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       Volume I - April 18, 2008

Fresh Produce Season is Coming
to a Location Near You…

by Alice Osborne


MORE fresh Spring fruits and veggies installments, along with great corresponding recipes we found on THE FOOD NETWORK:


SPRING Fruits and Veggies:


ASPARAGUS: White or green, the first sight of spring's favorite vegetable truly means that the seasons are changing. With green asparagus, make sure to buy pencil-thin stalks with a bright green color and tips that are still closed and compact as those are both good indications of freshness.

You can bend the stalk to see where it snaps and peel the bottom to avoid any woody, fibrous matter. White asparagus, which enjoys nearly cult-like popularity in Europe, never sees the sun which is how it maintains its pale appearance.

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP

2 pounds medium asparagus (2 bunches), cut in half crosswise
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
6 TBSP unsalted butter
1 medium Spanish onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
7 TBSP all-purpose flour
3 parsley sprigs
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 C heavy cream

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a medium bowl with salted ice water. Working in 2 batches, add the asparagus to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to bowl of ice water. Drain. Reserve 7 1/2 C of cooking liquid.

Thinly slice 18 of the asparagus tips on the diagonal and reserve for a garnishing the soup. Chop the remaining asparagus spears into small pieces.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; cook, covered, stirring until soft, about 12 min. Add flour; cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 min. more.

Pour in reserved asparagus cooking liquid; bring to a boil while whisking constantly. Tie parsley, thyme, and bay leaf together with kitchen twine and add to soup. Lower the heat; simmer 10 min.

Stir in chopped asparagus; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove and discard herb bundle. Working in batches, transfer asparagus mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Using a sieve placed over a large bowl, strain the asparagus soup. Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat.

Whisk the heavy cream and salt into the soup and season with pepper. Divide among warm soup bowls, sprinkle each soup with the reserved asparagus tips, and serve immediately.

        
  Download this recipe.


ASPARAGUS LASAGNA

4 lbs medium asparagus, trimmed
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
1/4 C (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 C flour
1 1/2 C chicken broth, heated
1/2 C water, heated
7 oz. mild goat cheese, such as Montrachet
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest, or to taste
6 (7 by 6 1/4-inch) sheets instant (no-boil) lasagna
1 2/3 C freshly grated Parmesan
1 C heavy cream

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Cut the tips off each asparagus spear and reserve them. Cut the stalks of asparagus into 1/2-inch lengths.

In each of 2 large shallow baking pans, toss half the asparagus stalks with half the oil, and salt to taste coating them well, and roast them, shaking the pans every few minutes, until they are crisp-tender, about 5 to 10 min. Set them aside.

Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees F. In a saucepan melt butter, add flour, and cook the roux over moderately low heat, stirring, 3 min. Add broth and water in a stream, whisking; simmer mixture for 5 min., then whisk in goat cheese, zest, and salt, to taste, whisking until sauce is smooth.

Arrange 1 sheet of pasta in each of buttered 9 by 13-inch baking dishes; spread each sheet with 1/4 of the sauce. Top sauce in each dish with 1/4 of the reserved roasted asparagus, and sprinkle the asparagus with 1/3 C Parmesan. Continue to layer the pasta, sauce, asparagus, and Parmesan in the same manner, ending with a sheet of pasta.

In a bowl beat cream with a pinch of salt until it holds soft peaks. Arrange the reserved asparagus tips on the pasta; spoon cream over pasta and asparagus tips, spreading with the back of a spoon; sprinkle remaining 1/3 C Parmesan on top.

Bake lasagna in the middle of the oven for 30 min. or until it is golden and bubbling; let stand for 10 min. before serving.

        
  Download this recipe.


STRAWBERRIES: Harvested from spring through summer, strawberries are the most popular berries in the world, and actually have as much vitamin C as oranges. We know they make the classic jam for PB & J and taste divine with fresh whipped cream and biscuits or pound cake in strawberry shortcake.

But try adding slices to salad or sprinkling a bit of aged balsamic vinegar on them and giving them a quick grind of black pepper to get a more sweet and savory mix. It's not always a true giveaway, but fresh strawberries will generally smell wonderful and be a vibrant red color. They won't ripen off the vine, so make sure to check for ones that do feel slightly soft and have that great strawberry smell.

STRAWBERRY VOLCANO

1 angel food cake
3 C of vanilla yogurt
2 lbs cut strawberries
Light real whipped cream (NO Cool Whip here!)

Cut cake diagonally; spoon one C yogurt between layers, spoon other two C on top of cake. Wash strawberries and cut into slices. Take the huge stack of cut strawberries and fill center of cake, piling on the top, burying the cake alive, allowing strawberries to spill over the sides. Cut into servings and add whipped cream. It’s a pretty dessert and as health goes, it’s not too bad.

        
  Download this recipe.


STRAWBERRY CLUB SANDWICHES

6 oz. light cream cheese, softened (3/4 of an 8-ounce package)
2 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1 Tbsp honey
1/3 C chopped toasted walnuts
1 preheated pound cake loaf (10 3/4 to 12 ounces), thawed if frozen
2 pint baskets fresh strawberries, stemmed
1/2 C whipping cream, whipped and lightly sweetened

In small bowl beat cheese, orange juice concentrate, honey; blend thoroughly; mix in walnuts. Cut cake into 12 equal slices. Slice 1 basket of the strawberries. Spread 4 slices of cake, on one side, with some of cheese mixture. Top with half of strawberry slices, with more cheese mixture; place on first 4 cake slices. Cover with remaining sliced strawberries.

Spread remaining cake slices, on one side, with remaining cheese mixture; place cheese sides down on sandwiches. Cut diagonally into halves; skewer each with a sandwich pick. Serve sandwiches with remaining strawberries, halved, dividing equally. Dollop with whipped cream; garnish with mint sprigs, if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

        
  Download this recipe.


FROZEN STRAWBERRY SHAKE

No rocket science here. Just freeze some cleaned and stemmed berries. When wanting a shake








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