It probably seems like we've eaten nothing but asparagus recently, which may be true. The season for local asparagus is short and we try to enjoy it while it's here. We've only included one asparagus recipe this week; probably the last one for the spring. It's wonderful! We found this in an issue of Gourmet magazine (April 1995) and have voted it our favorite pasta recipe. We have already passed it along to a number of friends who agree that it is a wonderful combination of flavors. A couple of variations have already come back to us - the addition of sauteed shrimp or a small amount of "frizzled" prosciutto. While we were doing pasta, we've added another excellent recipe from Gourmet (January 1996) that uses cauliflower, bacon and toasted bread crumbs. Since local spinach is in the market now, we've also included a pesto that uses spinach instead of basil. This recipe can be used in all the ways basil pesto is used - over pasta, tossed with boiled potatoes, as part of a pizza topping, etc. The last recipe in this column was suggested by a good friend (and wonderful baker), Myrna Harbison. This cake, which is truly decadent, is from the first Silver Palate Cookbook (Russo & Lukins, Workman Publishing). We hope you'll enjoy it.
Ingredients:
Place asparagus pieces in boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes. Immediately transfer to colander and rinse with cold water. Place on paper towels to drain.
Cook pasta until al dente, and drain. In large skillet, heat butter and cream on medium heat until butter is melted, stir in lemon zest, lemon juice and pepper. Reduce sauce slightly. Add cooked pasta and asparagus and heat through (1 minute). Serve with grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese. 4 servings.
Ingredients:
In a large pot, bring water to boil, add cauliflower and cook 2-3 minutes. Immediately transfer to colander and rinse with cold water. Place on paper towels to drain. Refill pot with water and bring to boil for pasta.
In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 TBS olive oil over medium heat. Add bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until golden brown. Transfer crumbs to a bowl and wipe skillet clean. Over medium heat, cook bacon pieces until crisp; drain on paper towels. Remove all but 2 TBS bacon grease from skillet. Add garlic and cauliflower to skillet and, over medium heat, cook 2-3 minutes. Cook pasta until al dente and drain in colander. Toss pasta, bacon, cauliflower and remaining 3 1/2 TBS olive oil until well combined. Season to taste with freshly ground pepper. Serve, topped with toasted bread crumbs. Pass cheese separately. 4 servings.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place walnuts on baking sheet, lightly toast (7-9 minutes) and cool. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process nuts until fine. Remove nuts to a bowl. Place spinach, oil, garlic, salt and pepper into food processor bowl. Process until smooth. Add the cheese and nuts and process just until combined. To serve, toss with freshly cooked pasta. If the pesto is too thick, thin with a small amount of hot water. Pesto can be refrigerated or frozen. Makes 2 cups.
Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Knock out excess flour. In a large bowl, pour boiling water over chocolate and butter; let stand until melted. Stir in vanilla and sugar, then whisk in egg yolks, one at a time, blending well after each addition. Mix baking soda and sour cream together and add to chocolate mixture. Sift together flour and baking powder; add to batter, mixing thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry. Stir a quarter of the egg whites into the batter. Scoop remaining egg whites on top of batter and gently fold together.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Set on the middle rack of oven and bake 40-50 minutes, or until the edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes; unmold and cool completely before frosting. 12 servings.
Ingredients for Frosting:
Place all ingredients in a heavy saucepan over low heat and whisk until smooth. Cool slightly; add more sugar if necessary to achieve a spreading consistency. Spread on cake while frosting is still warm.
 |
Back to the Cooking Table of Contents |
This Website is maintained by
