parsley (we used dried, herbs are expensive out of season)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 panko bread crumbs
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 small mushrooms, finely chopped (this wasn't in the recipe, but we added them)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, optional (we left this out)
2 anchovy fillets, minced, optional (we left this out)
olive oil
Kosher salt
1 cup white wine

Directions:
1.  Squeeze 1/2 lemon into a large bowl filled with water and place the lemon halves in the water.
2.  Cut off the pointy tops of the artichokes.  Remove and reserve the stem of the artichokes.  Peel off the tough green outer leaves and discard.  Gently spread the leaves of the artichoke.  Using a melon baller, scoop out the hairy "choke" in the center of the artichokes.  When clean reserve them in lemon water.  Remove the tough outer skin on the stems and reserve them in lemon water as well.
3.  In a small bowl combine the garlic, herbs, Parmesan, bread crumbs, crushed red pepper, pine nuts and anchovies, if using.  Finely chop the reserved artichoke stems and add them to the bowl.  Zest and juice the remaining lemon half and add that to the bowl.  Slowly drizzle in olive oil until mixture forms a paste.  Season with salt.
4.  Stuff artichokes with paste.
5.  Place the artichokes standing up in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them.  Add the wine to the saucepan and enough lemon water to come 3/4 up the sides of the artichokes.  Add the lemon halves to the pan also.  Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt.
6.  Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the base of the artichokes are tender with poked with a fork.
7.  Serve hot or room temperature drizzled with olive oil.

Beth's Rating: 5/10
Jason's Rating: 4/10
**ratings are low because the artichoke wasn't ripe, so all the inside leaves were too tough to eat.  But it tasted really good and we're willing to try it again with a ripe artichoke.

Nutrition:
364 calories
27g fat (5g saturated)
0mg cholesterol
590mg sodium
25g carbohydrates
4g fiber
2g sugar
8g protein