Oops, Asparagus, Cooking, Photography

Correction to yesterday’s blog. The Escargot recipe came from a friend who lives in the Philippines, nothing to do with Singapore. Sorry about that. When she pointed out my mistake, I instantly started thinking of the dish a friend from the Philippines used to make for us – lumpia, a bit like Chinese spring rolls. I could eat some of those right now.

Because I was running late yesterday, I forgot to mention that Emeril Lagasse was doing asparagus recipes on Good Morning America. One was a risotto. To me it was a shrimp risotto with asparagus and was probably delicious, but an asparagus only risotto is delicious too. He started by making a stock with shrimp shells, I tried that and we didn’t think it tasted of anything much at all, very disappointing. He did come up with one dish which I liked the sound of, so I have posted it below.

Last night I made an asparagus risotto for us which was very good. We will have leftovers tonight, don’t tell anyone. You are definitely not supposed to re-heat a risotto. Also tonight, Matt is going to make the Asparagus Phyllo Bundles which I really like, the recipe for which I published on May 10 this year. It is a Paula Deen recipe and we have made it innumerable times over the years.

As for the risotto, I make it fairly simply. I cook a pound of asparagus until it is almost done, I then allow it to cool somewhat. Meanwhile I sauté 1 Tbs of finely chopped onion in about 1 oz. of butter and a little olive oil until translucent. I chop up the asparagus in 1“ pieces, reserving the tips. I add 1 cup of arborio rice and the asparagus to the onion. Allow them to sauté for a minute or two then start adding hot chicken stock slowly, about a ladle full at a time stirring constantly until the rice has absorbed 4 cups of stock. This takes around 25 minutes, do not add more stock until the previous addition has been absorbed. I then remove the pan from the heat, stir in another ounce of butter, 2 Tbs of Parmesan cheese and the asparagus tips. Check for seasoning and serve. Delicioso.

Been talking, on Facebook, about food photography. Must admit I don’t do a lot of it, I cheat and get pictures from the web a lot of the time, but I do take pictures of things I cook now and again. I am not a very good photographer unfortunately, whatever I am taking a picture of. I guess I will have to try a bit harder with my food pix. The viewer is supposed to want to eat what you show. It is an undoubted fact that a cookbook with good photographs is more inspiring than one without any. If you know what its supposed to look like it is more encouraging.

Emeril's Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette

From the Kitchen of Emeril Lagasse

Servings: 6

Can't figure out what to make for dinner? Give this salad a try.

Ingredients

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced shallot
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and steamed until just tender
1/3 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar, shallot, mustard, salt and pepper. While continuing to whisk, add the vegetable oil
in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. Whisk in the walnut oil.

Place asparagus on platter and pour dressing over asparagus. Garnish with walnuts and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.

This recipe was styled by chef Karen Pickus for Good Morning America.

Have a great weekend and for Canadians, happy Victoria Day.

Brain Surgery, Winter Life, Cell Phones,

An incredible story on Good Morning America yesterday, a professional violinist, Roger Frisch played his violin for the surgeons whilst they operated on his brain. In fact, Frisch had been suffering from essential tremors which made violin playing impossible so the surgeons needed to see what happened when they stimulated different parts of his brain. Once they were satisfied they planted an electrode in his brain which will send out stimulating signals and allow him to resume his concert career. If you want to read the story follow this link. http://abcnews.go.com/WN/WorldNews/cutting-edge-treating-tremors-deep-brain-stimulation/story?id=10138705&page=1 There are several videos about the operation too. This was of particular interest to us because of the tremors Matt has been suffering from. No-one really knows what causes them, they just happen two or three times, disappear and then come back again several weeks later.

On GMA weekend, they feature various areas of the States and one picture which really captured me was the one of Grand Teton National Park, the sunset on the snow was so beautiful. North America as a whole has such beautiful areas. If you live in a town, you tend to forget although we are lucky overlooking a park and we see some gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, but we don't have any mountains in this area and they make a scene so majestic. Of course, now we don't have any snow left although there are murmurs of snow this evening, I really hope not. Talking of snow and weather, we have been having very warm temperatures lately hitting double digits regularly this week. This morning there was a news report of people having to be rescued from a lake because they had been ice sailing. Surprise, surprise, the ice wasn't thick enough any more. In fact I am surprised it has been thick enough at all this winter. Then another report of more snow mobilers being killed in an avalanche in the back country of B.C. Don't they read reports, do they think it can't happen to them? What is the matter with people? There have been several people killed already in avalanches in B.C. this winter and notices are posted about unsafe conditions. Not only do these people kill themselves but cause danger to other people who have to go and try a rescue.

There is now a new medical condition, text rage!!! A youngster beat a girl he didn't know, almost to death because of something she texted. The story was, his girlfriend didn't have a cell phone so he texted her best friend, said best friend didn't approve of the relationship and made some comments I gather so he went and found her to - in his words - kill her. According to a psychologist this kind of thing is happening because people are no longer in contact f2f which apparently he said would diffuse the situation. I don't pretend to understand it all, but it seems to me all wrong the way people live these days constantly texting rather than actually communing with one another.

Mother's Day is coming up fast in this part of the world, and Emeril Lagasse is planning his breakfast in bed for some lucky lady. One has to send in entries explaining why your mom should qualify. So, Emeril was on GMA weekend this morning cooking breakfast - this is one of the recipes he prepared today, I thought they looked pretty good. Biscuits are very similar to scones as served in England.

Buttermilk-Scallion Biscuits with Eggs and Griddled Ham Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients For the biscuits: 2 cups self-rising flour 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk 1/3 cup grated sharp cheddar 2 tablespoons minced scallions, white and green parts 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper For the eggs: 8 large eggs 2 tablespoons whole milk 2 tablespoons chopped chives 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the ham:

8 2-ounce slices honey baked ham 4 teaspoons butter Cooking Directions Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl add the flour and the butter. Using your fingers, a pastry blender or two forks, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and mix gently just until it comes together into a dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured cutting board and knead for 1 minute. Roll the dough out to ½ inch thickness, using your hands form the dough into a rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with the cheddar cheese, scallions and black pepper. Fold the dough into thirds just like a letter. Roll the dough out to ½ inch thickness and fold into thirds again. Gently roll the dough into a rectangle and, using a sharp knife, cut into 8 equal size square biscuits. Place the biscuits on a baking sheet; brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining 2 tablespoons of buttermilk. Transfer the biscuits to the oven and bake until puffed and golden brown on top, about 12 minutes. While the biscuits are baking, prepare the scrambled eggs by whisking together the eggs, whole milk, chopped chives, salt and pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the butter. Swirl the butter around the pan and then add the eggs. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the eggs are soft and creamy and just set in large curds, 1 1/2 minutes for soft scrambled to 2 minutes for a hard scramble. Remove from the heat. Heat a griddle pan or large skillet over medium high heat and add 2 teaspoons of the butter. Once the pan is hot and the butter has melted, add 4 slices of ham to the pan and cook for 1 ½ minutes per side, or until the ham is a golden brown. Remove the ham from the pan, fold into quarters and repeat with the remaining ham slices. Split the biscuits in half and place on a large serving platter. Spoon the egg mixture onto the bottom portions of the biscuits, top with a slice of ham, and arrange the tops to make sandwiches. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 breakfast "sandwiches"

Have a great day

Breakfast in Bed, Connie Culp, Asparagus.

This morning was Emeril Lagasse's traditional Breakfast in Bed (sponsored by GMA) for a mother selected from hundreds of applications. They turn up on her doorstep and bring a bed with them which they put out in the front yard. Not sure what they do if it rains. This morning I felt so very sorry for the poor woman chosen. She had to watch video of her son who had recently died of cancer. She was crying her eyes out and ended up on TV with no makeup at all and crying more when she saw all her neighbours had turned up. Great Mother's Day gift 'here's breakfast, have a good cry'. I didn't watch the rest of it, but I hope she at least enjoyed her breakfast. I tend to get annoyed when people's grief is paraded on TV for everyone else to see. But I guess most people can always say no to the interviewer. They had another interview with the woman who had the first face transplant; she has a wonderful sense of humour. She found a blemish on her nose which she was concerned about then realised "I haven't had a nose for 5 years and now I am worrying about a pimple". Very brave, courageous woman. She says she still loves her husband and forgives him. I sure wouldn't if I had been shot in the face and had to endure years of agony. He shot himself too, pity he didn't succeed. He is now in prison. She will end up looking a lot better than she does now, but she will never look like the pretty woman she was. If you would like to see the interview its at this site where you will see how upbeat she is most of the time. I can't let asparagus season go by without publishing one of my favourite recipes of all time. Asparagus Pesto. We got the recipe originally from Food and Drink by the LCBO and we make a batch every year, freeze it and then eat it throughout the year. Matt occasionally has it on a muffin for an evening snack and we frequently serve it as a starter. Asparagus Pesto Toasts 1 lb trimmed green asparagus 1 cup toasted walnut halves (I used pecans) 4 cloves garlic, peeled 2 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup olive oil 2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan Freshly ground pepper 1 Cook asparagus until just tender. Refresh in cold water, then drain and dry well. Place asparagus, walnuts, garlic and salt in food processor. Process until blended. 2 With motor running, gradually add olive oil, then add cheese and pepper. Blend together and check seasoning. Place in covered bowl. 3 We freeze this in ice cube trays, then wrap the cubes in pairs (separated by Saran wrap) and put in a bag in the freezer until we need it. Have a great day.

The Queen, Missing, $15 Challenge

Matt just came to me and said "The Queen is 83 today if you want to put it into your blog" so here you are. Today is her real birthday although her official birthday is in June. Probably too damned cold to troop the colours in April. It is also my cousin's birthday today. I can remember staying with them in 1952 on the morning of April 21 and hearing the anthem being played for the queen's birthday, for the first time and my cousins trying to convince me that it was being played for them. I wasn't that dumb a 14 yr. old although I am sure my cousins thought I was. To me they were muuuuch older. Missing children are very much in the news at the moment, although the body of the little girl, Sandra Cantu, in California was found. Linda Huckaby, a Sunday School Teacher, has been charged with the crime. It now appears that something similar happened to another little girl in the same vicinity a couple of months ago although no-one was ever charged with anything, they think it was Huckaby. That child came home safely. There is another little girl missing closer to home and so far there are no clues whatsoever as to what has happened to her. This time it is 8 yr old Victoria "Tori" Stafford who is missing from the Woodstock vicinity after having been seen on a video accompanying an unknown woman. There have been flyers and emails distributed about her, but so far absolutely nothing apart from thousands of leads which have all been useless to date. What the parents are going through I cannot imagine. I mentioned last week that top chefs were going to be challenged to produce a dinner for four from $15 worth of groceries. Yesterday it was Mario Batali and today it was Emeril Lagasse. The recipes they produced can all be found on the GMA website - this is the list of ingredients Sam Champion bought for Emeril

Fresh spinach

Red tomatoes on the vine

Yellow onions

Empire apples

Dry black beans

Dry pinto beans

Creme fraiche

Someone twittered to say how could you cook dry beans without soaking, which was my question too, but Emeril explains how to quick cook beans. As the chefs are working, they have someone there writing down the recipes as they go along. Each chef is also provided with a pantry and it seems a lot of use is being made of said pantry. This morning we got black bean soup, what looked like a south western bean salad and an apple bread pudding. There was lots of joking because Emeril had been given no meat of any kind. Jack Hanna, the Director Emeritus from the Columbia Zoo had rabbits with him today and someone joked that Emeril was after them for his meal. The recipes are not actually up for today yet. In fact I can't find the recipes for yesterday either. I know Mario made his white grape juice into a sangria and made a risotto with the chicken and rice which Diane bought. Maybe they will have all the recipes at the end of the challenge. I know there are people who don't enjoy cold soups, I happen to love them, even if its only opening a can of beef Consommé which has been in the fridge and got jellied. I always keep 4 cans as I love it. Once upon a time the only soup around seemed to be Vichysoisse, but these days you see more and more recipes for cold soup. When we were in David's the other day I picked up a booklet from them which included a recipe for Cool Cucumber Soup which came from the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers web site. Cool Cucumber Soup Serves 6 This soup is simple to prepare and the ingredients are very easy to find year-round. Recommended with a glass of white wine. 4 Ontario Greenhouse seedless cucumbers 1 medium onion 1 small clove of garlic 1/2 Cup fresh parsley, stems removed 2 drops Worcestershire sauce Dash of lemon juice 1 Tbs each, thyme and oregano 2 Cups sour cream salt and pepper to taste In a blender or food processor, combine the cucumbers, onion, garlic and parsley in small batches. (Hint: pre-chopping makes the first 3 ingredients blend better). Add Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, herbs and sour cream. Purée and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill before serving. Garnish with a few chopped chives, parsley and/or a slice of lemon or cucumber. Have a great day.

Routers, Movies and Eggs in a Cup.

I had no internet connection this morning. Turned out it was my router which wasn't talking to my modem. Will have to check it out later, haven't time right now. At least my modem is still happily chatting to my computer and the internet. Its a bowling day again, so not sure when I will get round to fixing it. Problem is, although I do have an anti-virus system, routers are supposed to work even better. That apart, I was going to mention that one of the TV channels here, Turner Classic Movies, has been running Oscar films for a month. The film itself doesn't have to have had an Oscar, but someone has to have won something. Last night they showed The African Queen. Humphrey Bogart got the Oscar for his part. I haven't seen this movie in years and had forgotten what it was all about. The only scene I remembered was Humpty Gocart in the water, pulling the boat through the reeds and Katherine Hepburn looking over the bow at him. What a super movie it is. I really enjoyed it. Technically there were one or two small things, but the basic story was still excellent. I was hesitant to watch it again, but I am so glad I did. This morning on GMA, Emeril Lagasse, who is one of our well know TV cooks here, did breakfast for the crew - it was a promotion for the upcoming Mother's Day breakfast which they have been doing for a number of years - and made what he called "Eggs in a Cup". To me it almost looked the same as Convent Eggs which I have been making for years. He mentioned shirred eggs which is an old egg recipe that very few make any more. But I guess these recipes both stem from those. My Convent Eggs are served for hors d'oeuvres and are always very popular although no real reason they couldn't be served for breakfast. Just never thought of it before. I have actually published this recipe before, but having seen Emeril this morning, I thought I would publish it again. If you would like to see Emeril's recipe go to GMA to find it. Convent Eggs Cordon Bleu Cook Book Butter for greasing ramekins 2 eggs 2 Tbs heavy cream salt and pepper OPTIONAL ½ oz Brie ½ oz chopped ham Shu Chan's (friend) Options sautéed leeks Parmesan Cheese 1 Butter the ramekins then put in cheese and ham if using. Slide an egg into each ramekin, season and add 1 tbs of cream. Bake for 8 minutes at 350F 2 Alternatively add leeks to bottom of ramekin and sprinkle eggs with Parmesan Servings: 2 Have a great day.

Warnings, Emeril, Gifts.

This morning on Good Morning America they mentioned an email which is currently circulating telling you not to buy gift cards from certain stores. Much to my surprise, when I opened up my emails, there it was. Apparently it is partly true - there are some stores which are in financial trouble, but not all the stores which are on the email list are unsound. It is true that Circuit City is already in bankruptcy although they say they are continuing in business. The recommendation was to buy sale products from them but not gift cards which might, or might not, be valid later on. There doesn't seem to be anything about it on the web site right now, but there should be later today or tomorrow. One comment about gift cards, there are something like 8 million cards which never get used every year. To me a gift card suggests you are not putting any thought into what that person would like. I believe a gift should be something you would love to have but would never buy for yourself. Of course as a couple getting older it becomes more difficult because you have probably given all the gifts, which are within your budget, to one another not to mention that one's budget has likely shrunk a little. They have had Emeril Lagasse (a very popular TV cook and restaurant owner) on Good Morning America for several shows giving recipes for must have Thanksgiving Dinner items. You can find his recipes here. Some of them appeal to us, others would be way too sweet for our pallets. It is a fact the Americans do love to eat such things. Today it was a recipe with sweet potatoes and marshmallows. I have eaten a dish like that, it did not appeal to me. I do like sweet food, but for dessert, not as a vegetable dish to go with turkey. That said, I sometimes eat cranberry with my turkey. A tip I read in World Wide Recipes yesterday, if you serve canned cranberry sauce, use a melon baller to make it look pretty in a dish and to disguise the can shape which is not attractive. I never really read this little book, Best Ever Christmas, which was sent to me years ago, and I am finding all kinds of delightful recipes which I think I will try. I love beetroot (known as beets here) and have just come across the following recipe which I shall be trying pretty soon. Beetroot and Ginger Relish Makes about 4 cups 6 medium beetroot (1 kg) 1 cup sugar 2 cups white wine vinegar 1 onion, chopped 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), chopped 2 green apples, peeled, chopped 2 tsp grated fresh ginger 1 tbs dry mustard. Place whole, unpeeled beets in a large pan, cover with water, bring to boil, cover, reduce heat to low, cook 45 minutes or until beetroot is tender, drain. Peel beets and cut into small cubes (1 cm). Combine sugar, vinegar, onion, capsicum, apple, ginger and mustard in large pan, bring to boil, reduce heat to low, cook uncovered for 15 minutes or until reduced by half. Add beets, cook 10 minutes. Spoon into hot, sterilised jars, seal while hot. Note: store relish in fridge for up to 1 month. Not suitable for freezing. Have a great day.