Steamed Artichoke with Gourmet Butters

Ingredients:

Artichoke:

• 2 medium artichokes
• 1 lemon, halved crosswise
• A garlic butter sauce or chive butter sauce

Garlic butter sauce:

• ¼ cup and 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• ¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

Chive butter

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/8 garlic salt

Directions:

1. Make each butter recipe in separate bowls. Combine ingredients in the bowls and mix until butter is smooth
2. In preparation to steaming, remove the tough outer leaves of the artichoke
3. Cut off top 1/3 of the artichoke. Snip remaining sharp or spiky tips
4. Trim stem to allow artichoke to stand upright. Rub the cut surfaces with lemon to prevent discoloration
5. In a large pot place a steamer basket at the bottom, add water until it reaches the bottom of the basket
6. Squeeze lemon juice and add 1 tablespoon of salt, bring to a boil
7. Once boiling, place artichokes stem up in the pot and cover. Cook until the outer leaves are easy to pull away from the base, about 25-35 minutes depending on size. 
8. Serve and enjoy with the butter dipping sauce!

This recipe was modified from marthastewart.com "Easy Steamed Artichokes" and allrecipes.com "Garlic Butter Recipe"