Nosh: artichokes and radishes

artichokes and radishes

I'm trying to develop a repetoire of dishes to offer people who want me to cater their small party or dinner. My catering idea is to develop my cooking skills on a professional level (for the public) and gain experience in the food industry while keeping my real-paying job. Practice makes perfect ...

The most important things to keep in mind when developing a menu, in my opinion, are
1. the freshest produce on the market today
2. the season

I'm testing my ideas. I'm going to the market every day to be inspired by what's there and come up with meals on the fly. Yesterday, I went to the market and saw beautiful artichokes for a mere 39 cents each. Near them were plump bunches of radishes with their stalks - 59 cents a bunch. I also picked up some baerlauch, a new herb I've discovered, which is like a cross between garlic and leeks, and has aroma and flavor like no other herb (other than rosemary). I posted about it in rec.food.cooking and was told that in the U.S it is sometimes called "wild garlic" or "ramsons" or "Allium ursinum" and is not to be confused with lily-of-the-valley.
Here's a short article about it from a lady who made the same discovery --
she briefly describes where it grows, how it tastes, and cooking with it.

My menu last night was grilled artichokes with lemon, roasted garlic, fresh oregano and olive oil, which I served warm from the grill. I left the stalks on most of the radishes and cut them in half...they went on a nice platter with sliced celery and a handful of black olives and caperberries. I made "yogurt cheese" by taking non-fat yogurt and putting into a coffee filter and letting drain all day ... i mixed the cheese with milk to thin it out and then a few squirts of white wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and most importantly, a large handful of the sliced baerlauch. You can also throw in a shot of extra virgin olive oil for some extra flavor ... just taste as you go. I drizzled some of this mixture over the salad and served the rest in a dipping bowl in the center.

See photos

Let me know what you think about these dishes!
The basic artichoke recipe follows in the extended entry.

Note about the artichokes:

Briefly, I snapped off the two outer rows and cut the stem off, leaving just one inch of it.
I cut the arts in half (have a big bowl of cold water into which you've squeezed two lemons) and with a sharp knife, cut out the choke and the nasty leaves. Do one at a time and put them in the lemon water as you go. Set a pot of salted water to boil and when it's ready, drain the arts and throw them in. They'll need to boil for at least 15 minutes. Make sure they're done! When they're ready, take them out and set them on a rack or colander to drain.
Whisk together a head of roasted garlic, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1 cup olive oil or a mix of olive and vegetable oil (to taste), salt and pepper, and a large handful of fresh oregano leaves, sliced. Brush this on artichokes and put them on a med-hot grill, about 8 or 10 minutes on each side, brushing them with the olive oil mixture often. When they're nice and done with some charred spots here and there, take them off and serve them with the leftover vinaigrette.