Carciofi Ripieni Stuffed Artichokes 6 large Artichokes cold water 2 medium-size fresh Lemons 1 1/2 cups fresh Bread Crumbs 1/4 cup fresh Parsely (finely chopped) 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese (finely grated) 1 slice Prosciutto (finely minced) 1 Anchovy Fillet (mashed) 1 Tbl Pine Nuts (very finely chopped) 2 tsps Garlic (very finely chopped) 1/2 tsp dried Oregano 1/4 tsp ground Black Pepper 1/3 cup Milk 1/3 cup Olive Oil 1 tsp Salt boiling Water CLEAN THE ARTICHOKES 1. Fill a large pot with cold water, squeeze the Lemon into the water.           Place the Artichokes in the lemon-water.           This will prevent the Artichokes from turning black           while you are preparing them. 2. Take one Artichoke out of the lemon-water.           Remove any tiny leaves at the base of the Artichoke           surrounding the stem. Discard them. 3. Cut the stem off flush to the bottom to make a flat base.           Throw the stem into the lemon-water for later. 4. With a pair of scissors, clip the thorny tips off of the leaves           beginning with the leaves near the bottom.           When you get within 1/2" of the top, take a serrated knife,           slice the tops off the topmost leaves, creating a flat top. 5. Spread the top leaves exposing the very tiny leaves on the inside.           Using a melon-baller, scoop out the tiny leaves.                     (Some people use a small pair of pliers to do this)           Scoop out all of the fuzz as well.           Do NOT cut into the hard bottom on the inside.           That is the Heart of the Artichoke. 6. Return the cleaned Artichoke to the lemon-water.           Proceed to clean all of the Artichokes. FILL THE ARTICHOKES 7. Mix together the Bread Crumbs, Parsely, Pecorino Romano Cheese,           Prosciutto, Anchovy, Pine Nuts, Garlic & Oregano. 8. Add Milk, mix well.           Add Olive Oil, mix well.                     Allow mixture to stand for about 5 minutes. 9. Roughly divide up the filling into 6 portions (1 for each Artichoke) 10. Take an Artichoke out of the lemon-water.           Turn it upside-down momentarily to drain it.           Fill the cavity with about 3/4 of a portion of filling.           Push the remainder of the portion of filling                     between the leaves all around the sides of the artichoke. 11. Proceed to fill all of the Artichokes.           Do this quickly since you cannot put them back into the lemon-water. 12. Get back to the reserved stems in a moment. BOIL/STEAM THE ARTICHOKES 13. Choose an appropriate sized pot into which           all of the Artichokes will fit standing up (ie, filled hole up)                     They should not fit too tightly,                     nor should they have room to move around. 14. Add Salt to bottom of pot, insert the artichokes,           pour boiling water in between the Artichokes about 2/3 of the way up. 15. Place pot on high heat to bring back to the boil. 16. Meanwhile, take each of the stems out of the lemon-water.           Trim the tough outer layer around each stem.           Insert them in between the Artichokes. 17. When the Artichokes have returned to the boil,           lower the heat, cover, cook at a very slow boil. 18. Cook them for at least 1 hour,           1 1/2 hours if they were very mature, tough Artichokes.           [NOTE: Check that the water never goes below 1/2"           [If it does, add a small amount of boiling water. 19. The Artichokes are done when a middle leaf pulls out easily.           Remove the pot from the heat.           Allow to cool in the pot for about 1/2 hour. 20. Re-warm OR serve at room temperature.           You may transfer them to plastic (with the cooking water),                     refrigerate & serve them the following day.           You may also freeze them individually (with the cooking water)                     in small plastic containers!