Grilled Asparagus Soup

We had a wedding at our home a week ago. The marriage took place between the parents of a dear friend of ours. His parents were originally married 50 years ago and unfortunately spilt up when our friend was about 5 years old. After 45 years, this couple reunites and decides to exchange vows .To make a long story short we were left with several pounds of grilled asparagus! So what does one do with several pounds of grilled asparagus…make soup of course! Why am I making soup in June? With the crazy weather we have seen in the past few weeks, you never know when you’ll need a good soup. So here is my new grilled asparagus recipe for you to try…

Into a large blender or food processor add the following:

2-3 pounds of grilled asparagus
2 quarts of chicken stock
2 cups of cooked quinoa
5 cloves of garlic peeled
A medium onion sautéed in a frying pan
½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend until smooth and thin if necessary with additional broth. Put the mixture into a pot and bring to a simmer. After simmering 15 minutes, season with additional salt if needed. Add a dollop of sour or a swirl of cream…great for a cool summer evening!

Asparagus Recipe Contest Winner

I will not be adding one of my recipes this week because I am delighted to hand this week's mouth watering recipe over to our guest Priti, the winner of Bay Area Newsgroup's "A Taste of Home" Asparagus Recipe Contest. We would like to congratulate Priti and thank her for submitting her winning dish! You can find the ingredients and recipe below and can follow along live by watching KRON 4 on Saturday April 30th at 10:00am.

8-10 asparagus spears
8 mini sweet peppers - red/yellow/orange
2 cloves garlic diced and crushed
1 spring rosemary finely chopped
1/4 cup herb goat cheese - crumbled
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Start by washing and trimming the asparagus. Dice the asparagus into 1/4 inch pieces. Warm the skillet over fire then add 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the garlic and fry on low for 30 seconds. Next, add the asparagus and cook on high heat for 2 minutes. The asparagus should be cooked but still firm. It hardly takes 1-2 minutes, because the size of the pieces is very small. Sprinkle the finely chopped rosemary on top. Remove the skillet from the flame. Cut the peppers in half. Spoon the asparagus mixture and fill the cavity of the peppers. Cover with small mounds of goat cheese. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on the peppers and bake in oven at 375 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Serve as appetizer or a side with pasta.

Lamb Sliders

So far in the Bay Area it has rained 21 out of 28 days... it's so nice that it's finally warmed up this week. I spent Sunday with my Mom and daughter at the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show, what a delight! My husband is always a little concerned after my visits to this incredible show over what the “new” landscaping project will be for the summer. I’m thinking about a chicken coop with a sedum covered roof….nothing too fancy of course, I miss having really fresh eggs and I think it will be great for my kids to learn how to handle chickens. I keep you posted on this wish/project…

As promised from my previous blog I’ve written up the recipe for our Lamb Sliders. I cheat a little and add a little ground pork to the lamb mixture for a little more flavor. As with the other lamb dish, asparagus is a great side grilled or blanched and chilled, served with a cucumber yogurt dipping sauce. Or try slicing a whole onion and simmer with balsamic vinegar until soft and spoon the onions over the lamb burger and top with a bun. This is a great tailgate recipe and since we’re getting down to the finals for the NCAA’s and you need to have the guys over, this recipe will be a hit!

Lamb Sliders (serves four)

1 lb of ground lamb

½ lb of ground pork

Fresh flat leave parsley chopped 4 tbls

2 large or 4 cloves of garlic minced

8 slider buns -if you can’t find miniature buns dinner rolls work in a pinch

Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the lamb pork and shallots, parsley salt and pepper in a large bowl and set aside. Heat your barbecue or grill pan so that it is nice and hot.  Form small patties of the lamb mixture so that everyone will have two burgers each. Brush the barbecue or the griddle pan with oil to prevent sticking Brush the sliced buns with butter and lightly toast on a barbecue or griddle then set aside. Cook the burgers for approx 4 minutes on each side for medium well. Garnish with your favorite topping or try a little yogurt with cucumber or the caramelized balsamic onions I mentioned earlier.

Grilled Rack of Lamb with Asparagus

Spring has sprung and so have all the weeds in my vegetable garden. Between the weeds, is the first crop of asparagus ready to be harvested.  I’ve had these roots in my garden for six years now and the asparagus now has the diameter of a nickel. When cooking asparagus this fresh, I love grilling over a barbecue or using a Panini pan and grill indoors and dress with a little garlic, extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. My kids love the fact that asparagus spears are okay to eat with your fingers…according to the Tiffany Book of Table Manners for Teens. A perfect partner this time of year is lamb. We enjoy lamb burgers or chops. This recipe is for the chops.  I’ll send the burgers next week!

2 racks of lamb

1 cup of balsamic vinegar

1 sprig of rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tbsp Kosher salt

1-2 bunches of asparagus

 ¼ cup olive oil plus 2 tbsp olive oil

Marinate the lamb in a plastic food safe bag with the balsamic vinegar, rosemary, olive oil and thyme. 2 hours minimum.

Preheat oven to 375 if using convection or 400 if conventional

Remove lamb from marinade and place in a roasting pan and pop into oven for 25 minutes. While the lamb is roasting, trim the lower third of the asparagus..a good way to tell where to cut is bending the asparagus and seeing where it naturally snaps.  Heat a grilling pan and brush with olive oil. When there is 10 minutes left of cooking time for the lamb start adding the asparagus to the grilling pan. Turn the asparagus so that is has even grill marks on all sides of the asparagus. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Remove the lamb and let stand for 5 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and slice the rack into chops. Serve with your asparagus and maybe a side of potatoes and you are set!

Butternut Squash Soup

My family and I were back east to visit our cousins in Vermont and take in the beautiful fall colors along the way. We stopped along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire, at a local café.  It was a chilly 30 degrees out and the daily special  included their soup of the day which happened to be curried butternut squash. It was so memorable that when I came home I called the restaurant’s owner to see if I could get the recipe . She was happy to share it with me explaining in her distinct New Hampshire  accent that I need to “ really cook the bajeezus out of the squash”

1 large or two small butternut squash seeded and halved

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic

4 cups of low sodium chicken broth

2 cup plus of apple cider to season and to thin the soup if needed

3 tbsp  olive oil

2-3 tbsp curry powder

In a shallow baking pan roast  the bajeezus out of the butternut squash cut side down with a little water in a 350 degree oven until tender approx an hour. Sautee the onions with the oil until tender and set aside until squash is tender. The next step may have to be done in batches unless you have an immersion blender. Peel the cooked squash and add to blender with the onions , add a little broth and blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large soup pot and the additional broth and apple cider. Season with the curry powder ( I like to use a little more and balance it with the cider) Can be served with a dollop of crème fraiche and a sprig of watercress.

Tortellini Soup

With the kid’s indoor sports season coming to an end and T-ball, softball and lacrosse starting up, a warm soup with pasta certainly does the trick to keep everyone happy especially after a tough cold practice during these cooler months. My husband Andy has fond memories growing up in Italy with many such soups. Garlic bread and a green salad will round out the meal. The soup is pretty enough for company as a winter meal starter.

2-tbls. Extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic sliced

1 cup of diced carrots

Fresh ground pepper

6 cups of chicken broth

1 lb tortellini

1 cup of fresh peas

2 tsp. each of Chopped oregano and thyme leaves

1 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion, garlic and carrots and cook until onions are translucent. Season to taste with pepper.

Add broth to pot bring to a boil. Add tortellini and follow package recommendation for cooking time.

During last 3 minutes of cooking add peas.  Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients.

Garnish with parmesan.

Creamy Artichoke Soup

One of our favorite family picnic spots is the beach at Bean Hollow. It’s a picturesque beach just south of Pescadero. We’ll get up early and drive into the town of Pescadero to gather our gourmet picnic items…1^st stop, Arcangeli  Market for their freshly baked artichoke rosemary sourdough bread and some Harley farms goat cheese. Next stop, Duarte’s restaurant for a quart of their creamy artichoke soup and a couple of slices of olallieberry pie. We drive about a mile and a half and set up camp for the afternoon.  The soup at Duarte’s is divine…I always trying to tweak my recipe… I just think it must be the location where it is made…just like it is really hard to get great sough dough outside of the SF bay area.

On occasion we have been known to stop at Duarte’s on the way home for dinner…..

8 frozen or fresh artichoke hearts

1 tbsp. salt plus a little more to taste

3 tbsp. butter

1 large onion chopped

2 tbsp. flour

5 cups of chicken broth

¼ cup whipping cream

Freshly ground black pepper

Cook hearts until tender in boiling, salted water, and then drain.

In a pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add onion and stir until golden. Stir in flour stir for another 4 minutes. Add broth and artichoke hearts, stirs until mixture thickens 15-20 minutes.

Puree mixture with a hand blender or carefully in a blender until smooth. Strain through a mesh strainer and stir in cream.  Season with salt and pepper.