The Weekend

I've come to the conclusion that I hate writing out recipes.

I still love cooking and creating and all that, but the actual process of sitting down and trying to write out what I think I may have done for dinner is actually difficult.  My measuring skills are imprecise at best.  Well...  not exactly true.  If something calls for a half-cup of milk, raisins - whatever - I can eyeball a pretty precise half-cup.  But if I'm making a sauce for scallops of pork tenderloin... Was it a half-cup?  Three-quarters?  I dunno.  The finished result was a smooth, creamy sauce.  I can tell you the ingredients, but amounts vary.

I used to love creating recipes commercially - the real science behind cooking.  And taking a base recipe and expanding it to 20 - or 200 portions. I first learned the concept from the AFRCS - The Armed Forces Recipe Card Service.  It was relatively new when I was in Uncle Sam's Yacht Club.  Standardized recipes printed on cards set up in 100-portion quantities.  One of the first things we learned in "A" School was to multiply them out to 5000 people - or to divide them down to 30.  It was only through working with the recipes that one learned how to manually adjust things like baking powder or yeast - and salt and other spices.  Even though ingredients are the same proportionally, they do not multiply out.  A quarter-cup of salt in a recipe for 100 would not call for 12 1/2 cups of salt for 5000.  Trust me on this.

And speaking of varying...  You've surely noticed the trend in many cooking magazines to give you the weight of some ingredients in place of measurements.  The theory - according to the magazine publishers - is because of the variables in measuring. They wish to be precise.

However...  the recipes generally will state something like "15 1/2 oz flour (3 1/2 cups)" yadayadayada ingredients, and then state something like "1 cup water, or more."  with instructions to add the 1 cup and then add more, 1 tbsp at a time, to get the desired consistency.

HELLO?!?  Where is your "precision" now?!?  I certainly understand the science of baking vs the art of cooking.  The variables in baking are legion.  They include the type of flour, the moisture content of the flour, the weather and relative humidity along with in cake baking - the proper ratio of flour,  sugar, eggs, and fat...

But if the recipe calls for weighing your flour - approx 4 1/2 oz per cup - and NOT weighing your sugar - about 7 oz per cup - it's nothing more than something written by an elitist snob.  Be precise - or within acceptable guidelines - but please don't pretend a precision that isn't true.  Whether it be 3 1/2 cups of flour or 15 1/2 ounces, you still have as much as a 20% variable to play with within the traditional parameters. Generally speaking, a teaspoon of flour either way is probably not going to ruin your cake.

Rant over.  For the moment.

So for those lovely pork scallops up there?

Really easy.

I sliced a pork tenderloin and then pounded the slices between sheets of plastic wrap with my wooden mallet.  I sauteed them in a bit of butter and olive oil and then removed them from the pan.  I added sliced mushrooms and browned them well, and then added a splash of sherry.  I then added a splash of chicken broth and a splash of heavy cream.  I cooked it all down, added the pork scallops back, and heated it all through.  If it seems too thin, you could add a bit of cornstarch.

As a side dish, I did cauliflower in a cheese sauce, baked in the oven.  No crumbs on top, but it was yummy.

And then Sunday...

Beef Stroganoff.

I bought a whole tenderloin a while back and after cutting up steaks and a roast, set the tail, chain, and other smaller pieces aside for a stew or something.  The something was stroganoff.  A really simple recipe that literally just takes minutes to prepare.

The beef doesn't get a lot of cooking or braising time, so you want to use something reasonably tender.  I sauteed beef and mushrooms, added a splash of marsala, a pinch of sage, about a cup of sour cream, and a teaspoon of grainy dijon mustard. I heated it all through and served it over wide egg noodles.

The whole dish was cooked in the time it took to boil the water for the noodles.

Simplicity.


The Birthday Dinner

 

It's Victor's birthday.

His favorite meal?!?  Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and peas.  Birthday dinners at our house are so easy.

Ya gotta love a guy who wants basic comfort food for his annual main meal.  Over the years I've played with it...  A couple of years ago I made a Rustic French Meatloaf that was really good, but as good as it was, basic still reigns supreme.  Mushroom gravy.  Simple.

I did make a nice chocolate cake last night.  It was the day before his birthday, but we were dessertless and I figured we could start celebrating early...

Basic chocolate with chocolate filling.

It came out really good, too.  I have 8" cake pans that really do make for a great layer cake. But we're passing on the cake right now, because we're off to see the 70th Anniversary showing of Casablanca!

It is playing in 500 theaters across the USofA tonight only.  This is one film I really can't wait to see on the big screen.  It's amazing that you can't drag us to the theater on any other occasion.  Newest blockbuster movie?!?  Eh.  Yawn.  Whatever.  But a 70 year old flick we've both seen a bazillion times and can recite the dialog to?!?  We're there.

It has nothing to do with getting old.  Really.

Off we go for $40.00 popcorn.

Happy Birthday!

 

 

 


Pasta with Fennel

Fennel is one of those things I really like - and rarely cook.  I don't think I ever had it as a kid, and I can't think of any restaurants I ever worked where it was on a menu.  And since so much of my cooking repertoire comes from those places...

So I was at the grocery store today, spied some fennel, and thought of a pasta dish I had seen some time back in Bon Appetit magazine.  Out came the phone, I hit the Epicurious App, and within seconds, there was the recipe.  Sometimes I just love technology!

I can't believe that it was only a few years ago that I didn't even want a camera on my phone.  It's not that I was a Luddite... I just wanted a phone to make calls - not have people call me.  I still don't want people calling me on my cell phone - but I have embraced carrying the world around in my pocket.  It is seriously way-cool.

The recipe called for tortellini, but we had lots of different pastas already in the house.  No need to buy something else.

I played around with the original recipe - as is my wont - and must say it came out pretty good.

Which brings me to another gripe I have - people giving a poor rating to a recipe based on what they did to it, not the recipe, itself.  Time and time again I read things like "I didn't have any Italian sausage so I used a chicken sausage I got from Walmart and I didn't have any spinach so I used kale and whipping cream is bad for you so I substituted nonfat milk.  It was just horrible.  I only give it one fork."--A Chef from Peoria.

Dear Clueless in Peoria...  You're a lousy cook - there's nothing wrong with the recipe!

Dischi Pasta with Italian Sausage, Fennel, and Mushrooms

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 large fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 1 lb Italian sausages, crumbled
  • lg pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tbsp fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 1 lb pasta
  • 1 bag fresh baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Sauté sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender. Add garlic, red pepper, and fennel seeds. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth.  Bring to boil and then simmer a few minutes until it slightly thickens.

Cook pasta. Drain.

Add pasta to sausage mixture. Add spinach; toss gently until spinach wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese.

Add S&P as desired.

It just worked.  Fun and flavorful.

 

 


David Lebovitz's Lemon Bars

Oh.My.Goodness.Gracious.

I'm being polite, here, because what I really want to do is shout expletives - in the nicest way possible, of course.   I have just had the best lemon bar I have ever had.  And they were sooooo easy to make!

Thank You David Lebovitz!

I've been a fan for years, but it was not until our friend Ann sent me a copy of his book The Sweet Life in Paris - that I really began to understand the person behind the recipes.  He's a hoot!  An extremely talented hoot.

I've always loved to bake and, while I will never be a Chef de pâtisserie, I've knocked a couple out of the ballpark in my day...

So off to his website I went...  My original thought was a lemon cake with a lemon curd filling.  Making the lemon cake isn't difficult, but I decided I needed to see what else was out there.

I really enjoy David's writing style so I read a few posts, looked at a few pictures, and then typed in the word "lemon" in the search box.  The very first result was Whole Lemon Bars. I immediately knew it was what I was going to make.

I looked through several other recipes - I really do want to make some Moroccan Preserved Lemons to have on hand - but it was back to Recipe Number One.  The cake idea was gone.

I cannot say enough about these.

I am actually fighting myself to keep from heading back into the kitchen for more.  They are seriously that good.

Here's the recipe - adapted from David Lebovitz...

David Leboviz's Lemon Bars

Crust

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Topping

  • 1 organic lemon
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 4 tsp corn starch
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp melted unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.

2. Line an 8" square pan with foil.

3. Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup melted butter, and vanilla, in a medium bowl, stirring just until smooth.

4. Smooth the batter into the bottom of the pan getting it as level as possible.

5. Bake the crust for 25 minutes, or until it’s deep-golden brown.

6. While the crust is cooking, slice the lemon, remove the seeds, and cut the lemon into chunks.

7. Put the chunks of lemon in a food processor or blender along with the sugar and lemon juice, and let it run until the lemon is completely broken up. Add the eggs, corn starch, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and 3 tbsp melted butter and blend until almost smooth.

8. When the crust comes out of the oven, reduce the heat of the oven to 300º. Pour the lemon filling over the hot crust and bake for 25 minutes or just until the filling is barely set.

9. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, carefully lift out the bars grasping the foil. Cut the bars into squares or rectangles. Sift powdered sugar over the top just before serving, if desired.

This is one of those situations where you just don't improve perfection.  There is nothing I could add, no trick or tweak, to improve upon these.

Unless it was a dollop of whipped lemon cream on top.

Not a lot... Just a tad...


Meatball Sandwiches

I love rainy days!

Early this morning Victor decided to make a batch of meatballs.  Meatballs and sauce were the perfect thing to take the chill off the house.

So while the rain gently fell, the smell of garlic and olive oil filled the house.

There are certain things that are difficult to describe, and one of them is the utter joy I can feel with certain scents wafting out of the kitchen.  Frying garlic is definitely one of them.  Part of it is the knowledge that there's more to follow - that it's just the beginning of a fabulous meal.  It can go in any number of directions - and all of them are good.

We debated what to do with them...  We have several different pastas on the shelves, but in the end decided meatball sandwiches were what the Medico ordered...

Meatballs layered with sauce and fontina cheese, melted in the oven with french fries.

Perfezione!

 

 


Hunter's Recipe BBQ Chicken

My box of Hunter's Recipe Spice Rubs arrived just in time for dinner Friday night!

After trying the Steak Rub the other night, I knew I wanted to delve a little deeper into these and the timing could not have been more perfect.  I had two bone-in chicken breasts that were looking to be grilled.

Smoky paprika, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar... classic flavors expertly blended to create a really unique barbecue taste sensation!  Just enough heat to satisfy with just enough sweet to balance.

It actually was so good I ate my chicken skin.  That alone explains how good it was.  I never - ever - eat chicken skin.  Ever.  While I'm one of the least-fussy eaters I know, I got sick on it once as a wee tyke - eating way too much of it.  Generally, I just peel it back and dive right into the succulent meat.

Not this time.  I ate the skin!

Baked potato with sour cream and corn... The Perfect Meal.  Come to think of it, it would have been even more perfect with some Adluh biscuits or cornbread.

Next time.  I shall be doing more of this.

Speaking of more of this...

Last night I decided to grill some big ol' burgers.  Since I had some of the steak rub, I added about a tablespoon to a pound of ground beef before forming the patties.  It had made a filet mignon outstanding.  I knew it would help some lowly ground beef.

I lightly-formed my patties - not wanting to compact the beef all that much - preheated the grill and set them on to sizzle.

A few minutes later I went back to check on them and - I ran out of gas.  A stone-cold grill.

Into the kitchen I came, heated up a skillet and fried those little babies.  Camera was in the other room so I didn't get pictures, but suffice to say - the Steak Rub works wonders in a hamburger.

I loved every bite of it.

 


18 Hours of Fun and Food

We just dropped off our friends Ann and Julie at the airport for their trek to Brittany and Paris.  A mere 18 hours ago we picked them up at the airport.  An overnight stay at Chez TimAndVictor is the perfect way to break up a long airline trip.  And they are just the perfect guests!

Julie lived in Paris Once Upon A Time and writes a really wonderful fun-filled blog, Julie's Paris.  I love visiting the city with them - even if it is vicariously through the internet.  They share meals with us the same way - which is how last night's dinner came into being.

A while back Victor made a really wonderful Stuffed Cabbage.  Ann asked him to make it for them when they came down.  And I had recently made  a Lemon Meringue Pie.  "I received one of those OMG I LOVE LEMON MERINGUE PIE" notes...

The menu was set.

But, Victor couldn't just serve Stuffed Cabbage...

Gnocchi was also needed...

Yummy, yummy gnocchi, in a sauce of butter, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.

Nothing fancy...

And, the dessert...  Lemon Meringue Pie.

The pie came out great, although it did separate just a bit.  Oh well.  It certainly didn't stop us from licking our plates...  I also made my regular meringue instead of the syrup meringue from the recipe.  Mine was better.

We stayed up late and woke up early.  Naturally, if one is flying off to France, one must get in the mood... Freshly-baked croissants for breakfast.

Traditional...

And Chocolate...

It's only fitting, right?!?  We ate our croissants, drank copious amounts of coffee, and compared travel notes on Paris and Italy.

Soon, it was noon - and time for even more food.  A simple build-your-own steak sandwich buffet was the perfect answer!

Thinly-sliced grilled filet mignon, homemade tomato jam, roasted red pepper spread, lettuce and tomatoes, salad with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette... and San Pelegrino Limon to add that continental flair...

18 hours.  Not nearly enough time, but we shall be visiting them for a few days this summer...  We'll be able to share France and Italy stories...  And we can drive and bring Cybil.

More fun and food awaits...

 


Chicken Tacos

I said yesterday that I wasn't going to throw away a $14.00 chicken even if I did burn the hell out of it.  So...  if you have something that is charred and smoky...  add something charred and smoky and make it look as if it was supposed to be that way all along.  Like Chipotles!

Yes...  chipotles.  In adobo.  I love 'em.

While I was first thinking a nice Mexican chicken salad, tacos sounded even better.

I had tossed the burnt skin and charred bones, but there was still the majority of a chicken left.  And it wasn't exactly cooked all the way, either.  I finished cooking it all in a skillet and put it away...

Tonight, it went back into a skillet with bell pepper, onion, chopped green chilis, sofrito sauce, canned diced tomatoes, and the aforementioned chipotles in adobo.  I simmered it all up and served it in corn tortillas with lettuce, shredded cheeses, black olives, salsa, sour cream...

There were big chunks of chicken that just made a perfect mess when eating.  Everything was sliding all over the place and we went through numerous napkins.

It was a successful meal!

Victor's in the kitchen working on tomorrow night's dinner...  Life is good.


Dinner FAIL

It happens once in a while. Even after taking the proper precautions, it happens once in a while.

I had a lovely organic, free-range, $14.00 chicken that I was going to grill tonight.  I made a lovely Mexican-style rub for it, and then set it on the upper rack - well away from the fire.  I wanted a nice, slow cook.  It was a nice, meaty chicken and a slow cook would just do it wonders.

Since it was up out of harms way, I let it go for about 20 minutes while I waited for the bread to finish baking.  I had already had issues with it, but...  even bad homemade bread is good.

The timer went off for the bread.  I took it out - not impressed - but... even bad homemade bread is good.  I kept my sense of humor.

And then I looked out of the kitchen window and saw billowing clouds of smoke.

Blocking-the-sun-billowing-clouds-of-smoke.  And flames.

Smoke and flames are generally not a good sign when one is cooking dinner.  And they weren't this time, either.

Outside I went... I turned off the gas and carefully opened the grill.  Daddy was a fireman.  I try to pay attention now and again...

Even with the gas off, the four, formerly-beautiful chicken quarters were all in flames.  I took my tongs and picked each one up to try and extinguish them and then set them back on the grill and went into the house for the camera.  What the hell.  Photo-Op.

I saw Victor in the living room and said I had just burnt dinner to a crisp.  He said "Want me to get pizza?"

It's why I love the man.  No what happened, how stupid, no recriminations.  Just a simple "You put out the fire and I'll take care of dinner."  Love it.

So... instead of pizza we decided on Ping Pong - the new Chinese place in the Gateway Shopping Center.  I had a menu, so we called for a take-out order.

Service was quick.  Food was "meh."  Not bad.  Just not what I was hoping for.

I'm spoiled.  I grew up with excellent Chinese restaurants on every other corner.  Yank Sing for dim sum, Andy's for some of the best chow mein ever.

And I expect something labeled "Hunan" or "Szechuan" to have a little heat.  I picked out two items with the red pepper supposedly denoting spiciness - and Nothing. Zero. Zip.  No heat or spiciness at all.  It was disappointing because the menu looks as if it has some very authentic items.  It could have been the most bland Cantonese cooking around.

To be fair, I know from experience that black pepper is an exotic spice to a lot of people around here.  But there should have been something...

I think I'll give it another chance, but do an eat-in instead of take-out and try to convince the staff that I really do like spicy.

Really. Like. Spicy.

Oh...  And that burnt chicken?  Stay tuned for a southwestern chicken salad.  I ain't throwing away a $14.00 chicken.

 

 


Hunter's Recipe Wild Game Rubs

I found out last night that a coworker of mine has a spice rub company.  The company is Hunter's Recipe and I have to tell ya - I'm impressed!

Many of his rubs are geared towards wild game - it's called Hunter's Recipe for a reason - but besides the venison rubs, there are also rubs for turkey, duck, goose, beef, salmon, chicken...  There truly is something for everyone!

I was the fortunate recipient of a sample pack of his Classic Montreal Steak rub - and I have to tell ya...  It Rocked!

At any given moment I probably have 40 or 50 different herbs and spices in the cupboard.  One would think that the last thing I need is a spice blend of things I probably already have.

One would be wrong.

I picked up a full tenderloin the other day and just happened to have a couple of filet steaks in the freezer.  I thawed them, and, following the instructions on the spice packet, coated them with oil and then liberally coated them with the spice mixture.  I let them marinate for about 2 hours before grilling them on the gas grill.

I mean it.  They rocked!

It was a really unique blend of flavors that made the steaks just explode with flavor.  Let's face it...  a filet mignon is an extremely tender piece of meat but it's one of the most bland-tasting there is.  There's a reason why they're wrapped in bacon or topped with Béarnaise sauce.  They can use a little help.

Hunter's Recipe Classic Montreal Steak rub took a great cut of meat and elevated it to Outstanding.  I could individually pick out some of the flavors - fennel, red pepper, black pepper - and something playing in the background that I finally found out was coriander seed - but they blended together perfectly.  All of the flavors were there in perfect proportion and in perfect harmony.  Having made a few spice blends of my own in the past, it's not an easy task to get that perfect balance.  Chef Jeremy did.

And now I want to try even more of them!

So... I just ordered a 12-pack sampler pack.  $35.95 - with free shipping!

I'm looking forward to seeing what fun things I can come up with!

Thanks, Jeremy!


Easter 2012

 

I love holidays.  I love getting together with everyone and I love the excessive amount of food.

We eat well at our house, but it takes a crowd of people to have a dozen different foods out at any given moment.  And a dozen different foods is so much fun.

It's even more fun when it's down the road at Marie and Steve's...  An impeccable table - of course - and a bountiful array of creative culinary creations that would please the palate of the most discriminating diner.

I love it!

We started off with a table of appetizers... Victor made Uncle Rudy's Easter Pie, but made it in a tart pan this year instead of the traditional pie plate.  It really was good.  Extraordinarily good.  Stellar.

Uncle Rudy's Easter Pie

Makes 2 pies

  • 3 Lb Ricotta
  • 8 eggs
  • 1/2 cup  grated cheese
  • 1/2 lb ham, diced
  • 1/4 lb prosciutto, diced
  • 1/4 lb pepperoni, diced
  • To Taste;
  • Garlic Powder
  • Pepper
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Parsley

Blend eggs and ricotta.  Add diced meats and seasonings.  Pour mixture into prepared pie crust and top with second crust.  Crimp edges.

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes to 1 hour – the crust should be nice and golden brown.

The photo above shows a 12" tart pan.  The recipe made one traditional 10" deep-dish pie and the 12" tart.

Earlier in the week I had received an email recipe from La Cucina Italiana magazine.  The email title was "An Adorable Polenta Dumpling."  How could I pass that up?!?

"Canederli" di Polenta allo Speck

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • Fine sea salt
  • 1 1/4 cups coarse polenta
  • 1/4 pound speck, finely chopped
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano cheese
  • 1 tablespoon roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

 Instructions

In a large saucepan, combine water, milk, 3 tablespoons butter and ¾ teaspoons salt; bring to a boil over high heat. Slowly add polenta in a thin stream, whisking; reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until polenta is thickened and tender, 40 to 45 minutes. (Because it uses less liquid, this polenta is thicker than usual.)

Remove polenta from heat; stir in speck, egg yolks, cheese and parsley. Let stand until cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes.

Line a large platter with parchment paper. With damp hands, form 1-tablespoon portions polenta into 40 (1-inch) balls and place on prepared platter.

In a small saucepan, heat 8 tablespoons butter over medium-low heat until butter becomes lightly browned, about 13 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter over medium heat. In two batches, cook dumplings until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch.

Divide dumplings among 4 bowls, spoon brown butter over the top. Serve immediately.

So... I used a small scoop and made about 65 little balls.  I started frying them in the butter as described in the recipe. but they decided to make a mess of my skillet.  I ended up putting them on a buttered sheet pan and sticking them under the broiler.  I then drizzled them with the browned butter.

They came out great!  Victor's mom - who always says she hates polenta - had one not knowing what they were and loved it!  Them.  She had more than one.  So much for hating polenta.

And things only got better.

A cold pea salad with mint, onions, feta... awesome.

And a marinated Shrimp Pasta Salad with just the right amount of everything.

Marie's Pineapple Bread Pudding that I absolutely love...

And roasted asparagus, grilled lamb loin chops, and a spiral-cut ham.

Stupendous.

After feasting on all of this, the table was cleared, the coffee was made, and the desserts arrived.

Desserts.  Plural.

I totally forgot to take any pictures of the Apricot Crostata, the Lemon Cream Tart, the Chocolate Mint Brownie Cake, the Platter of Fresh Fruits, or the half-dozen varieties of homemade cookies at Marie's, but we did bring a bit of a dessert plate home with us...

I felt it my duty to try some of everything.

And it was all wonderful.

We got the recipe for the Lemon Cream Tart from Victor's friend, Jenni.  It's quite simple, but really packs a lemony wallop!

Creamy Lemon Pie

  • 3 egg yolks
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1 (8- or 9-inch) baked pie crust or graham cracker crumb crust
  • whipped cream. for added flavor, fold some lemon curd into the whipped cream just before serving
  • Lemon zest (optional)

Preheat oven to  325°.   Beat egg yolks, gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk and lemon juice.  Pour into crust.

Bake:  30-35 minutes, until set.  Cool for about 1 hour and then chill at least 3 hours before serving.

I made this in a 10'" tart pan with a graham cracker crust.  I also added lemon extract to the whipped cream and folded in about 2/3 cup lemon curd to the cream before piping it on top.

I wish I had taken a picture of the whole tart - it was really pretty.

Oh well...

 

 


Tortellini with Raw Asparagus Pesto

This was a surprise treat.  Raw Asparagus Pesto.  Who woulda thunk?!?

The latest issue of Fine Cooking magazine had 10 asparagus recipes in it - and the asparagus pesto really intrigued me.  Between it and La Cucina Italiana, I've been on a bit of an asparagus kick.  I love seeing those fat stalks of green goodness.  And yes, I buy the fatter asparagus.  For the longest time I always bought the thin pencil asparagus, but I've seen the light. The fatter asparagus definitely has more flavor and there's no need to peel it.  Love it!

So...  The recipe in the magazine gave me my starting point, but I didn't follow it.  Like making traditional pesto, I just wing it.

Raw Asparagus Pesto

  • 1 bunch asparagus (about 12 ounces)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese (I used a combination of parmesan, fontina, and asiago)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 3/4 cup good olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Chop asparagus into smaller pieces.  Add everything but oil to food processor and process until chunky-smooth.  Add olive oil and process until of desired consistency.

Cover and refrigerate until use.

I didn't use any garlic.  Strange, I know...  I must have just spaced it out, but it definitely wasn't lacking.  I might add it next time.  Or not.

I mixed the pesto with freshly-cooked spinach tortellini.  It rocked! It was really fresh tasting.  it had that earthy Spring flavor that just can't be beat.

I can see this on a sandwich - or a burger... It made a lot so we're going to have several opportunities to use it up!

Oh...  and Flank steak with a red wine mushroom sauce.  Can't forget that!