Asparagus & Prosciutto Pizza

If the fact that I use prosciutto and arugula on every pizza I make has gotten old I'm sorry, but it's just how it goes in my house okay?  Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the amazingly delicious pie we made last night; made only better by a delicious bottle of Tempranillo.

I learned from one of my favorite pizza masters, that the easiest way to make sauce is thusly:
1 can of San Marzano tomatoes
fresh basil
garlic
pinch of salt
your hands
(a pinch of red pepper flakes would be a great addition if you're feeling spicy)
- open the can and dump it into a bowl, tear up some basil, chuck in some minced garlic, add a pinch of salt and then smoosh it all together with your hands, pulverizing the whole tomatoes into puree.  Done.  This makes way more than you need for one pizza, but can be frozen.
(By the way; said pizza master might be game to teach you and your friends the basics if you ask nicely.)

As for the pizza, it's easy:
A bag of whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's, or whichever premade crust you like best; heck, make your own, whatever
lowfat mozzarella
4 or so slices of prosciutto, torn into thinner strips
5 asparagus spears, thinly sliced on the diagonal (you know, so it looks almost like almond slices); keep the pretty tops for garnish on top of the pizza
freshly grated Parmesan or Reggiano
1 large handful of arugula
(for arugula salad: salt, verjus or lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil - toss together and set aside)

Pop your pizza stone into the oven and preheat.
Roll out your dough as you do - for me this involves rolling it out on wax or parchment paper that has been floured, making it super thin, sprinkling with a generous amount of cornmeal, then placing my peel on top and flipping the whole thing over and peeling the paper off what is now the top; leaving your cornmeal ball bearings ready to slide around on the peel.  Badda bing, badda boom.
Sauce that bad boy as heavy or light as you like, and top with mozzarella.
Scatter your thinly sliced asparagus all over the joint, then lay the prosciutto on top.  If you saved your asparagus tips, here is where you can make the pretty design.  Sprinkle with a generous amount of Parmesan or Reggiano and bake away.  I like mine a little more done so the crust is a bit crisper and the prosciutto gets all crispy like bacon, oh my God my mouth is watering just typing this.
Once it's done, take it out of the oven and let it sit a few minutes or when you cut it all of your toppings will ooze off.  Top the complete sliced pie with your arugula salad and hook in.

This time around, we ended up with extra dough that we made breadsticks out of (cut into strips, brush with olive oil, sprinkle generously - REALLY generously - with Garlic Garni and top with freshly grated Parmesan or Reggiano); bake until browned and as crispy or as soft as you like 'em.  That extra sauce comes in handy here for dunking.

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus

That reminds me. Prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Another stupid easy dish, but people request that I make it at potlucks, so there you have it.

Clean and snap (you know that trick, right? If you believe the folks at America's Test Kitchen - that's totally unnecessary and a waste of plenty of good asparagus - they'll tell you just to cut an inch or so off the ends. The controversy rages on.) a bunch of asparagus or two, depending on how big a batch you're making.
Get enough prosciutto for each asparagus spear. You can use one large piece two spears (just tear it in half) but that's just wrong. More bacon!
I put my clean asparagus in a shallow baking dish and toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic powder. I let it marinate in there for a little while as I do something else. Drink some wine, wash a dish, stare out the window, make whatever else I'm making to bring to the party. . . whatever.
Then I wrap a piece (or a half, if you must) of prosciutto around the asparagus - kind of like a barber pole; starting at one end and wrapping diagonally to the other.
I put these on a baking sheet and chuck into a 450 degree oven until the prosciutto looks brown and crispy and delicious, and Bob's your uncle.

Be prepared to fight off the hordes.

Champagne Risotto

Giada.
Giada, Giada, Giada.
How do you know the way to my heart so well? Crispy prosciutto and champagne? Seriously? Please just stop toying with me already and let me move in.

Champagne Risotto
4 thin slices prosciutto
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
12 asparagus spears, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 shallot, finely chopped
3/4 cup Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice
3/4 cup Champagne
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Place the slices of prosciutto on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake until the prosciutto slices are almost completely crisp, about 6 to 8 minutes. The slices will crisp up even more as they cool. Reserve for garnish.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Blanch the asparagus in the chicken stock for 2 minutes. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon. Set the asparagus aside and keep the chicken stock at a low simmer.

In another medium saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the shallot and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the Arborio rice and stir to coat in the butter. Continue toasting the rice, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes more. Add the Champagne and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. Gently stir in the asparagus, remaining butter, Parmesan, salt, and pepper. Spoon the risotto into serving dishes and garnish by breaking the crisp prosciutto into smaller pieces over the top of the risotto. Serve immediately.

Pear & Gorgonzola Tart

"Oh hells YES," is what I thought when I saw Giada's show today.
Pears, Gorgonzola, and prosciutto are awesome - especially together, and the tart she made looked divine.
The next party I have will probably be dedicated solely to tart/flatbread type appetizers since I'm amassing so many recipe variations that I'm dying to try.

1 store bought pie shell - I'd suggest the Pillsbury kind myself, or make your own (see recipe below)
4 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces Gorgonzola
1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Pinch salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 small pears, cored and sliced
2 ounces prosciutto, cut into thin strips

Bake the pie shell in a square or round tart pan according to package instructions. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, Gorgonzola, thyme, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Using a hand blender, whip the cheeses together.

In a large, heavy skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the pears and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes.

When the tart crust has cooled slightly, gently spread the whipped cheese mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart. Place the pear slices in a decorative pattern over the cheese mixture. Sprinkle the thin strips of prosciutto over the pears.

Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

Pie/Tart crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
1 to 2 tablespoons ice water, or more as needed

To make the dough in a food processor, combine the flour, salt, and butter in the processor and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, add the ice water through the feed tube and pulse quickly 5 or 6 times, or until the dough comes together and starts to pull away from the sides of the container. Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

To make the dough by hand, combine the flour, salt, and butter in a medium bowl, and mix with a pastry blender or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough comes together and is no longer dry, being careful not to overmix. Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface according to the recipe, fit it into the pan, and allow to rest again in the refrigerator before baking. I really love the tart pans with the scalloped edges and the pop out bottom. You'll need to prebake this though so it's ready for the tart filling.

Kill me, kill me now

I'm posting a Sandra Lee inspired recipe. But come on, we've all seen something using similar flavors so can we really give her credit? Plus, I'm not posting it exactly as is; I'm posting it as I'd make it. I still feel a little nauseous, but hey, credit where credit is due, and I was indeed watching her show and thinking, "yum." If you are unfamiliar with Sandra and her work, a quick web search will give you the actual scoop, and then if you scroll down, the mountains and mountains of angry, hateful, vitriolic websites and parodies dedicated to her. It's her own fault, really. Really.
And while I'm here talking about this one; I'll share a recipe that a friend of a friend made for a recent party:
Little crostinis
goat cheese
sliced dried figs
white truffle oil
Top the crostinis with goat cheese, a slice of dried fig and drizzle with truffle oil. Die and go to heaven.

Fig & Prosciutto Crostata
1 pre-made pie crust
4 ounces cream cheese, softened (OR! 2 oz cream, 2 oz goat; OR! add some blue cheese crumbles on top of the fig preserves)
1/2 (10-ounce) jar fig preserves
1 (3-ounce) package prosciutto, cut into 1/2-inch strips
arugula
1 egg
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place the pie crust onto a baking sheet. Spread the cheese over the crust leaving a 1-inch border. Top with fig preserves (and sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles if using). Fold border over fig spread and top with prosciutto strips.

Lightly beat egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Use a pastry brush to brush edge of crust with egg wash. Bake in oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve topped with arugula (simply dressed with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper) if you dig it (which I do).

This is similar to another party snack I like to make using premade pizza crust (or even pita), smeared with goat cheese and then topped with caramelized onions and shallots with the little arugula salad on top. Yum.

Selfy Snacks

The holiday pot luck/entertaining season is upon us, and our waistlines.  You can't control what everyone else brings (looking at you, hot spinach artichoke dip made with cheese and mayo and a million other calorie laden delicious things), but you can certainly bring something you know you can eat without consuming enough calories to sustain a village for a month.  Self sent out an email to their subscribers featuring plenty of holiday tipples and treats that will probably wow your friends and family, while still allowing you to button your pants.
Thank God leggings and big oversized tunics are in this season.

Because I know avocados are ac/dcs of the fruit and vegetable world (going well both sweet and savory; I actually made an avocado pie for my first Iron Chef battle - and WON), I am totally into the idea of incorporating fruit into my guac.  The mangoes and pomegranate seeds make it both gorgeous, and even more Mexican than it was before (imho).
113 calories per serving (with 10 chips), 6.9 g fat (1 g saturated), 3.9 g fiber, 14 g carbs, 1.7 g protein  - not counting the millions of calories in chips, of course; try it on fish tacos or with baked flour tortilla chips instead; maybe even with a little sprinkling of cinnamon sugar!

Having made some variation on prosciutto wrapped dates or figs for ages, I was happy to see them considered "healthy" AND to see them combined with my greatest love - goat cheese - even if I know that having 10 of them sort of negates that.
187 calories per 2 dates, 3 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 36 g carbs, 3.3 g fiber, 6 g protein

I actually want this shrimp dish for dinner; I love the sour/sweet tang of Tamarind and I think with some steamed or stir fried veggies and brown rice?  Nom.  As an app at a party, it doesn't get much easier - salt and pepper on the shrimp, grill them on both sides for a couple of minutes and serve with a dipping sauce?  Easy peasy tamarind squeezy.  For the sauce:  
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1/4 cup tamarind paste (found in Asian markets) 
1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon fish sauce 
1 to 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes 
1 tablespoon sugar 
156 calories per serving, 3.8 g fat (0.6 g saturated), 5.9 g carbs, 0.2 g fiber, 23.5 g protein

These are just gorgeous.  And adorable.  And I'm already planning a Dr. Seuss themed party where my eggs are green with basil or pesto perhaps, and I think you know where I'm going. Vegetable oil cooking spray 
4 slices prosciutto, fat trimmed, halved 
2 egg whites 
1 whole egg 
3 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt 
1 tablespoon chopped black olives 
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for garnish 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
27 calories per serving, 1.1 g fat (0.3 g saturated), 0.4 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 3.6 g protein

Heat oven to 400°. Coat a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Press 1 piece prosciutto into each of 8 cups. Whisk egg whites and whole egg until smooth. Whisk in yogurt, olives, rosemary, salt and pepper. Divide mixture among cups. Bake, uncovered, until quiches are cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Garnish with rosemary.

27 calories per serving, 1.1 g fat (0.3 g saturated), 0.4 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 3.6 g protein

I love crispy potatoes, and I love sweet potatoes, so hooray!   
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled 
2 1/2 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 1 cup) 
2 egg whites 
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary 
3/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper 
Parchment paper




Heat oven to 425˚. Finely grate sweet potatoes into a bowl. Squeeze grated sweet potatoes in batches to release as much moisture as possible and place in another bowl; fluff with a fork. Stir in cheese, egg whites, rosemary and pepper. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spoon 1 rounded tbsp batter onto cookie sheet and flatten into a thin, 2- to 2 1/2-inch round. Repeat with remaining batter, leaving 1 inch between rounds. Bake until edges and underside are crisp and browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly and remove from parchment. Serve warm with Rosemary-Balsamic Cream.

144 calories per 3 crisps with cream, 5.2 g fat (3.2 g saturated), 17 g carbs, 1.8 g fiber, 6 g protein

Rosemary Balsamic Cream  
1 teaspoon canola oil 
4 shallots, finely chopped 
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar 
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream 
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook shallots until translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add vinegar, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a high simmer. Cook until 2/3 of liquid has evaporated and shallots are very dark, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Combine sour cream, rosemary and 2 tsp water in a bowl. Spoon balsamic-shallot sauce into center of sour cream and swirl with a toothpick. Serve with crisps.

It's not all food my friends - no no, it's also drinks!  And this one sounds delightful, while being equally at home in the winter, or in warmer weather.  I think I might simplify it a bit though (do I really want five spice powder on the rim of my glass?).  
Make a ginger simple syrup with equal parts of sugar and water, plus 1/2 cup of chopped fresh ginger.
Then, easy enough - one star anise, a piece of candied ginger, and a tablespoon or so of syrup, all topped with your favorite sparkler.  Gorgeous, gingery, fizzy and sweet.  Perfect for your next celebratory sushi dinner.
150 calories per cocktail, 0 g fat, 23 g carbs, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein


Surely you knew I wouldn't ignore their stab at summertime sangria, which uses white wine, pulpless oj, triple sec, apricot brandy, sprite, apples and grapes (and CUCUMBER?!  erm. . .)

285 calories per serving, 0.2 g fat (0.1 g saturated), 35 g carbs, 1.5 g fiber, 1 g protein

Scallops

For the first, oh, 23 years of life I'd say I was pretty anti-fish. Oh sure, fishsticks and tuna fish sandwiches as a kid, but that stopped pretty early on; before I was a pre-teen (and old enough to learn about the plight of the dolphins). I finally grew up a little, and started working in NICE restaurants. Restaurants where I could not distract people with my humorous flair, but had to actually understand the dishes and the flavors and which wines might work well. It wasn't enough to say, "oh, I don't eat fish so I'm not sure" when someone asked me if the halibut was good. I needed to be able to talk about how it was prepared and how the flavors worked. And so, the first small, trepidatious bites at line up followed. Shortly thereafter, I allowed myself to be coaxed into sushi. Nevermind that it took a little liquid courage to get over my mental hangups, and that once I thought it about the next morning I literally made myself sick. What a pansy.
From there, I started eating sushi more regularly (though I'm still not all that adventurous - I know what I like and I pretty much stick to it), and having a couple of bites of a friend's fish at dinner. And then, scallops came into my life. I will never forget my first scallop. I was working at a restaurant in San Mateo and the chef made these amazing, tropical inspired scallops with flavors of mango and coconut and yummy, smooth, almost risotto like rice and WOW. I started ordering this dish on my own; not just to share a few bites. I think scallops are really what pushed me over the edge. Now, I no longer skip over the seafood section of a menu - I'll order up a yummy sounding piece of fish at a restaurant without thinking twice. Of course if I'm faced with super fishy fish or salmon, we're still in trouble. But that's because I don't like those things, not because I'm afraid of them.
In any case, my love for scallops led to me preparing them at home one night. They turned out wonderfully, yay! But, so I like seared scallops. Okay fine. How else can I make them that I'll still like them? Enter Ina Garten, of course. This woman is my hero. Left corporate life behind for a happy little food shop on the coast that she felt passionate about. A (seemingly) very happy marriage, and simple (yet successful) life. Yeah, she's not a size 2. But she eats well, and hey look everyone, she's HAPPY and in love with someone who loves her and they still have fun together and do sweet things (on tv anyway). Imagine that.
So thanks to Ina, for a tasty, artery clogging new to me way to prepare scallops.

Bay Scallop Gratin
(serves 6)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium shallots, minced
2 oz thinly sliced prosciutto, minced
4 tbsp minced fresh parsley, plus extra for garnish
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp Pernod - this is an anise flavored liqueur and I want to trust Ina, but eeeew, anise
2 tsps kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
6 tbsp good olive oil
1/2 c panko
6 tbsp dry white wine (a little more than half a cup)
2 lbs fresh bay scallops (the little guys)
lemon, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place 6 (6-inch round) gratin dishes on a sheet pan.

To make the topping, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the garlic, shallot, prosciutto, parsley, lemon juice, Pernod, salt, and pepper and mix until combined. With the mixer still on low, add the olive oil slowly as though making mayonnaise, until combined. Fold the panko in with a rubber spatula and set aside.

Place 1 tablespoon of the wine in the bottom of each gratin dish. With a small sharp knife, remove the white muscle and membrane from the side of each scallop and discard. Pat the scallops dry with paper towels and distribute them among the 3 dishes. Spoon the garlic butter evenly over the top of the scallops. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the topping is golden and sizzling and the scallops are barely done. If you want the top crustier, place the dishes under the broiler for 2 minutes, until browned. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a sprinkling of chopped parsley and serve immediately with crusty French bread.

An ode to bacon

In honor of Bacon Camp (oh yes I did just say Bacon Camp), I thought I'd post a few nommy ideas for using bacon - and really, it's not like bacon needs any help at nomosity.  But, I noticed I reference prosciutto a lot in my recipes and wasn't giving bacon a fair shake - especially given how delicious it is. 

I had a pizza in our company cafeteria the other day that was pretty fab (oxymoron?), and it featured perfectly crispy bacon, thinly sliced red onion and fresh arugula lightly dressed in balsamic.  Divine.

MY dream pizza starts with a yummy creamy white sauce, gets topped by mozzarella and provolone, then sprinkled with balsamic onions and crispy bacon.  Maybe some fresh tomato.  Hell.  Yes.  BLT pizza!
I don't think you need a recipe for that though, so fend for yourselves.

Another thing I simply can't pass up (but do, all the time - man I hate calories) is baked potato soup - oh man, the potatoey creamy goodness with fresh green onions, stringy, melty cheese, and crispy bacon bits. . . Here is a Bob Evans sponsored recipe.  Please note that I have never heard of Bob Evans.

Of course I've shared my prosciutto wrapped asparagus, and this recipe can easily be made with bacon.  Probably even turkey bacon if you must.

And what about those angels on horseback?  No wait, seems that's oysters, and I don't dig oysters.  Maybe you do.  Is there a cute name for the bacon wrapped shrimp?  There should be.

Another delicious bacony treat - salads.  Yes really!  You can sub the pancetta in this recipe for bacon, or try one of my picnic faves.  And yes, I know there is mayo in it but I prefer not to talk about it.  You can even go South Beach on it if you'd like.  Well, South Beach-esque.

A new passion of mine that oddly enough - is entirely bacon free:





Purchase these.  You will thank me.  Also, THEY ARE VEGETARIAN.  So, go on, my Jewish and non meat eating friends that still remember the wonderful taste of bacon - indulge.

For the non-traditional bacon lover - a bacon cheeseburger cake perhaps?



When all else fails - just fry it up or pop it in the oven for 20 minutes and crunch away.  Just, please - don't wear it.

Making pizza

I don't know about you, but when I have three cups of homemade cheese staring me in the face, I think pizza. Luckily some people are open to everything I suggest and just roll with it once I arrive at my latest destination/plan/scheme/recipe.
The ready made pizza dough at Whole Foods was actually really good and easy to use, though not whole wheat. :o(
Sorry South Beach - it's full fat cheese too.

Two bags of dough and a couple other odds and ends and I was ready for one of my favorite savory pizzas, and a just made up sweet pizza. I swear, some day I'll photograph my food with something other than my iPhone, but until then. . . .

Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza with Homemade Mozzarella
Sauce:
one small can of San Marzano tomatoes
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried basil (fresh would be awesome if you had it)
Open the can of tomatoes into a bowl, add the crushed garlic and basil and then squeeze with your hands to make a sauce.

Pop your pizza stone into the oven and head it up. Roll out the dough, sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and drop the dough onto the hot stone.
Spread the sauce all over, and top with mozzarella and prosciutto (I used just under 1/4 lb). Bake until done.

Toss the arugula (around 2 c) with basil oil or olive oil (1 tbsp) and salt, and top the hot pizza with it. Let pizza sit for a moment before cutting, and then whammo - enjoy your insanely yummy pizza.

Pear & Ricotta Pizza with Balsamic Onions
Thinly slice one onion and set about caramelizing that bad boy. Once the onions are cooked through and sweet and yummy and brown, stir in 1-2 tsp of balsamic vinegar (I used a fig balsamic) and set aside.
Thinly slice a pear - I recommend bosc over d'anjou since I think the bosc just has better pear flavor.
Again with the stone and rolling out of the dough and the placing of the dough onto the hot stone.
Top with 1 - 1 1/2 c of ricotta and drizzle with honey.
Spread the balsamic onions on top - quite honestly, if you wanted to go with two onions and spread them on first like delicious onionjamsauce, you'd probably be a very happy camper.
Lay out the pears and drizzle with a little bit more honey. Bake, nom, repeat.

** an interesting bit of trivia thanks to Wikipedia. . . . even though the bosc pears taste more like what I'd call "juicy pear jelly belly," it's actually d'anjou puree they use to make that flavoring. Who knew?? **

Asparagus and Soft Boiled Eggs with Truffle Oil

It seems a classic combo is soft boiled eggs and asparagus. Just ask Nigella or Jamie. Another classic idea is that of soldiers to dunk into said eggs - which are slices of buttered toast most often. I first saw Jamie Oliver make his "soldiers," and thought, wow. Bacon/prosciutto wrapped asparagus dunked in nummy egg yolk? What a great, simple breakfast; and a new way to eat eggs!
Later, I was hanging out at this great little wine bar in New York called Ino, where one of their signature dishes is "truffled egg toast" which was just divine. They took a small, but thick piece of toast; made a little nest for an egg which was somehow cooked in there to be perfect and runny and delicious; drizzled it with truffle oil and finished it off with some wee shaved asparagus bits.
This took me back to math class.
Runny egg yolk + asparagus = nom
Runny egg yolk + truffle oil = nom
Runny egg yolk + truffle oil + asparagus = nom x 2

Quinn made me my first ever soft boiled egg fairly recently, so maybe that's why I'm just getting into this classic egg cooking technique now. I hatched this brilliant snack idea that I've been dying to try = cook up some asparagus (boiled in salted water til just done), carefully peel and cut open a soft boiled egg so the yolk runs all over the joint, drizzle with white truffle oil, finish with some shaved Parmesan. Ta da!

Sadly, I had never soft boiled an egg in my life and have yet to do so successfully. They were just into hard boiled territory which made me pout and whine and stomp my feet and have a mini hissy fit that I had ruined my beautiful plan. :o(
Must. . . practice. . . . . soft. . . boiling. . . eggs. . . .
The flavors however? PERFECTION.

** update:
Still can't soft boil an egg. * sigh *

Where the Wild Things Are - Halloween 2010

 

My favorite time of year is upon us and I'm already plotting my ghoulish plan. . .
I'll be turning my home into a haunted forest with lots of spooky trees and Spanish moss, plenty of old leaves, and creepy little forest critters.  It'll be the perfect setting for me, since I'm going as an owl this year.
I really want to make my sugar cookies, but I have to be reasonable about what I can accomplish.
I'll be serving several types of snack mix because that's super easy and yummy (I have such an obsession with Cheezit Party Mix it's not even funny), and I'll probably do a spicy nut mix as well.  I had one in Mexico that had whole chiles and fried garlic that was super good and kind of creepy looking (let's just say we'll call those garlics "fingernails" or something equally gross).  Here is a decent starting point.

We're also going to do some super easy salsas and guacs as I did last year, but add a Crock Pot full of cheesy bean dip that I don't really have to worry about.  When I was in high school taking Home Ec, our teacher taught us some delicious recipe that featured canned refried beans, Velveeta, salsa, green chiles, garlic powder and green onions. . . I'm trying desperately to remember it and will probably just tweak it as I go until it's yummy.  This one looks pretty good as well.
I'm also going to get some pizza dough or flatbread and just do little flatbread slices - caramelized onions, goat cheese, maybe blue cheese, figs, prosciutto, etc., but those are the pricier fixins, so we'll see.  I'll bake the breads ahead of time, then top them, and heat them up for a few just before I serve.
Perhaps a white bean and sage dip with veggies and pita chips.
Basically stuff that I don't have to fuss with.   And to drink, I think I'm going for shandy this year instead of my typical sangria:

Apple Cider Shandy
48 ounces of lager (4 x 12 oz bottles)
1 bottle of sparkling cider

Combine and serve immediately.

I mean, it doesn't get much easier than that, right? 

Asparagus Soup

Cribbed from South Beach recipes, this soup is so easy to make it's not even funny. I don't think they can even take full credit for it it's so easy.

2 pounds or so of asparagus
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
4 c chicken stock/broth - I tend to go with the low sodium kind so I can add my own salt later
s & p to taste
parmesan cheese for garnish

In a medium stockpot, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the veggies (asparagus, onion & garlic). Sautee being careful not to let the onion get brown, until it's soft - about 5 minutes or so.
Add the chicken stock/broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the asparagus is just tender.
Use an immersion blender (if you're lucky and happen to own one) or regular blender to puree the mix. I have to do two batches in my blender.
Pour it back into the pot, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese (and a big hunk of warm, crusty sourdough if you're not on the South Beach diet).

If you'd like to turn this into cream of asparagus soup, I'd follow the same steps as above, but then I'd add maybe some unflavored Greek Yogurt & TJs fat free half and half to the mix (you know, til it looks right) and stir until blended.

If you want full flavor and full fat, start with butter rather than olive oil, and serve with a crispy BLT. I can't stop thinking how perfect bacon would be with this, probably given my penchant for prosciutto wrapped asparagus.
Here is a good cream of asparagus recipe from All Recipes.