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Due to technical difficulties, I had to move my blog. The address is the same, but I lost my followers :( If you're here because you follow my blog, you're going to have to go to the moved blog and click to follow me again.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Handmade croutons

One of the reasons I like to eat salads is that I LOVE to eat croutons. The way they absorb the dressing, yet still crunch in your mouth makes my stomach growl just thinking about it. As it turns out, they're easy to make and a great way to find a second, and delicious, life for old bread. You can modify the ingredients to include more spices, healthy bread, or even a little less fat or salt.

Ingredients:

• 1 C cubed bread
• 1 T butter
• 1 T olive oil
• salt and garlic powder to taste

Instructions:
If you've got bread that's as hard as a rock and not even a chisel can make a dent, wrap the bread in a moist towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds. This will temporarily rehydrate the bread. Don't do this too much as it will make the bread too hard when it cools down.

Cut the bread into small cubes, about 1/2 inch cubed.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl. Throw in the bread and mix until all the pieces are covered in fat. Turn down the heat to medium. When the pieces start to brown on the bottom, toss around, trying to get some of the pieces to turn over. Sprinkle with salt and garlic powder and toss some more.

Take off the heat while you make your salad or soup or whatever needs crunchy goodness on top.

This is about a single serving for me. Make more, based on how much bread you have. You can make these ahead of eating and store in an airtight container for about a week. If they get too soggy, throw them on a cookie sheet under the broiler for a minute or so.

Asparagus three ways

While at the farmer's market last weekend, I came across the harbinger of spring: asparagus. After seeing the green beacon, I started to notice all the other signs of spring: blooming trees, daffodils, and my boyfriend putting his computer aside and saying, "Hey, let's go to the park."

To celebrate spring, I wanted to make something to showcase the light, playful vegetable. This dish starts with a simple asparagus risotto in combination with seared asparagus and topped with deep fried asparagus strands and a light lemon butter. Sorry to those still buried in 6 feet of snow - don't worry, you'll be able to eat this dish soon.

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 C arborio rice
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1/4 C white wine
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 C broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 3+ C water
• 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 half lemon (juiced, about 2 T)
• 4 T butter, cut into small pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 C canola oil (or other frying oil)

Instructions:
In a medium sauce pan heat the olive oil over a medium high flame. Add the garlic and saute till translucent. Add the rice and stir till all the grains are completely covered in oil. Add the white wine and allow to cook into the rice. Add the broth and the lemon zest and mix thoroughly. As the liquid cooks down, replace with a half cup of water and stir. Keep doing this for about a half hour until the risotto is the right consistency.

Meanwhile, cut the tough ends off the asparagus. With a few of the larger ones, use a vegetable peeler to create asparagus strips. Then cut the last few inches off the rest of the asparagus. Cut the ends into 1 cm pieces and microwave in water for 3 minutes till tender.

About five minutes before serving put the asparagus tips in a large frying pan with olive oil over high heat. Sprinkle with salt and cover. After a minute shake the pan to move the asparagus around. Cook for a few more minutes and then turn off the heat. Leave covered.

Heat the lemon juice over a medium flame and slowly whisk in the butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take off flame.

Meanwhile, heat the frying oil over high heat in a small pan (if you have a frier, heat it up so that it's ready to go right before everything else is done). Add the asparagus strips to the hot oil for about 3 minutes, or until crisp.

Strain the microwaved asparagus and add that and the Parmesan to the risotto and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Place the risotto in the center of a plate with the seared asparagus to the side. Drizzle with the lemon butter. Top with the crisp asparagus strands.

Happy birthday

Growing up, I always hated that my birthday often coincided with the Super Bowl. It's really hard for people to focus on you when there's pigskin flying in the background. Every year I am given a reprieve from the co-opting of my day, I definitely take advantage and celebrate. This year there was extra reason to celebrate - a big move to San Francisco and I've almost reached the one year mark of the start of this blog.

The good news is that I've been able to post most of the recipes just in time for Super Bowl Sunday:

• Stuffed mushrooms
• Mini quiches
• Spinach dip
• Sweet potato fries
• Truffle roasted nuts
• Braised artichoke hearts

I chose these items based on what I could get at my local farmer's market. It's not as easy in Green Bay or Pittsburg, but still possible to find some morsels locally. Potatoes should be available, so fries and chips are easy crowd pleasers. Also, mushrooms are typically grown in the winter as far north as Pennsylvania. So go to your local farmers market or peruse the local section of your grocery store and think creative snacks.

Stuffed mushrooms

I remember my mom making stuffed mushrooms when I was a kid. Mine is a much more simplified recipe, but the smell still warms the house like hers did. While most recipes add stuffing and cheese, this recipe simply uses meat. However, to ensure happy, pasture raised pigs, I had to make my own sausage. The key to Italian sausage is the fennel seeds.

Surprisingly, fennel doesn't make the meat taste at all like licorice. Instead, it adds the high notes to balance the salt and the spice of the hot pepper.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 t salt
• 1 t powdered garlic
• 1/4 t ground black pepper
• 1-3/4 t ground paprika
• 2 t vegetable oil
• 1/5 t fennel seed
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes
• 40 white mushrooms

Instructions:
Add the spices to the meat and mix well. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight.

Remove the stalks of the mushrooms. Trim the edges from the caps.

Fill each cap with meat. Cook in an oven preheated to 425ºF for about 30 minutes. Garnish with Italian parsley.