Mustard Glazed Asparagus

I'm kind of obsessed with my produce box.  And although there are a couple of downfalls (like not giving me any reason to go to the farmers market), I'm still having way too much fun with it.  It definitely makes me appreciate what's in-season and I feel like I have to capture every recipe I want to make with that ingredient before it's season is over.  And for those of you in Chicago, from what I hear you have a little bit of time left for local asparagus.  Which is why I'm sharing this recipe with you.  Asparagus has been one of my favorite ingredients to date.  Some of my other favorites are spinach (so many uses), herbs (which I always buy anyway) and tomato (sadly, just one lonely one).  Although I have to say I could live without the saute mix.  There is SO much of it and I just don't love sauteed greens that much, but it's forcing me to be a bit more creative.  Yeah yeah yeah and I know... I should eat my greens.  

So, eating seasonally.  It's been on my mind.  Maybe also in part because I'm currently reading Animal, Vegetable Miracle.  I was the odd man out for a bit with all the other volunteers at the farmers market as it seems to be the one book that everyone in that type of foodie-culture has read, but now I am seriously into it.  It's about a family that only eats only local food for an entire year.  It talks about all of the benefits of doing so and although I have made a concerted effort toward doing this in some ways over the past couple of years, I've realized it certainly is easier eating local in Midwest in the summer, but would require some serious preparation (and a little boredom in my opinion) to get through the winter.  So I will admit I'm not willing to go for it 100%, but I'm definitely doing what I can to be part of this localvore movement.  And now that I've transitioned from just occasionally shopping the farmers markets to getting most of my produce locally (via produce box)  I'm thinking of my next change...  organizing my cooking binder.  (Okay, hear me out) I have my cooking binder (but really it's 4) divided up and organized like a cookbook (salad, appetizer, meat, pasta) and am thinking I should transition it by season instead.  I am already drawn more to the stew section more in the winter and the grill recipes in the summer but hopefully this will help direct me even more.  Plus any good organizing project gets me pretty excited.

So let's just say this is a recipe from the (soon-to-be) grill section of my binder.  It's one of those grill recipes that I hold on to all winter but never use.  I discovered it last year and made it over and over again which is always the true sign of how good a recipe is.  Something about the grill makes it better than just roasting in the oven.  Or so I think, as I have to say I haven't tried roasting it.  I (of course) make quite a generous amount of sauce so there are extras for whatever grilled meat you make on the side.

Trish's Tips:  One of my cooking tricks, seeing as it is the season of bare arms and bathing suits, is to substitute half of the mayo here for Greek-style yogurt.  There are seriously (way) more calories in 2 tablespoons of mayo than a cup (yes, CUP!) of yogurt.  And although I am definitely not a calorie counter, I am well aware that I tend to like an extremely generous sauce to vegetable ratio and therefore need to make some sacrifices.  Plus yogurt has a lot of health benefits.  I'm not into swapping things out for tasteless fake crap like artificial sweeteners or high-fructose laden anything, but pure, organic yogurt for mayo?  That works for me.  And it works in everything.  Try the swap in egg salad, tuna salad or chicken salad.  My sister swaps out half yogurt for sour cream as well.  It's the same texture, but you just have to be somewhat cautious about the sourness plain yogurt can have, but if you have enough other flavors going on it's usually fine.  If you have a hard time finding Greek-style yogurt you can drain regular plain yogurt over a paper towel and a strainer.  Pour it in and let some of the liquid drain overnight.  I've never tried it but have heard it works great!  It just might be cheaper too although I can't say for sure...  As always, this sauce is delicious so make leftovers and would be great rubbed on a pork tenderloin and grilled, or let some run into your rice pilaf.  We had it with grilled kebabs with beef and definitely snuck a little dipping sauce for them and it was great!  This recipe originally says to 'marinate' the vegetables, but I have a hard time believing that it really makes a difference so I didn't.

Mustard Glazed Asparagus
Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine June 2009

Ingredients:
2 TBL mayonnaise
2 TBL plain Greek-style yogurt (I like low-fat or fat free, but use whatever you want)
1/4 cup grainy mustard (the kind that you can see the seeds.  Sometimes called stone ground mustard)
2-3 TBL fresh lemon juice
2-3 TBL olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lb thick asparagus peeled

Directions:
Light a grill.  In a shallow dish, whisk the mayonnaise and yogurt with the mustard, oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust as needed.  Add the asparagus and turn to coat.

Grill the asparagus over moderately high heat, turning occasionally until the spears are tender and lightly blistered in spots about 3-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus.  If you are on the fence, take it off; it will keep cooking after you remove it from the grill.  Serve hot or at room temperature.  Save the leftover sauce you coated it in and serve for those that like generous sauce proportions (like me!).

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

If you ask me, anything with browned butter is pretty delicious.  And throw in some rich flavors like balsamic and soy and it makes an unbelievably incredible sauce.  Oh and the asparagus is pretty good too.  Although in my mind it's main purpose is a means to transport the sauce.  Okay, I'm not giving it enough credit; the asparagus is pretty good too.  No, it's great.  And you may now know my penchant for roasted vegetables.

This recipe has been in my repertoire for quite some time.  My first food magazine subscription was given to me as a Christmas present by my now sister-in-law.  It was a subscription to Cooking Light Magazine, which is one of her favorites.  I became engrossed, I bought the annual cookbooks, perused the website on a regular basis and thumbed through every last page when the magazine came.  This recipe appeared twice in the nine years or so that I've had a subscription.  The first time it made just a regular appearance as a side dish and the second time was in an anniversary issue featuring the 'best' recipes.  Yup, I already knew that.

I've modified it quite a bit from the original so don't let the 'light' label fool you.  Made in it's original stingy sauce proportions I'm sure it is light, but since I usually at least double the Cooking Light sauce recipes I'm not sure I can call it 'light' any longer.  Oh well, that's not what I was going for anyway, and it's not as though I would call this a super indulgent recipe or anything; we are talking about asparagus here!  Plus, it's the perfect time of year to make it.  Springy, but still a little chill in the air and since the sauce is a bit rich it goes well with the cooler weather.  I would highly, highly recommend having a side dish of rice or perhaps roasted potatoes as to soak up the sauce that the asparagus leaves behind.  I can see a rice pilaf with wild rice, parsley and pine nuts or maybe some steamed red potatoes with fresh herbs and a little olive oil going really well with it.

There are so many reasons why I wanted to make this recipe.  For one, I promised you a spring recipe and this is one of my favorites, the sauce is unbelievable and I am super excited about the new produce box that I signed up for.  In it this week came asparagus, among other interesting findings.  If you live in the Chicago area you probably have the option to do it as well.  Or I'm sure wherever you live there is a CSA that offers it and I would highly recommend.  Actually, maybe I'm not in a position to recommend just yet seeing as it just arrived mere hours ago, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to love it.  I already had such a good time taking out my cookbooks to find recipes for each of the ingredients.  Most people would probably just 'wing-it', but I'm not the 'wing-it' type in any way, shape, or form in any aspect of my life.  Plus, then I wouldn't have the fun of finding new recipes to make with it.  All of the ingredients are local, in-season and many if not all, are organic.  And although I'm pretty revved up about this whole thing I have to admit I don't even know what some of the ingredients are.  Some I have heard of, but certainly wouldn't recognize and in fact I'm still trying to distinguish between the nettles and sorrel.  I'm thinking at this point I might just do something with them both.  There you go, how's that for 'winging' it!

After all this cookbook/internet/cooking binder recipe searching I had a pretty good menu planned out.  Although of course there was one ingredient that I didn't have to ponder what I would do with.  And you can probably guess which ingredient I was most excited about seeing as it's the one that I am making first.  So I watched my front door like a little kid today waiting for my produce box and finally, it's here!  It's here!

I know, I can get carried away.... but you haven't tasted it yet.

Trish's Tips:  Browned butter can be a bit tricky.  I oddly didn't have a problem with it for a long time, but then did manage to burn it, and now I can get a bit scared and not truly brown it.  But I say go for it, what's the worst that can happen, you waste 3 minutes of your time and a few tablespoons of butter?  Here's a link to some pretty detailed instructions on it.  (By the way, that photo above isn't the browned butter, that would be WAY burnt butter.  That's the browned butter with the balsamic and soy mixed in.)

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter
Adapted from Cooking Light September 2001

Ingredients:
1 - 1 1/2 lb asparagus spears
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 TBL butter
1 TBL soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
cooking spray or olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400.
Arrange asparagus on a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray or a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast at 400 for 6-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your asparagus.

Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally.  Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

I can guess what you are thinking.  "I/my husband/spouse/boyfriend/kids don't like cooked broccoli."  Well, please read on.  I am here to convert you.  I have to admit I am no broccoli lover myself, despite it being a superfood and all.  I think because most of the time when it is served it is often steamed and overcooked.  Yuck.  Broccoli, I think, is like brussels sprouts in the way that when overcooked it lets off some weird smell that will turn you off for a lifetime... until now of course.

I'm a big believer that just about anything roasted with a little olive oil and salt will be good.  This will caramelize it, which adds great flavor.  Think of the difference between pan seared chicken with a beautiful golden crust and some flecks of salt and pepper compared to chicken breast cooked in a pot of boiling water (I actually just typed boring instead of boiling at first, Freudian slip?).  That's basically the difference between roasted broccoli and steamed broccoli.

And many of you may like your broccoli smothered in cheese.  I personally am not going to turn down anything covered in cheese, but this is a bit of a healthier option with just a bit of freshly grated parmesan.  I made this as a side dish for dinner the other night and Johnny and I both found ourselves gravitating to the broccoli.  Of all things!  I know!

And in the spirit of 'resolutions' and all this will hopefully fit right in.  I for one am not only trying to eat more veggies but also do better with waste.  So for lunch today I took a shot at using the stalks of the broccoli for another recipe and not just pitching them as I normally do.  I originally just threw them in a zip loc and put them in the crisper drawer with good intentions.  Usually this results in the item being thrown out several days weeks later when there is a smell from the fridge or the drawer gets too full, but not today.  I researched online and found numerous suggestions but the most appealing to me was to make a soup out of it.  The instructions (not really a recipe) for the soup are at the very bottom.  I digress...

This recipe comes from one of my favorites, as you know, Ina Garten.  She is always roasting veggies.  I love this recipe and think that it's elegant enough for entertaining but you can also just make it on a quick weeknight without all of the additions.  You could just squeeze some lemon juice, salt and pepper and a bit of olive oil and it would be delicious.  Try that with cauliflower, it's also delicious.  I've also roasted broccoli as this recipe does, but then just drizzled balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  The options are endless...

Trish's Tips:  In order for you to get the beautiful and delicious caramelization that I keep yapping about you must do the following.  1. Make sure after you wash your broccoli, it is DRY as in dry as a bone.  If you have too much moisture it will steam.  I just used a kitchen towel to make sure it is good and dry.  2.  Give them room!  I used one very large sheet pan, but make sure each stalk has a good inch around it, otherwise, they will again steam.  Pine nuts.  Love them!  I will buy a whole bag of them and toast them all at once.  Usually just in a skillet over medium low.  Watch them!  They will burn super quickly.  Store in a freezer so you can use whenever needed.  This is much easier then toasting each time you need them.  I store in the freezer because the oil can go rancid unless you go through them pretty quickly.  If you aren't overly crazy about citrus I would leave out the zest.  This is a bit lemony.  Next time I may cook the broccoli, then add the parmesan only and throw back in the oven just to melt, then add the remaining ingredients.  I have a feeling that would be better, but this way is delicious too.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
2 lb broccoli
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
zest of 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 TBL pine nuts, toasted
2 TBL freshly grated parmesan (I used the large side of my box grater)
2 TBL julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.  Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks into bite-sized pieces, saving the stalks for another use.  Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer with space between each piece.  Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 2-3 TBL of olive oil.  Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Roast for 20-25 minutes stirring once until crisp-tender and the tips of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with remaining ingredients including an additional tablespoon of olive oil.  Serve hot.

Soup Instructions:
To make a soup of your stalks saute some chopped onion (I used 1 small for 4 short stalks), while that's sauteing, cut the stalks of broccoli into coin size pieces, the smaller they are the quicker they will cook.  Saute until it gets some caramelization.  Again, the brown stuff adds flavor!  Then add a chopped garlic clove and quickly saute so it doesn't burn.  Add some chicken stock, maybe 3 cups or so and cook until the broccoli stalks are tender, just 15 minutes should do.  Check the stalks with a knife to make sure they are tender, then throw it all in the blender.  Another option is to make a broccoli slaw, which I have done before but it was just so so.  And slaw in the winter?  Not appealing to me, I want something hot and comforting.  I will admit due to caramelizing the broccoli and onion the final color result is not terribly appetizing.  However, I pick flavor over presentation and this was just a lunch soup for me anyway.  If you didn't brown the veggies then it would have much more of a vibrant green color, but like I said I think the flavor is better this way.  And I was actually very surprised how good it was.  Let me know what you think.

Brussels Sprouts

Okay, hear me out you brussels sprout haters.  This recipe is good.  Obviously, or you wouldn't see it on here.  Okay I'm being a bit cocky, but it's not like I wrote the recipe.  I just happen to have a talent at picking out good ones.  It was the full page photograph in Bon Appetit that sold me.  I don't think I had ever made brussels sprouts before I made this recipe.  Probably because they do have a bad rap.  I think it's because whenever people cook them they tend to overcook and they get mushy.  That and they can smell kind of weird.  But so do numerous cheeses and that's not going to keep me away.

I'm all for roasted brussels sprouts and those sauteed with bacon and what not, but I like that this one is so light.  The reason it is, is partly because of the lemon juice and the lack of bacon, but also because of how they are prepared.  You carefully peel the leaves off of each teeny tiny mini cabbage and then quickly saute which makes it light and fresh and perfectly in-season.

I will admit, this recipe is a bit time-consuming.  Not in terms of cooking time, but in terms of prepping.  And it's not like it takes an hour or something, just that depending on how big your brussels sprouts are, it could take a while to peel.  However, they are a snap to cook.  So in that sense, they are great for entertaining since you could prep in advance then just quickly saute.  So give this one a shot.  They won't smell, I promise.

Trish's Tips:  Please, please, please do not overcook.  It literally should take only a couple of minutes.  The leaves should look bright and plump and not wilted and tired.

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Lemon & Pistachios
Adapted from Bon Appetit - February 2008

Ingredients:
2 TBL Canola Oil
1 TBL minced shallot
12 large brussels sprouts (about 1 1/2 lbs), trimmed, leaves separated from cores, cores discarded
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
2 TBL fresh lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shallot and stir 20 seconds.  Add brussels sprout leaves and pistachios and saute until leaves begin to soften but are still bright green, about 2-3 minutes.  Drizzle lemon juice over.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to bowl and serve.