But I rarely think of the artichoke in its entirety, and I even more rarely think about its family. The artichoke, you see, is a thistle. Thistles are prickly plants with sharp surfaces to counter-attack hungry herbivores (like us.)

The artichoke is an edible thistle, but if we didn’t slice off those prickly points from the bud portion and eat it, it would grow into a spectacular purple flower. Perhaps that’s the reason for the flesh-wounding tips: a gift as precious as the one inside each artichoke bud –whether it becomes a lovely bloom or a meal for you to savor– is one well worth protecting.

An artichoke in full bloom. (Cat Dancing/Creative Commons License)

That’s why I wanted to concoct a slow cooker recipe that glorifies the artichoke instead of strangling it in cheese or butter, like Americans are so often apt to do. In Spain they know how to treat an artichoke, sauteeing them simply with a dab of garlic, or sprinkling the young ones lightly with olive oil and leaving them to roast slowly in the ashes of a fire.

This slow cooker chicken dish is lightly seasoned, with just enough herbs, white wine, and olive oil to bring out the taste of the artichokes themselves.

Chicken and artichokes, simply seasoned.

Slow Cooker Chicken with Artichokes Recipe

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
3 cups artichoke hearts, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup kalamata olives (about 12)
3 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
1 tsp herbes de Provence
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine or dry vermouth
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 Tsp olive oil

Directions: Arrange chicken breasts and artichokes in the crock of your slow cooker. Top with kalamata olives and sprinkle with herbs and garlic. Pour wet ingredients over the top, drizzling the olive oil last, and stir just a little to combine ingredients if necessary. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4 hours, until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with a Greek salad, or a simple green salad sprinkled with feta, and warm pita bread.

Keep in kind that the thistle is an ancient Celtic symbol of nobility, and the wounding of one demands punishment. If anyone lifts the lid of your slow cooker while you cook your artichokes, feel free to mete out that punishment in the name of the Order of the Thistle.

Lately it seems like every bar or restaurant has its own upscale version, from steakhouses with rib eye or Kobe beef sliders to San Francisco’s Hotel Monaco with their gougere d’escargot (snail sliders). Mainstream restaurants like P.F. Chain’s and Pepperbee’s have started falling all over themselves to add mini burgers to their menus.

It’s an odd trend considering that the oldest use of the word “slider” in relation to food was less than flattering. As far back as the ’40s and ’50s, sailors in the Navy referred to their greasy mess hall burgers as sliders –in other words, so slippery with grease that they slid right down your throat.

These slow cooker pulled chicken sliders are far from greasy, and you won’t find them in the mess hall, unless it’s in the sailors’ fantasies. Make a crock-pot full of spicy pulled chicken for a party, and keep it warm in the crock all night while folks make their own mini BBQ sandwiches onParker House rolls, mini buns, or tea-sized biscuits.

The combination of white and dark meat results in the best flavor. Some people prefer the light taste of white meat alone, but the addition of the thighs (which have a slightly higher fat content) allows for more moisture and flavor as the chicken slowly cooks.

Tiny, but packed with BBQ flavor.

Slow Cooker Pulled BBQ Chicken Sliders Recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs
2 cups BBQ sauce
1 med onion chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chopped hot pepper or several hits from a bottle of your favorite hot sauce

Directions: Combine all ingredients in the crock of your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours, or high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Remove chicken breasts to a bowl and use two forks to shred thoroughly, then return to crock and stir to combine with sauce. Keep on warm to let your guests make their own sandwiches onParker House-style rolls or mini sandwich bread of your choice.

Tips: If you’d like to use a homemade sauce, you can adjust or leave out the other seasonings if they’re present in your own recipe. Most commercial sauces need the extra kick.

If you’re not in the mood for a slider –and let’s face it, sometimes you want a big ol’ sandwich– use regular-sized bread, whip up a side of slaw, and pile your BBQ to the sky. Now that’s redneck sushi.

The hearty-yet-decadent Chicken Chasseur

Some of the dishes that have been around the block are classics for a reason, and they continue to impress generation after generation. A case in point is Chicken Chasseur, which may be one of the oldest recipes on record, dating back to the year 1300 when it was recorded in a manuscript along with other general knowledge.

The Medieval version was called “Chicken Hunter Style,” and it called for a freshly roasted hen to be boiled with garlic, broth, wine, lard, and gizzards. Today we (thankfully) hold the lard and the gizzards, opting instead to use butter and herbs for flavor, but we still drool over Chicken Chasseur (chasseur is French for “hunter.”)

Today’s version is an earthy dish with ingredients that still evoke the forest that was the hunter’s domain: fresh poultry, field mushrooms, just-picked herbs. Slowly simmered in wine and garlic, the flavors are primevally rustic, yet decadently French.

To adapt Chicken Chasseur for the slow cooker, I lowered the traditional amount of liquid and slightly upped the flour. Slow cooking keeps in the moisture and doesn’t allow for evaporation, so the reduction of the sauce has to be rigged. Starting with a thicker base means the sauce will have the consistency of a reduction without the hassle of pan-reducing.

Slow Cooker Chicken Chasseur Recipe

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red onion, chopped
3/4 cup chicken broth
6 tbsp. white wine or vermouth
1 tbsp. flour
salt and pepper
1 cup diced tomatoes, well drained
1 tbsp. fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
12 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

Directions: Melt butter in a large skillet, then add chicken breasts and sear on each side until lightly browned, about five minutes on each side. Remove chicken and set aside. Add garlic and onions to pan and cook for a few minutes, just until softened; turn off heat. In the crock of your slow cooker, whisk together broth, wine, flour, salt, and pepper until well blended. Stir in the contents of the saute pan, including any remaining  butter. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Lay the chicken breasts on top of the mixture and cook on low for 2-3 hours or high for 1-1 1/2 hours, until chicken is cooked through. Remove the lid about 20 minutes before serving if you would like to further reduce the sauce.

Tips: If you’re pressed for time, you can add all the ingredients to the pot without searing the chicken or softening the veggies first. You will sacrifice a dab of consistency, and you’ll need to be sure the onions are on the bottom so they’ll cook well.

Guzzled up all the white wine? Use vermouth, which you might be more likely to just have around as a holdover from last month’s martini party.

To make the getting-on-the-table even quicker, serve with rustic bread and a salad-in-a-bag of mixed field greens.

I served my Chicken Chasseur with skin-on, roughly mashed potatoes with fresh sage, to keep the theme provincial. Hunks of bread are in order to sop up the sauce, which is the highlight of the dish. You’ll want to save any leftover mushroom mixture to heat up and serve on toast tomorrow (Perhaps with a smidge of goat cheese? Hmmmmm.)

Just look at that wine-y, buttery juice!