You boil artichokes for about 15 min in lightly salted water. The sauce needs the following ingredients:
I. A jar of pickled cucumbers (dill variety, half-sours very good);
II. Mayonnaise (the great invention of the duke de Richelieu, otherwise known as the "cardinal");
III. Garlic. Vrais ail, not the pre-chopped supermarket stuff, one of the main sources of anti-americanism in Europe;
IV. Fresh dill (can under duress be replaced by parsley).
Having secured the ingredients, proceed with the preparation. It comprises seven basic steps:
1. Using a spoon, ladle some mayonnaise into a receptacle where you are going to mix things;
2. Pour some of the liquid from the jar of pickled cucumbers into said receptacle;
3. Stir a little using a fork; the balance between the amount of mayonnaise and the amount of the liquid from the jar of pickled cucumbers will determine the consistency of the sauce; it should not be too liquid and if it is, add mayonnaise;
4. Chop garlic into small pieces, or if you find a special contraption, squeeze garlic into pulp; there is absolutely no way that you can overdo with garlic, the more the better! Be lavish with the garlic and remember all your guests will smell the same and for the next 24 hours after the meal they will remain attractive only to the esoteric group that had been invited to your table; all other people will be kept at bay;
5. The chopped garlic (or the squeezed garlic pulp) goes directly into the aforementioned receptacle and waits for the arrival of the dill, to be stirred together;
6. Chop dill (or parsley, if such is your fate). To do this most efficiently you wash the dill. On the one hand, this will satisfy your grandmother's admonishment to always wash vegetables, on the other hand, wet dill can be nicely pressed into a bundle and then chopped with surgical precision, using a sharp knife. You cannot really overdo with the dill either. Never spare the dill;
7. Thoroughly stir everything in the receptacle (have I mentioned the receptacle?) by using a fork and patience. The homogeneity is very important. People do not like clumps in their sauce even when these clumps taste delicious.
Taste the sauce as you make it; it is supposed to be finger-licking good and you just lick the tips of your fingers. Do not overtaste before your guests arrive and if you do, greet them with a military salute, never lowering yourself to kisses and other intimacies. The guests have not yet been initiated and may not appreciate your best intentions. Save all that for after the meal!