Growing up in the Midwest, one of my favorite places to hang out in midsummer was the asparagus patch at the back of our huge garden. The asparagus itself was not the draw, as by that time the slender shoots had given way to billowing, fern-like shrubs, dotted with tiny red berries. In that dense […]

Grilled Asparagus with Meyer Lemon Dressing

Shrimp Quenelles
When I was ten years old I started collecting old cookbooks and cooking magazines from the local used bookstore, and I amassed quite a large collection. I had a fairly complete set of old Gourmet magazines, as well as a strange variety of cookbooks, ranging from spiral-bound, regional fair collections to James Beard and Julia […]

Asparagus and Artichoke Gratin
Gratins are generally thought of as cold-weather fare, but the technique works beautifully with these spring vegetables. There are a few steps involved here, but do not be dissuaded. It’s pretty simple. My go-to method for steaming asparagus is to remove the woody ends, wash, and wrap in damp paper towels. Microwave for five minutes […]

Vanilla Rum Berry Tarts
In January you may recall that I gave up sugar. Cold turkey, no looking back. Still, I have not completely given up on dessert, and this represents a lovely little dessert that does actually contain some refined sugar (it’s in the rum), but it is minimal, and a serving of this weighs in at only […]

Artichokes with Saffron-Orange Hollandaise
Fall is without doubt my favorite season in terms of weather, beauty, and that eternal feeling of starting something new that lingers with geeky types who got excited about the new school year (yes, I was one of those). Spring, however, is my favorite season for produce. Asparagus, berries, and artichokes rank really high on […]

Fresh Asparagus in Parmesan Frico
Recently my blogging friend Lisa posted a recipe for Black Pepper Parmesan Frico that had me running to the Cheese Importers to get a big bag of parm. I used to make these easy little cheese crackers a lot, but like a lot of other things I moved on and sort of forgot about them. […]