Asparagus: A Love Affair (Part Two)

Last night, I put those remaining asparagus stalks to good use and turned them into a soup. First I sauteed a small yellow onion, roughly chopped, three cloves of garlic, and 1 tsp of finely minced thyme leaves in olive oil. Then I added the diced asparagus (into 1/2 inch chunks) and let it heat up for 5-10 minutes. Next, I added a combination of chicken stock and water, and let it simmer for 30 minutes. I added salt and pepper, and used an immersion blender to puree it in the pot. Final touches included a squeeze of lemon, and a cookie-dough-sized scoop of sour cream with a few sprinkled of grated Gruyere cheese for garnish.

Recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cream-of-asparagus-soup-creme-dasperges-104746

Asparagus: A Love Affair (Part One)

Why have I not noticed up until now how lovely asparagus is as a vegetable? A tray of gorgeous asparagus caught my eye in the grocery store yesterday, and I decided to search for a recipe that would suit my impulse purchase. I settled on these gorgeous roasted mushroom and asparagus tarts using puff pastry sheets from Bon Appetit!

My modifications:

• I cut off the asparagus spears, and put the stalks away in the fridge to use for soup later on (most likely tonight).
• I could not find creme fraiche anywhere, so I substituted half sour cream and half plain, non-flavoured yoghurt. 
• I used shiitake mushrooms, and roasted them for ten minutes in hot butter. The smell and nutty, buttery, meaty taste that came off of these was incredible!
• Puff pastry sheets are super easy to use! I thawed them for 40 minutes on my countertop, and then they were so easy to roll out and cut for the tarts.
• This recipe is very versatile and open to changes. Besides the veggies and cream, I added in grated Gruyere cheese, lemon zest, fresh thyme (chopped very finely), salt and pepper. Simple, but elegant and delicious!

Stay tuned for Part Two: Asparagus Soup!

Recipe Link: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/asparagus-and-mushroom-tarts

Mini Vanilla Bundt Cakes With Chocolate-Amaretto Glaze!

At some point over the last three years, I purchased this adorable mini Bundt cake pan.

Source: http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Mini-Cavity-Fluted-Pan/dp/B0045Y17JU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1432822003&sr=8-2&keywords=mini+bundt+cake+pan

I've used it a grand total of once before this past weekend. To make (of all things) cheesy spinache quiche mini Bundts. Why? No idea.

Last weekend, I FINALLY put it to good use, and made mini vanilla Bundt cakes, and topped them with a chocolate Amaretto glaze.

Recipe: http://technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com/2012/06/amaretto-glazed-chocolate-cake.html