Making artichokes got you stumped?  Have no fear, it's really easy!  Here's a step by step to make it simple!

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First pull off the small leaves from the bottom:

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With a pair of kitchen shears, carefully snip off all the spikey tips.
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They slice off about 1/2 inch from the top to get the rest of the spikey tips.
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Using your fingers, pull back the leaves to get some space in there. 
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Now you can reach some of the inside leaves to trip off their spikes.
    
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Now, there are tons of ways to cook your artichoke, you could steam it in a pot on the stove, you can cut it in half and grill it or you can use this super simple technique to bake it:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place your artichoke in the middle of a piece of foil and drizzle with some olive oil and salt.
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Now, wrap it in foil and then wrap it in a second sheet of foil.  
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Pop it in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes
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And there you have it.  Much easier than you thought right?

My favorite things to serve with an artichoke are dipping sauces.  You can dip it in just about anything, but I like, melted butter, veganaise, bearnaise sauce, or if you want to go super healthy, dip in marinara sauce, it's awesome!