Sauted Garlic Artichokes

I have never been a big fan of Steamed Artichokes dipped in Mayo! I just don't enjoy the combination-mostly the Mayo part. But my husband loves them. So after doing some internet searches I decided to pull some different idea's from many recipes and try something new. All you needis : 2-3 artichokes, olive oil, minced garlic, water and white wine! Here is what I came up with :

I started with 3 small artichokes. Rinse them under cold water, cut the top third off, trim the stem to about 1 inch, and finally chopp them in half. Peel or cut off the lower petals (there is no "meat" on them anyway). Next scoop/cut out the inside "hairy" part and rinse again. I struggled on scaping out my first half artichoke but as soon as the hairy part came out I could visually see where it seperated, the remaining 5 halves were very quick and easy. You can see in the image below how it looks before and after. The hard part is done!

Heat (medium high heat) a skillet that will fit all the artichoke halves. Drizzle a small amount of Olive Oil in the bottom of the skillet and add about 2-4 minced garlic cloves (I really like garlic so I always go a little heavy on it). Brown the garlic slightly and place the artichokes flat side down in the skillet until lightly browned-this takes about 5-10 minutes depending on how high the heat is.

At this point I added about 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup white wine (I used a Chardonnay). Reduce the heat to medium, cover and leave at a high simmer for about 40 minutes. A fork should pierce the artichoke stem easily at this point. Remove the Artichokes from the pan and let cool slightly before serving. This are great all alone, it is light and has a sweet garlic flavor! However, my husband seems to "dip" everything, so I did melt a little butter and added some garlic which he dipped his artichoke in. My husband and 2 of my 3 kids really enjoyed eating artichokes this way. I hope you do to! CHEERS!

SIDE NOTE: when adding the Chardonnay, it is important to pour yourself a glass and enjoy a pre-dinner glass of wine!