Grilled Artichokes with Balmamic Vinaigrette

Ready for basting, then the grill

Telling Liv that part of her dinner tonight was a "thistle", I received a raised eyebrow followed by a quizzical, "Seriously?  Um... No... I'm not eating a thistle.".  She did though, and she asked for more.

Believed to have originated in North Africa, we can thank the Mediterranean regions of Southern Europe for the cultivation of this partially edible flower head.   While the thorns and outer leaves give the artichoke a somewhat menacing look, it's the inner heart that chefs and diners covet.

Boiled or steamed, the heart becomes tender and a beautiful canvas for dips and vinaigrettes.  When I was little my mom served our artichokes with a dollop of mayo, but the past few years have introduced me to a variety of dips and cooking methods, all bringing different flavors to that canvas.

Tonight, our version included basting with a balsamic vinaigrette along with a finish on the grill.  Boiled until tender, the artichokes is then cooled until cool enough to handle and cut in half.  Brushed with a balsamic, olive oil and garlic vinaigrette, the artichokes are placed, cut side down, on the grill for just a few minutes.  Flipping them reveals those lovely grill marks as an aroma of garlic wafts past.

Served with a side of vinaigrette, the artichokes serve up tender, flavorful, and worthy of seconds.  What's your favorite artichoke recipe??

Balsamic Grilled Artichokes and another day in the Yosemite Valley!

The Thursday of Spring Break had the adults in our party heading back into the Yosemite Valley for a Valley photo shoot, the kids worn out from the adventures of the prior day's tour.  Along with us, our hosts in Oakhurst having literally hundreds of days in the Valley and a neighbor who is a Yosemite Volunteer, who could ask for better guides??  Packing 3 DSLR's of varying levels of wonderfulness, numerous lenses of differing lengths, 3 tripods and 1 Canon pocket camera (my husband's!) we set off in hopes of that much sought after crystal clear cerulean blue sky highlighting the granite monoliths of El Capitan and Half Dome amongst the gushing waterfalls.

Boulder from a rock fall

With our hosts providing a steady stream of Yosemite lore and history we made our way past the raging Merced River.  Kent pointed out various points of interest along the way including large rock fall areas illustrating in vivid detail how much of the Valley was created.  I can't begin to say how much we enjoyed having our own personal tour guides for the day who not only were experts on the Valley itself, but who are "in the know" on perfect photo spots.

My husband was a trooper and he kindly pulled over at a seconds notice without complaint when one of us yelled "Stop!  I need to take a picture of that!".  Pulling quickly to the side of the road and chuckling as Tom and I hopped out of the car running to some remote site we noticed he often trudged along behind us to take a few of his own.  One such stop provided this shot of what I call the "Ice Tree", one of my favorite shots of the whole trip.  The tree, set amongst the rocks and waterfall, just seemed to gleam with the spray of the water freezing on its branches.  Set against the green of the other trees it was simply stunning.

The Ice Tree

Once again Mother Nature had her say and gave us anything but those crystal blue skies.  Dressed in my borrowed boots, extra layers of clothes, a warm scarf and borrowed gloves I still froze my fingers and toes (along with the rest of me!) in the 27º temps (not including wind chill!) and falling snow.  Covering the Valley floor and trees with a fresh layer of glistening snow the four of us were treated to stunning views that only days before were showing signs of spring.

Fern Creek

Starting our day in the Valley at Fern Creek, a favorite stop for our host, Tom, we shot a number of photos of this small water flow which provided differing colors depending on the available light.  The reflections on the slow moving water lit up our lenses giving one gorgeous shot after another.
 

Snow at Yosemite Falls - that's Tom in the background!

Next up the Yosemite Falls were flowing as much as or even slightly more than the day before, the Frazil Ice however was barely visible.  Arriving at the Lower Falls viewpoint the skies opened up and the wintry scene became even more magical with a full on snow shower.  Living in San Diego, we see snow so infrequently that the gently falling flakes were a real treat.

Freezing our fingers out of our gloves snapping photos we deemed it time for a hot drink at the Ahwahnee.  Just around the corner from the falls we found a perfect spot in the bar area and thawed ourselves in the warm surroundings.  After my average meal the prior day in the Ahwahnee main restaurant I was somewhat hesitant to order much off the menu.  With assurances from our hosts though, I chose the chili and was more than pleased with the hot, cheesy bowl that arrived quickly.

Chili and a Firefall - Lunch at the Ahwahnee

The others ordered hot drinks including the Firefall (Hot Chocolate with tequila and a hint of cinnamon) and Keoke Coffee.  Again, the drinks were somewhat aggressively priced at $9 a piece, but with the snow falling outside the large windows and the warm fires burning in the hotel I was completely content so spend a bit of time enjoying the chili and drinks.  Definitely one of the high points of our day in the Valley, simply a lovely location to warm your bones and rest your feet a bit.

After more touring we left our snowy winter wonderland and headed for home.  Liv had spent the day with her brother and Tom's wife, Fran, and lucky for us Liv and Fran had been cooking for a good part of the day.  Walking into the house we were greeted with aromas of roasting pork and rosemary, artichokes that had been prepped for the grill along with other veggies and a salad ready to be tossed.  What a treat to have such a meal prepared for me.  Fran wouldn't let me do dishes either, talk about a true (and much needed) vacation!


Artichokes have not really been high on my list since I was a kid, but with urging from everyone at the table I gave these gorgeous grilled beauties a taste and found myself promptly reaching for seconds.  Marinated with a simple mixture of oil, balsamic and crushed garlic these little guys couldn't have been much easier to put together and the flavors were out of this world.  Sipping a glass of '08 Zin from Tom and Fran's personal vineyard we relaxed near the fire, content and warm, the memories of the day filling our conversation as we sipped our wine and drifted towards a good nights sleep.

Grilled Artichokes and Veggies!!!