There's just a little over a week until you have to settle on the side dishes you're cooking for Thanksgiving dinner, and to make it even harder to decide, here's another option I'm adding to our list of South Beach Diet friendly Thanksgiving recipes. I tested several versions of this Baked Artichoke Hearts Au Gratin on my favorite contractors who are working on the new shed, and they agreed that this version was the one that's a keeper. I used a combination of Parmesan and Pecorino-Romano cheese, but even if you only had Parmesan, I'm sure this would be delicious.

I had to look at several stores to find frozen artichoke hearts, but these 12 oz. packages I found at Smith's Marketplace in Salt Lake were just right for four servings.

Grease the gratin dishes with olive oil, then arrange artichoke hearts in a single layer. I loved this in these two 7" round gratin dishes, but I made one of my test versions in an 8.5 x 8.5 inch baking dish which also was fine.

If you have finely grated Parmesan and Romano, just mix it with the bread crumbs, dried thyme, and dried oregano. I only had the coarsely grated kind, so I buzzed it in my mini-processor to make a more finely ground mixture.

Whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic puree. Then mix in 1/2 cup of the bread crumb/cheese mixture. (Set aside the other 1/2 cup of bread crumb/cheese mixture.)

Spread that mixture over the top of the artichoke heart, using a rubber scraper. Cover with foil and bake at 325F/170C for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the dishes and increase oven temperature to 375F/190C. Use the rubber scraper to spread the now softened cheese/mayo mixture completely over the surface of the artichoke hearts.

Sprinkle the reserved bread crumb/cheese mixture over the top and bake about 25 minutes more.

The Baked Artichoke Hearts Au Gratin are done when the top is lightly browned and mixture is hot clear through.

Preheat oven to 325F/170C. Thaw artichoke hearts in the microwave if they're still frozen, then drain well. Cut larger artichoke hearts in half lengthwise so they're all the same size.

Use olive oil to grease 2 small gratin dishes or 1 medium sized baking dish. (I made this in an 8.5 x 8.5 inch square baking dish and also in the 2 small 7 inch round gratin dishes in the photos.) Arrange artichoke hearts in a single layer in the oiled dish, then sprinkle finely sliced green onions over the artichokes and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Mix together bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, grated Pecorino-Romano cheese, and dried herbs. (If the cheese isn't finely grated you might want to buzz it in a mini-processor for a minute or two like I did.) Whisk together the mayo, lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic puree; then mix in 1/2 cup of the bread crumb/cheese mixture. Use a rubber scraper to spread this over the top of the artichoke hearts, setting aside the rest of the bread crumb/cheese mixture.

Cover the dishes with foil and bake in 325F/170C oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and increase temperature to 375F/190C. Remove foil and sprinkle the remaining bread crumb/cheese mixture over the top of each dish. Put back into oven and bake about 25 minutes more, or until the topping is lightly browned, and the dish is hot clear through. Serve hot or warm and wait for compliments!

Artichokes are a great low-glycemic choice for the South Beach Diet, but using bread crumbs makes this dish suitable for phase 2 or 3 of the diet. This is probably best as a "once in a while treat" if you're actively trying to lose weight, due to the fat content.