Artichokes Stuffed with Ricotta and Basil

This is something my mother-in-law made for me (for a birthday celebration) because she knows I like artichokes. :) I ran across it yesterday and thought of Jessica because it calls for ricotta cheese!

3-4 medium to large artichokes
2 T. lemon juice
15 oz. ricotta cheese
1 c. parmesan cheese, divided
2 eggs
2 T. dried basil leaves (or 1/4 c. chopped fresh)
salt, pepper, olive oil (to taste)

Rinse artichokes under cold water. Trim the stems. Cut the top 1" off each artichoke, and trim the tips off the leaves. Cut artichokes in half lengthwise and arrange cut side down in large baking dish. Add lemon juice and enough water to fill halfway. Cover tightly with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta, 2/3 cup parmesan cheese, the eggs and basil. When artichokes are done, pour off the cooking liquid and turn them cut side up. Remove fuzzy centers and soft inner leaves and discard (note: I would eat the inner leaves rather than discard!) Brush cut surfaces with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon ricotta mixture into cups of artichoke halves. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup parmesan. Return to oven for 15-20 minutes.

Note: You can cook the artichokes the day before, then warm, stuff, and bake again the day you want to serve them.

Blogs I like

Amber is my cousin's wife. She has two kids and writes about...life mostly, and whatever she happens to be thinking or reading about.

Classic Adventures is a wonderful "mommy blog". Dy is always refreshingly encouraging and funny.

Rebecca is just funny.

Amy's Humble Musings. Another mommy blog that I enjoy, although I don't check hers as regularly as Classic Adventures.

Like Merchant Ships tends toward frugal ideas and updates on house hunting (they buy fixer-uppers and then sell at ridiculous profits - kind of amazing).

In the trenches of motherhood is a new one for me. So far I like it. She is a mother of seven, and she writes "this is how I do it" posts.

And of course, The Wuggy Chronicles. Gotta love it. :)

Blogs

So what are you interested in these days? What do you check often?

Here are some fun blogs that I have been checking lately:
Woot - Sells only one item for only one day at a discounted price.
Banterist - Just plain funny.
Boing Boing - "A Directory of Wonderful Things" is their subtitle. I don't quite know how to describe them. Lots of interesting, random, mostly tech news.
Daddy Types - A dad (maybe 2) in New York area who tells stories, cool product ideas and details, etc.
Tiny Kingdom - A hilarious blog by a mom who tells WAY to much about her family of 3 boys.
Baby Roadies - A couple of dads telling stories (not as good as Daddy Types, but sometimes interesting)
And, of course, all of your blogs! :)

This Thursday

Amazingly enough, I'm actually in town this week.

I'd love to get together with you all...

....except that the van needs work, and Thursday is the only time when our mechanic can do it.

So the wuggies and I will be hanging out at the McDonalds Playplace at Leffingwell and Santa Gertrudes, right across from Fred's Automotive. If anyone would like to join us, we'd love to see you.

=)