Tasty Thursday: Asparagus Month!

A whole month dedicated to my favorite vegetable! I always knew that May was when I could expect to find fresh asparagus picked at local farms. I did not know that some strange powers that be dedicated a whole month to it. Kind of weird but I’ll share a recipe that is my new favorite way to make asparagus.

Balsamic & Carmelized Onions Asparagus

olive oil
salt & pepper
1 pound of asparagus
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced (I recommend slicing & then cutting the rings in half)
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
crumbled blue cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425. Clean your asparagus, cut off the woody ends and toss lightly in olive oil with a bit of kosher salt & black pepper and lay them out in a single layer on a cooking sheet. (Tip: I lay foil down on the baking sheet to make clean-up easier.)

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. While the oven is preheating add your onion slices and saute. This will take at least 10 minutes because you want them nice and caramelized, maybe even a little crispy on some edges. Stay at the stove and move them around regularly.

3. When the oven is preheated slide the tray of asparagus in for 9 minutes – a minute longer if the stems are thick.

4. Your onions should be nice and brown and caramalized and delicious by the time your asparagus is ready. Turn off the heat on your skillet, add one tablespoon of balsamic to the pan and stir it around. Pull the asparagus out of the oven and immediately top with the balsamic vinegar/onion mixture. Toss it around and then toss with the crumbled blue cheese. How much blue cheese? As much as you like but at least 1-2 tablespoons.

Note: If you have a bottle of really good balsamic this is a recipe where you’ll notice the difference since you add it right at the end. This turned out so well that the second time I made it, I made two pounds of asparagus and every piece was eaten. So yummy! And now that I think about it…. I bet some crumbled bacon tossed in with the blue cheese would be a nice addition too.

In conclusion, go get some fresh asparagus and make this for dinner.

Tasty Thursday: Asparagus Goat Cheese Pizza

On Sunday I sat down with a stack of cookbooks and pages torn from various magazines and newspaper articles and planned my menus for the week. Then I learned that Sunday Barb was a pretty ambitious cook and did not do a good job of respecting Weeknight Barb’s time schedule. Comfort Meatballs & Cheese Grits on a Tuesday night? That was hard to pull off. But I have persevered and last night’s recipe was fantastic in many ways. It was light, made use of healthy carbs and veggies (a focus of mine during race week) and included a spring delight: asparagus. (It also included one of my year-round favorites: goat cheese.) And best of all, it was tasty and not time consuming.

I served it alongside a delicious Asian Chicken Noodle Soup which made for a satisfying dinner. This would also make a good meal alongside a big salad.

Asparagus Goat Cheese Pizza

Based on a recipe from Williams-Sonoma Weeknight Fresh & Fast Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 lb ball of fresh dough (look in your deli department, resort to the tube kind if you have to)
• cornmeal
• 6 oz shredded mozzarella
• 4 green onions, white & pale green parts, thinly sliced
• 4 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 6-8 stalks of asparagus
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s approx 12-15 inches around. Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet (ideally one without edges) and lay the dough on top. Brush the dough with the two tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Sprinkle the mozzarella, green onions and goat cheese on top of the pizza. Next, chop off the thick woody ends of your asparagus and using a vegetable peeler, make ribbons of asparagus. Lay the asparagus all over the pizza – it will shrink up a bit when cooking so pile it on. Top it off with your grated Parmesan and some salt & pepper.

4. Place it in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, 18-20 minutes.

Tasty Thursday: Creamy Corn Bisque

I gave up meat for Lent so I’ve been digging through my recipe files looking for recipes that work for me and the rest of the family who did not give up meat. As a family we eat meatless meals at least 1-2 times a week but that still leaves me with at least five meals a week to figure out. And I’d rather not cook completely different meals for myself if I can help it. Last night I made peanut chicken in the crock pot with a side of pasta and roast veggies – I ate pasta & veggies, the family ate everything. Tonight I’ll make a stir fry and scoop out my portion before I add the meat. It’s a challenge but a workable challenge.

Here’s a recipe that is vegetarian but includes an option for bacon on top. As a bonus, it’s ridiculously easy to make. It should make everyone in this house happy:

Creamy Corn Bisque

• 2 cans creamed corn
• 32 oz of vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
• 2 cans cream of potato soup
• 2 10 oz packages of frozen corn
• 4 cups milk
• 2 cups half & half
• 3-4 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 tsp hot shot (black & cayenne pepper) or crushed red pepper flakes
• Optional: 5-6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled

1. Put everything but the bacon in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. While that is happening, cook & crumble your bacon if you’re including it. Serve with crumbled bacon on top if desired.

Food Thursday: Zucchini Gratin

I had some zucchini in the house (not a surprise this time of year) and was looking to do something different with it. We usually grill it or sometimes I make zucchini chips. But this week I was interested in trying something that I rarely do with vegetables – I wanted to do something involving cheese and a crunchy topping. I don’t know what got into me because I am a pretty strict steamer when it comes to vegetables – slightly crisp, tossed with a touch of butter, salt & pepper. Let the flavor shine through is my mantra when it comes to veggies.

While this recipe is completely different than my norm, it is equally delicious in its creamy, crunchy goodness.

Zucchini Gratin
4 TB butter, plus 1 TB for topping at the end
1/2 red onion, diced
2 medium size zucchini, sliced about 1/4 inch thick and then into half moons
salt & pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 TB flour
3/4 cup milk
1 5oz container of Boursin cheese
1 cup of grated swiss cheese
1 cup of panko bread crumbs

– Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray an 8×10 baking dish with cooking spray.

1. In a large saute pan, melt the butter and cook the onions for 3-4 minutes. Add the zucchini, season with salt & pepper to taste and add the nutmeg. Cook until tender – about 5 minutes.

2. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and stir. Add milk and cook, stirring often, 1-2 minutes until it starts to thicken up. Pour into prepared baking dish.

3. Stir in the Boursin cheese and spread to cover the bottom of the dish. Cover the top with the shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Top with dots of butter from your extra tablespoon.

4. Bake 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly on top. I finished mine under the broiler for 2 minutes to get a nice crunch on top.

Creamy, fresh and delicious all at once. Yum!

Food Thursday: Shrimp Florentine over noodles

It’s Lent which means many different things in our house, just one of which is finding a few new meatless dishes to cook each week. We eat meatless or fish at least once a week already so it’s not a big change in eating habits. It’s still fun to find something new to make. I dug this one out of my binder and made it for dinner last night – it was a hit around the table. When that happens I make a mental note that this recipe needs to go on the blog. (Too bad I didn’t think of that before dinner disappeared or I could have included a picture for you.)

Shrimp Florentine over noodles
1 box of whole wheat linguine
1 TB olive oil
3 tsp minced garlic
1 lb shrimp
1 TB butter
1 TB corn starch
1 cup half & half
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella or Italian cheese mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp hot shot (red & black pepper mixed together)
2 handfuls of fresh spinach

1. Cook pasta according to directions.

2. In a deep skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds and then add shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes or until opaque. Remove from pan.

3. In same pan, melt butter and add corn starch to make a roux. Cook for a minute or so until blonde in color. Add half & half and chicken broth, salt & pepper and bring to a light boil. Stir in cheese until melted. Stir in spinach until wilted. Stir in shrimp.

4. Combine shrimp and sauce with the noodles, toss well to coat.