Friends! It’s been too long, I know. After a week’s worth of Biscuitville programming, I’m slowing peaking out from my biscuit-coma. After many hours in the office, dress suits, sneakers, students and sweat – I took several naps and a couple of trips to the gym to work off all the hard work. Sunday night I was able to find the energy to get back into the kitchen and the creativity to cook. And, it sure felt good.

Sunday night I treated myself to my favorite spring vegetable – a fresh artichoke! While I usually tend to steam them and dunk them in lemon butter, I challenged myself to do something a bit more creative. I cleaned my fresh artichoke and sautéed them to add to pasta with fresh shrimp, arugula and lemon. It was the perfect non-biscuit treat after my long and hectic week into weekend.

Hopefully I’ll have more time on my hands this coming month to experiment in the kitchen and report back to all of you. I’m looking forward to it.

Fettuccine with Fresh Artichoke, Shrimp, Arugula and Lemon, serves two 

• 1 fresh whole artichoke
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 and 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 6 peels and divined shrimp – or more if you prefer
• 2 handfuls baby arugula
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper
• pinch (or to your liking) red pepper flakes
• 1/2 pound fettuccine
• 1 small handful of freshly grated peccorino romano

Clean the artichoke. This is a pretty good tutorial on cleaning artichokes. It can be a little intimidating but its pretty easy once you understand the artichoke anatomy and have a good pairing knife (although, the surgeon in my cooking classes says I’m great with knives!). Once the artichoke is clean and the choke (purple part) removed, slice into 1/4 inch pieces and soak in water with half of lemon juiced (to prevent from browning).

Melt butter and olive oil in a large saute pan. Once melted, turn the stove to medium heat and add dried artichoke slices. Saute for about 10 minutes or until tender. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice (of 1 lemon). Add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Meanwhile, start a pot of boiling water.

While the pasta is boiling, add the shrimp to the saute pan and allow to cook. If the pan seams dry, add a bit more olive oil or a splash of white wine (you know it’s handy).

Once the pasta is al dente, transfer the pasta into the saute pan and stir together. Add the arugula and allow to wilt for a moment. Top with cheese. Taste for seasoning and serve!