Spring Equinox Dinner, March 20, 2017

Eons ago, I read an article, or perhaps in some book, that the author made salmon cakes, new potatoes, and asparagus every year on the first day of spring. That sounded like a fine and delicious tradition to me. When I was growing up, I always hated asparagus. In fact, it rather horrified me. I couldn't understand why my mom liked it so much. It wasn't until my friend, Ben, invited me over for dinner one night when I was about 18 that I began to like it. I can't recall what the meat was, but his mom put plates holding not only asparagus, but squash, in front of us. I thought, "Oh, my lord! I'm going to have to choke this stuff down and pretend to like it." I was astonished to find that I quite liked both vegetables. I've been an asparagus fan ever since! My favorite way to eat is simply steamed, so it's just tender, and then plunged into an ice bath to retain the brightness and keep it from becoming overcooked. Sometimes, though, I get lazy and skip the ice bath. I am always disappointed in myself when that happens.

Fish cakes, on the other hand, have always been something I really liked. My grandmom made both tuna & salmon patties when I was a kid and I happily gobbled them up. So, when I decided to make salmon cakes every year for the spring equinox, I did what my grandmom did. I start by sorting the bones and skin out from a (drained) large can of salmon (about 15 ounces). You don't even have to do that, actually. The skin and bones are both perfectly okay to eat. They just really skeeve me out. My cat's birthday is the first day of spring, so he always gets the parts I don't like, along with some of the legit meat, as a birthday treat. I flake the salmon, then mix it with a lightly beaten egg, about half a sleeve of saltine crackers, salt, pepper, and a dash of worcestershire sauce. I heat some oil in a skillet and form the salmon mixture into 4 cakes. When the oil is properly hot, I add the salmon cakes and cook them until they're browned on each side and heated through.

As for the potatoes, I boil them whole, for the most part, with the skin on. If there are a few larger ones, I will halve those. When they are tender, I drain them and stir in butter, salt, pepper, and snipped dill. When I was in middle school, my friend, Charisma, had me to supper and her mom served us potatoes made that way. They seemed very fancy to me!

I always have the impulse to make some sort of lemony dessert---a layer cake, meringues served with lemon curd, lemon meringue pie. That seems like the perfect spring treat, to me. My wife, however, hates all things tart. So, this year, I cut up some organic strawberries before dinner, added a smidge of sugar, stirred them up, and let them macerate during supper. After the main course, I dished them up into our pretty new pastel bowls and set out a can of whipped cream. My wife proceeded to show our wee boy how to eat whipped cream from the can. He just wasn't at all sure what to think of that, but it did make him giggle.

Happy Spring!

Fettuccine with Chicken and Asparagus, May 6, 2015

We love asparagus around here and I will only make it in season. Poor Jeannene implores me to bend a bit on this, but to no avail. I will consent to eat it, if she makes it out of season, of course. This dish I made last night, with a green salad and some roasted garlic bread Jeannene picked up on her way home from work, is a great way to throw together a delicious and spring-y dinner with very little effort.

Fettuccine with Chicken and Asparagus

1/2 lb. fettuccine, cooked al dente

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and broken into bite-size pieces

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch scallions, sliced (white and light green parts only)

15 oz. can diced tomatoes with garlic & onion (plain is fine, too)

1 tbsp. Italian seasoning

Salt & pepper

Cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (optional; you could also use any other meat you like)

Parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add asparagus and sauté until crisp-tender. Add garlic, scallions, tomatoes, and seasonings, mixing well. Add pasta and chicken, if using, and cook until heated through. Serve with parmesan. Without the meat and parmesan, this is a great vegan dinner, provided you make sure your pasta is vegan. Serves 4. 

Game Night & Potluck, March 28, 2015

We like to have Jeannene's team from the plant over for parties every so often. The last one was our Practice Thanksgiving, so it was about time. We decided to have a game night and asked everyone to bring a favorite spring dish. Some people went along with the theme, some (like my wife) did not, but everything was really, really good. Here's what we had:

-I made 2 quiches (one broccoli cheddar, one ham & swiss), an asparagus berry salad, a fruit tart, a prosecco punch (the punch they served at my childhood church, with added prosecco---I wish I'd thought to split the batch for those who were not drinking), and, at Jeannene's request, a triple batch of guacamole (I just mash avocados with some key lime juice, salt, pepper, and garlic powder).

-Jeannene made the Velveeta/Rotel/sausage dip we always have for the Super Bowl and set out tortilla scoops with that. She also put out some spinach artichoke dip from Costco with pita chips.

-Jim & Cindy brought some excellent homemade black bean salsa with chips.

-Ken made a creamy & spicy dip, also with tortilla chips, and Meghan made one of her adorable & delicious desserts, zucchini cupcakes with little Easter egg sprinkles on them. Ken always brings all kinds of awesome beers, as well, and sometimes wine, too. He is really interested in trying different craft beers and he loves to share his finds.

-Kelvin & Pat brought their signature shrimp cocktail, which is always gone in moments.

-Xifan & Denny brought a big pot of her chicken & vegetable soup, colorful and yummy.

-Glenn & Kim brought teriyaki chicken wings he made (the men in Jeannene's group tend to be terrific cooks).

-Connie & Frank brought a very springy pasta salad made with rainbow rotini & topped with deviled eggs---you know how popular deviled eggs always are!

-William & Lillian brought a big box of really fabulous baklava of various sorts that I had a hard time staying out of---and a bottle of champagne for us to enjoy later.

-Michael showed up a little late, bearing chicken, shrimp, & sausage jambalaya, which all of us fell upon as though we'd not eaten anything else. He said he's a little rusty, but it was great. Jeannene even said it was better than mine & I couldn't be mad.

Quiche

Pie shell for 9" pie (I use store-bought)

Grated parmesan

6 eggs

3/4 c. half & half

Salt & pepper

Fillings of choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Fit pie crust into 9" pie plate, rolling extra under along the edge, then crimping. Line with parchment and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake until edges are light golden, 15-20 minutes. Remove parchment & weights/beans. Sprinkle bottom of crust with parmesan. Place fillings in the crust. For the ham & swiss, I used a package of diced ham (6-8 oz, I think) and a cup & a half of shredded swiss. For the broccoli cheddar, I used one crown of broccoli, cut into small florets, and a cup and a half of cheddar. I debated about whether to steam the broccoli, but decided the florets were small enough that I could skip it. Whisk eggs, half & half, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper together well. Pour into crust and bake until the middle of the quiche is just set, 40-45 minutes. Serves 6-8 and is a great dish for a party like this because it's good at room temp, as well as warm, so  it can be made ahead with no need for re-heating before serving. 

Asparagus Berry Salad

3 bunches asparagus

2 pints raspberries

A handful of halved strawberries

Strawberry or raspberry vinaigrette (my absolute favorite is Maple Grove Farm's Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette)

Trim the asparagus, snap in two, and blanch a couple minutes in boiling water. Remove to an ice bath and allow to cool. Arrange on serving platter. Sprinkle with berries and drizzle with dressing. Serves 10-12 and is quite beautiful.

Cheater's Fruit Tart

1 roll sugar cookie dough, room temperature (I like Pillsbury)

1 tub cream cheese fruit dip, chilled (I like Marzetti)

A bunch of cut-up fresh fruit (I used halved strawberries, kiwi cut into demi-lunes, mandarin oranges from a can, pineapple, blueberries, and a few raspberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tart pan with fluted sides and a removable bottom. Press cookie dough into tart pan and up the sides, trimming if it squishes over the sides & pressing the excess back into the bottom of the pan. You will want this nice & even. Bake 17-20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Slather with fruit dip. Arrange fruit on top. Chill, if not using promptly. Serves 6-8. 

Westminster Punch, Prosecco-fied

12 oz. can frozen pink lemonade

12 oz. can frozen limeade

46 oz. pineapple juice

Small container sweetened frozen strawberries, slightly thawed

2 liters ginger ale

750-ml bottle prosecco

Mix everything together in a punch bowl and serve. 

Lemon Vinaigrette Asparagus with Goat Cheese

This post should actually have been written in May, so it's just a catch-up. I can't remember what the meal was that night, but this made a good side dish. Personally, I would probably omit the cheese if I was making it again, but that's just me. Jeannene liked it with the cheese.

Lemon Vinaigrette Asparagus with Goat Cheese

2 lb. asparagus, trimmed

Juice & zest of 1 lemon

 1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt & pepper

1/3 c. crumbled goat cheese

Steam asparagus until crisp-tender. Mix lemon juice with oil, salt, & pepper. Drizzle over the asparagus. Sprinkle with cheese and garnish with zest. Serves 4-6.

Asparagus Tart

Spring is here & it's time for lighter foods! (Or, it is on the days Ma Nature doesn't forget winter is over) I think Jeannene and I could cheerfully eat asparagus every day all spring and Pixie, our oldest cat, is always thrilled when we do because he loves it beyond reason. In fact, you have to be careful with asparagus around Pixie because it's one of the few foods he will steal (chicken and turkey being the other two). I very often simply steam or roast my asparagus, but this year, I decided a tart would be lovely. This is very easy and simply delicious! Pair it with a nice salad and some fresh fruit. I think I might have to make this for Easter brunch this year!

Asparagus Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

10 oz. log goat cheese

1 1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed

1 tbsp. olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press a 1" border into the pastry all along the edges with a fork and prick a number of times in the center (or place pie weights, on a sheet of foil, in the center of the pastry). Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden. Spread with the goat cheese in an even layer. Cover with an even layer of asparagus. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with lemon zest, salt, & pepper. Bake 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it, as puff pastry burns easily. You can see in this pic that it got a little dark! Allow to cool before serving. Serves 4-6.