roasted asparagus
Posted: April 24, 2011 Filed under: misc and amusing, Recipes 1 Comment »
It’s Easter. I don’t come from a family that really celebrates the holiday outside of having an excuse to have a picnic, bask in the springtime, and buy lots of candy. When I was a child, traditions hinged upon a manic race to find plastic eggs filled with pennies and candy eating and asparagus. Apparently I come from an asparagus family…whatever that means. It was always around, in or out of season: my grandmother would go rabid at the sight of it at the grocery store. The woman loved her asparagus. I vividly remember her slurping the long strands of boiled, green vegetable dripping in melted butter like steamers. It always made me a little queasy. Boiled asparagus, not my grandmother.
However, now that I am older and wiser and fully capably of slapping my veggies in a broiler, life is better. Asparagus and I have an excellent relationship, especially when olive oil and sea salt are involved.
Roasted Asparagus
1 bunch of asparagus (I use a medium-thickness stalk)
1 tbs olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste
Easiest recipe in the world. Wash the asparagus stalks and trim an inch to an inch and a half off the bottom. You can reserve these for a longer cooking process (they are a bit tough if left on here). Line a baking or broiler pan with tin foil and lay-out the stalks in a nice row. Drizzle with the olive oil and give a toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any herbs to taste.
If using a broiler: Put the asparagus under the broiler for 3 minutes or so– just until the surface begins to darken a little. Turn over and repeat.
If using an oven: Heat up the oven to 400F. Cook the asparagus for approx. 6-8 minutes depending on the size of the stalks and the closeness of the pan to the heating elements. Turn the asparagus over and cook for the same period of time. The cooking in the oven will be slower, definitely, and will yield a less-crispy and more tender stalk.
madness and bacon fat
Posted: April 2, 2011 Filed under: misc and amusing 1 Comment »
con carne?
So this morning, as I wake up out of a shortbread-testing coma, I read an email from Ben, fellow fig + kindler, chef, and twin. Now the thing about working with your twin, who happens to be hilarious, verbally dexterous, and cynical, is that communication tends to go unfiltered. Why should it be anything less? Why hide your ideas and dreams from someone you have spent your whole life with…even if those dreams come in the form of rendered bacon fat?
Here is a short excerpt from this brief, yet enlightening morning message:
Two things.
First
- bacon is the “ballsiest” of all meat products, thus when using bacon for
cooking one must not be a pussy! Sprinkling bacon bits onto shortbread does not bacon shortbread make. What you NEED to do is replace that pound of fresh butter on a 1:1 ratio with rendered bacon fat, and acknowledge .
Second
- Toaster is broken… F*** F*** F*** F***!! I’m toasting bagels with the
brulee torch tomorrow because I am NOT going to the farm without my morning
bagel
As always, a pleasure to read. I don’t think we’ll be making bacon fat shortbread…unless the man wants to take over that job.
