Puff Pastry Asparagus

Well, it’s spring and that means ASPARAGUS is in season!  Here’s a great appetizer for parties using puff pastry and these little green gifts from the earth.  I like to dip them in a spicy mustard.  My friends and family LOVE THESE, and yours will too!

Recipe:

Ingredients

• Fresh locally grown asparagus
• Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets
• 1 farm fresh egg

Instructions

1. Defrost pastry sheets. Trim the bottom of the asparagus stems, rinse, drain on towel.
2. Preheat oven @ 375⁰.
3. In small bowl or cup, mix egg and set aside.
4. Unfold pastry sheets, separate at perforations, cut each strip into 3 inch sections.
5. Place asparagus spear at end of cut pastry sheet, roll to close, pinch together at seam.  Place on parchment lined baking tray seam side down. Brush pastry portion lightly with egg wash.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes until puffy & golden brown.
7. Serve warm with Dijon mustard or dipping favorite dipping sauce.

Ladies Only

As many of you know I have chickens.  I love my chickens. They love me back.  I proudly come from farmer stock and must have inherited this from my farmer Grandparents Cecelia and Stuart Root.  Well, the farm now has nine new fluffy White Leghorn chicks (there were 16 but sad to say we lost 7 which often happens.)  Below are a few pics of the young ladies. Ladies only! When I first had chickens I had three horny roosters whom I called the Three Tenors.  Well, that trio didn’t last long. The trio went to a duet, then a solo act then…silence. Ahhhh.  I think the day I butchered that last rooster all the ladies lit up a cigarette and had cocktails in celebration.  They’re now a very content and peaceful all-girl colony.

If you ever decide to embark on chickens be ready for your ladies BEFORE they arrive. Identify your pen location, place your heat lamp and prep your starter food and waterer. When you get a call from the post office that your ladies “have arrived”, go immediately to pick them up or you’ll lose some of your flock.  They are VERY fragile in these first few days of life. Place them under a heat lamp with “just the right” heat ratio.  My lamp is usually about three feet above the girls. For my pen, I use a galvanized stockade water trough.  Where do I get my ladies? I always order mine from Murray McMurray Hatchery  (www.mcmurrayhatchery.com) whom I’ve used for years. They are the most accurate “sexers.” Sexers?  Yes SEXERS!  That means they ensure that you don’t get any roosters!

Wonder Eggs

Summary: “This recipe was passed down to me from my mom who used to make this egg dish for us as a special treat when we were good kid. This is the perfect dish to make with the kids!”

Ingredients

• 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow pepper, coarsely chopped
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 loaf WHITE Wonder Bread…no crusts
• 1 dozen eggs
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Saute peppers and onion until slightly undercooked. Set aside.
2. In a greased baking dish, cover the bottom with Wonder Bread slices.
3. Lightly whip eggs and milk and pour over bread pieces.
4. One ingredient per line.
5. Top with cooked peppers and onion, salt and pepper to taste, and then sprinkle with a thick layer of the shredded cheddar cheese.
6. Bake until fluffy and slightly golden brown on top, approximately 40 minutes.

Food for Thought:

You should feel open to adding any options you want to this versatile dish. Try salsa on top with a dollop of sour cream. Add 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to the egg mixture, pre-cooked bacon bits or sausage or even steamed broccoli and peas….endless possibilities. GET CREATIVE!

Devils on Horseback

Summary: “Sweet meets Savory in Heaven…OHHHHH MY GOODNESS!”

Ingredients

• 24 large prunes, pitted
• 24 cubes of Manchego cheese
• 12 slices bacon, cut into 2-inch lengths

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
3. Place a small cube of cheese into each pitted prune then wrap with bacon and place on baking sheet seam side down. Make sure that the seam of the bacon overlaps so it can seal together.
4. Bake until bacon is cooked through, about 20 -25 minutes.

Quick notes

You can use figs or dates instead of prunes. Instead of cheese, stuff with almonds or pecans!

Sweet Piggies

Summary :“Perhaps the sweetest piggy I have ever tasted.”

Ingredients

• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 pound thinly sliced bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a broiler pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, and position broiler rack on top of pan. Brush the rack with the vegetable oil.
2. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and garlic powder in a bowl, stirring to mix well. Coat each side of bacon firmly into the spiced sugar. Arrange the slices of bacon on top of the broiler rack in a single layer.
3. Bake until the bacon is crisp and the sugar is bubbly, 16-18 minutes or until bacon is very dark and crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then to a plate or serving dish to cool. (Can be made several hours ahead) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Number of servings (yield): 6

Roasted Corn and Mango Salad

Summary: “The longer it sits, the better it gets”

Ingredients

• 8 ears of locally grown sweet corn (you can use frozen corn as well!)
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
• 1 large cucumber, diced
• 1 bunch green onions, diced
• 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Juice of 2 limes
• Coarse salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Peel back husks to remove silk from corn, LEAVING HUSKS ON. Smooth husks back over cobs of corn.
2. Light an outdoor grill to medium heat or, if using a charcoal grill, light coals and wait until coals are covered in a light ash.
3. Place corn on grill and cook until tender and somewhat charred on the outside and a little on the inside. this gives the salad a subtle smoky flavor) about 10-12 minutes.
4. Remove corn from grill. Let cool. While corn is cooling, combine all remaining ingredients in large bowl and set aside.
5. Slice corn off the cob into a serving bowl, making sure kernels are separate and not clumping together.
6. Combine corn with remaining ingredients, toss and allow to sit in refrigerator for 8 hours or more before serving.
7. The longer it sits, the better it gets!

Quick notes

Toss in with salad greens Serve as a side with chicken, ribs or fish Serve in a cheese quesadilla Serve as a salsa with chips Mix into scrambled eggs with salsa

Number of servings (yield): 8

Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Summary : “So easy to make. Tangy with a little kicker and great on all meats!”

Serves: about 2 cups of “Q” sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 cup ketchup
• ½ Cup of apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 4 Tbsps of molasses
• 4 Tbsps of soy sauce
• 2 Tbsps Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1-3 chipoltle pepper(s) finely chopped (1=mild, 2=medium, 3 =hot)

Instructions

1. Whisk together all ingredients in a saucepan and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat so that sauce is reduced.
2. Let cool.
3. Keeps for 2 weeks in a tight-lidded jar.

Quick notes

Brush BBQ sauce on meat the last 5 minutes of cooking. This will prevent burning and the flavor will hold better. Use Goya brand Chipoltes in Adodbo Sauce…mmmmmmm! If you want more kick add more chipotles.

Chocolate Zucchini Yogurt Cake

Summary : “This is perhaps the best chocolate cake you will ever have. It reminds me of the cake that Miss Marie used to make for me as a child.”

Ingredients

• 4 oz of unsweetened dark chocolate morsels
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened Cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ cup softened organic butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup yogurt
• 3 cups grated zucchini (with skins)

Instructions

1. Pre heat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans
2. On medium heat, combine chocolate and oil and mix until thoroughly melted and set aside
3. Sift dry ingredients (except for sugar) and set aside
4. Cream butter and sugar in a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add melted chocolate mixture followed by yogurt. Add dry mixture 1/3 cup at a time. Fold zucchini until fully combined.
5. Bake for 40 minutes on center oven rack. Insert metal knife into one of the cakes, it should come out clean.
6. Cool on racks then frost with Coop’s Orgasmic Frost or blend fresh raspberries and drizzle in between and over layers. Garnish with fresh mint.