Now I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t point out that asparagus is very much fresh and in season right now.  I am a firm believer in cooking foods that are in their peak and this is a great recipe to highlight the deliciousness that is fresh asparagus.  Just make sure when purchasing that all of the asparagus in the bunch are about the same size – so either all skinny or all thick.  For this recipe I prefer thinner asparagus.

This recipe is completed with the Tangy Walnut Vinaigrette posted on this site.  I’ll repeat the recipe and ingredients so you don’t have to bounce between recipes or print out extra pages.  Just know if you like the dressing the recipe is available on its own.

Asparagus and Wild Rice Salad – 1 Knife (Adapted from The New York Times “Getting Your Grains – and Greens, too”)

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 cup wild rice or wild rice blend
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1/3 cup shelled walnuts (optional)
• ground black pepper (optional)
• salt (optional)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove
• ¼ cup walnut oil
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Prep:

1. Wash the asparagus and trim off the tough ends, usually about 1-2 inches up the bottom of the stalk.  Discard these.
2. Cut the asparagus into 1 inch pieces.  Set aside.
3. Chop the walnuts roughly into pieces and set aside.

Cook:

1. Cook the rice according to the directions.  To add extra flavor use chicken or vegetable stock instead of water.
2. While the rice cooks remove the skin from the garlic and chop into a fine mince, or use a garlic press to smash the garlic.
3. Add the garlic to a bowl, measuring cup, or jar (really whatever container of your choice).
4. Add to the container the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and mustard and whisk until combined.  If you don’t want to use a whisk you can use a fork for whisking.
5. Add the oils to the container and whisk until everything is combined.  Set aside.
6. Steam the asparagus over 1-2 inches of boiling water in a steamer basket in a covered saucepan for about 4 minutes or until tender.  If you do not have a steamer, boil the asparagus for a few minutes in water until slightly tender – just be careful not to overcook and strain the asparagus from the water immediately after boiling.
7. When the rice has finished cooking combine it in a bowl with the asparagus, walnuts, and the dressing.  Stir so that everything is coated in dressing.
8. Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste if preferred and stir well.
9. Serve the salad and enjoy!

When it comes to substitutions, you can make them.  For instance, if you don’t have walnut oil you can just sub with more olive oil.  It means it won’t be a walnut vinaigrette, however it will still be delicious.  Also you can add more or less garlic depending on your preferences – and if you don’t have fresh garlic you can always use garlic powder to taste.  I’ve made my own subtle changes to the original recipe, so you should too if you need to.

Tangy Walnut Vinaigrette – 1 Knife (Adapted from The New York Times “Getting Your Grains – and Greens, too”)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 garlic clove
• ¼ cup walnut oil
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Cook:

1. Remove the skin from the garlic and chop into a fine mince, or use a garlic press to smash the garlic.
2. Add the garlic to a bowl, measuring cup, or jar (really whatever container of your choice).
3. Add to the container the lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and mustard and whisk until combined.  If you don’t want to use a whisk you can use a fork for whisking.
4. Add the oils to the container and whisk until everything is combined.
5. Serve over salad and enjoy!  The dressing should keep in the fridge for a few days.

I did make major adjustments to the original recipe, which I found in the March 2012 issue of Food & Wine magazine.  I’m going to post below what I did as I know it was a success.  The biggest adjustment I did have to make to the original recipe was to the meat.  When I went grocery shopping there was no ground chicken, so I had to substitute with ground turkey breast.  I also baked and pan seared the balls as opposed to grilling them per the original recipe.  I had to work with the tools I have, and so that’s reflected in the delicious recipe below.

Turkey Meatball Yakitori (Tsukune) – 1 Knife (Adapted from “Chicken Meatball Yakitori” in Food & Wine March 2012)

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup sugar
• ¼ cup sake
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• ¼ mirin plus 2 tablespoons of mirin
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 lemon
• 1 medium shallot
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl (the bowl you’ll eventually mix the meatballs in) zest the whole lemon.  Save the remaining lemon for serving.
3. Remove the skin from the shallot and chop into a fine mince.  Add to the bowl with the zest.
4. Cover a baking sheet with tin foil.  This will ease clean up later – you’re welcome.

Cook:

1. In a small saucepan combine the sugar, sake, soy sauce, and ¼ cup of the mirin.
2. Bring the sauce to a boil over high heat and cook for 3-5 minutes until the sauce reduces to about ¾ cup.  Make sure to stir well so the sugar doesn’t burn to the bottom and dissolves into the sauce.
3. Set the sauce aside to allow to cool.
4. In the bowl with the zest and shallot, add the turkey, salt, and 2 tablespoons of mirin.
5. Mix the meat with the other ingredients until well combined.  I find that using your hands works best, however you can also use a spoon.
6. Form the meatballs, making them about 1 inch in diameter, and place on the baking sheet.
7. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
8. After the 15 minutes carefully baste (or drizzle with a spoon) the meatballs with a little bit of the sauce.
9. Bake the meatballs for another 5 minutes.
10. Heat a skillet over medium and add 1 tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil.
11. Once the oil is hot toss the meatballs into the skillet to brown them for about 3 minutes.  There is no exact timing here, just brown until they look good to you.
12. Once browned pour about ¼ cup of the sauce to the pan making sure to coat the meatballs, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
13. Serve the meatballs with the leftover sauce as well as wedges cut from the lemon and enjoy!

When these were made I used an electric mixer, however you can mix these by hand, it will just take some elbow grease.  Otherwise as scones go this is a fairly basic recipe.  It does take some time and work but like most recipes is worth it in the end – especially when you are looking for a vehicle for clotted cream.

If you need a use for the remainder of the orange I highly recommend the beet and orange salad on this site.  Or just eat the orange as-is, up to you.

Orange Cranberry Scones – 2 Rolling Pins (Adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour (also have additional to flour for shaping the scones)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (from one medium-large orange)
• 3 sticks cold unsalted butter (very important that it’s cold)
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup flour (this is additional to coat the cranberries)
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
2. Wash the outside of the orange to remove any possible pesticides and wax and dry it.  Using a grater, zest the peel of the orange.  You only want the orange parts, not the white pith.
3. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the zest.
4. In a bowl whisk the eggs so they are well beaten and set aside.
5. Measure the cup of cranberries and ¼ cup of flour into a bowl and mix gently to coat the berries.
6. Right before you are ready to start mixing everything, cut the butter into a dice.  Taking one stick out of the fridge at a time, cut it lengthwise into three long pieces, turn on its side and cut into three pieces, then cut down the length to make small pieces.  Set these aside.

Bake:

1. In a large bowl stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest together.
2. Add the butter to the bowl and mix at a low speed (or gentlyly if by hand) until the butter is the size of peas.  This means the butter will not be fully incorporated into the flour mixture, but only partially.
3. Add the heavy cream to the eggs and mix the two together.
4. Gradually add the cream and egg mixture to the flour and butter, mixing on low speed.
5. Add to the dough the floured cranberries and mix until just combined.  At this point the dough should look lumpy, and you will still see pieces of butter throughout.
6. Flour a clean countertop or cutting board and place the dough on it.  Gently knead the dough into a ball.
7. Take a floured rolling pin and roll the dough so it’s about ¾ of an inch thick.
8. Use a floured cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (about 3 inches) to cut out the scones.  If you don’t have a formal cutter you can flour the top of a cup and use that to shape the scones.  Any dough scraps should be combined and re-rolled to cut more scones.
9. Place the scones on a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch or so apart and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
10. Allow the scones to cool, serve and enjoy!

This recipe really is quite delicious and can be enjoyed on days that aren’t St. Patty’s as well.  For instance it pairs quite nicely with NCAA basketball tournament viewings.  It also goes well with a big old plate of corned beef and cabbage.  Or have your Stout with your beef and this shake for dessert.  Whatever floats your boat.  If serving a crowd just simply multiply the ingredients based on your numbers.

If you can’t have alcohol sadly this recipe isn’t for you, not really anyway.  You can most likely substitute mint extract and boil down the Jameson to reduce the alcohol though it won’t remove it completely.  Or you can go to the Golden Arches… guaranteed booze free and with enough calories to fill you up for a while, and with a cherry on top.

Shamrock Shake – 1 Knife (recipe by Sass Mars Bowie)

Ingredients:

• 1 shot Jameson Irish Whiskey (1 ounce)
• 1 shot Crème de Menthe (1 ounce)
• 2 scoops vanilla ice cream (about ½ cup)
• splash of milk (about ¼ cup or less depending on how thick you want your shake)

Cook:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed.
2. Serve, imbibe, and enjoy!

Ed. Note: Happy Pi Day!  Had I thought about it I should have posted a pie recipe… cest la vie.

Now about this soup… it’s disappearing faster than I can say “cheddar.”  My mom and I are devouring it at record pace, making me wish I had made more.  Yes, it’s that good.  I haven’t tested the theory, but I’m pretty sure you could serve it to someone who doesn’t like cauliflower and they’d enjoy it.

This is also a quick and easy soup to make.  It really breaks down to three steps: cooking the veggies, pureeing the veggies, and then adding the dairy.  Because of the staging I’m not including prep in this recipe.  I will note that it can serve six, however if you are like me you’ll want a massive portion for one.

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup – 1 Knife (Adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen)

Ingredients:

• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium cauliflower
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 small white or yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups water
• 1 generous cup shredded cheddar (I used sharp cheddar, my preferred cheddar varietal)
• ¾ cup milk
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Cook:

1. Wash, peel, and dice the potato and place in a large pot or Dutch oven.
2. Wash and cut the cauliflower into florets, removing from the main base.  If the florets are large you can cut them down to be about 2 inches in size.  Add these to the pot.
3. Wash, peel, and cut the carrot into ½ inch pieces and add to the pot.  I prefer to leave the skin on carrots in situations like this where I will eventually puree them, mostly because there are nutrients in the skin.
4. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the pot.
5. Peel and chop the onion (does not need to be a clean dice) and add to the pot.
6. Add to the pot the salt and water.
7. Place the pot over a burner on high heat and bring to a boil.
8. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and allow the contents to simmer, stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom, until the vegetables are tender.  This should take anywhere from 15-20 minutes.  You’ll know the veggies are ready when they are easily pierced by a fork.
9. At this point you can turn off the burner.
10. Using an immersion (stick) blender carefully puree the contents of the pot until it is all smooth and no chunks remain.  If you do not have an immersion blender carefully transfer the contents of the pot to a blender or food processor and puree, returning the contents to the pot once smooth.
11. Add the cheese to the puree, stirring well so that it melts into the veggie mixture.  If you are shredding the cheese yourself, you can do this just before adding it to the soup.
12. Slowly add the milk, stirring the soup as you pour it in.
13. Add to the soup black pepper and stir well.
14. If the soup has cooled down significantly gently reheat it over medium-low heat.
15. Ladle into bowls, mugs, or a giant vessel for yourself (I kid), serve, and enjoy!

Grandma Grace’s Sweet Potatoes  - 1 Knife

Ingredients:

• 3 cups sweet potatoes (about three medium-large potatoes)
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup milk
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/3 cup butter

Prep:

1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into ½ inch cubes.
2. Place potatoes in a large pot and add water so that they are covered.
3. Cook the potatoes over high heat until they can be pierced with a fork.  Once the water comes to a rolling boil stir occasionally and check on the potatoes every few minutes.
4. Once the potatoes are cooked strain them in a colander.
5. Melt ¼ cup of butter by putting it in a microwave safe bowl and cooking for 30-45 seconds depending on the strength of the microwave. Set aside.
6. Break the eggs in a small bowl and beat with a fork.  Set aside.
7. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Cook:

1. Pour the potatoes into a large bowl and mash them.
2. Add to the bowl the sugar, eggs, ¼ cup of melted butter, milk, vanilla extract and salt.
3. Stir well so that all of the ingredients are well mixed.
4. Pour the mixture into a 1½ quart baking dish.
5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour and walnuts.
6. Melt the 1/3 cup of butter in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
7. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar and flour mixture and stir until completely integrated.
8. Using a spoon or hands spread the brown sugar mixture evenly over the top of the potatoes.
9. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
10. Serve in the baking dish and enjoy!

This recipe is ridiculously simple and is as basic as it gets for cranberry sauce.  It will hold up well in the fridge for a few days, so you can make this well in advance of Thanksgiving Day allowing more time that day to focus on other dishes.  It is also so tasty it might just convert some of the jelly folks over to whole-berry…

Cranberry Sauce – 1 Knife

 Ingredients: 

• 1 bag fresh cranberries (like Ocean Spray)
• 1 orange
• 1 cinnamon stick
• ½ cup sugar
• water

Prep:

1. Rinse the cranberries in a colander.
2. Wash the orange and remove any wax that might be on the skin.
3. Zest the orange to yield about 1 teaspoon of zest.
4. Using the same orange, juice it into a measuring cup.  It should come to short of ½ cup.  Add water until you get ½ cup of liquid.

Cook:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat combine the cranberries, orange zest, juice and water, cinnamon stick, and sugar.  Stir well to incorporate all of the ingredients.
2. Allow the content to come to a rolling simmer, stirring occasionally.
3. Cook for 15-20 minutes until the cranberries have broken down and the liquid has thickened.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.  Once room temperature remove the cinnamon stick and transfer into another container to cool in the refrigerator.
5. About an hour before you want to serve the cranberries remove them from the refrigerator so they can come up to room temperature.
6. Transfer the cranberries into a serving dish, serve and enjoy!

Turkey is surprisingly easy to cook; you just need a roasting pan or any pan big enough to hold it.  You can also use an oven bag to cook the turkey, just be sure to follow the directions on it.  You can cook a turkey of any size, or just a turkey breast, following this basic rule: 325° Fahrenheit for 20 minutes per pound of bird.  Also you want to make sure the meat has reached 165° by checking it with a meat thermometer.  The little button thermometers that come with the birds cannot be trusted and often pop pre-maturely.

When it comes to the seasonings, you want to use enough to evenly sprinkle them over the whole bird.  Since bird and breasts can vary in size significantly I did not list measurements.  Use your best judgment as to how much to use.  When in doubt more is probably better than less.  Otherwise cooking a turkey is as simple as the instructions below.

Basic Turkey – 2 Knives

Ingredients:

• One turkey or turkey breast, thawed
• 1½ cups orange juice (2 cups for a whole turkey)
• Paprika
• Garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Salt (for whole turkey only)
• Room temperature butter (for whole turkey only)

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit.
2. Rinse the turkey in water, removing anything inside, like organ packets.
3. If cooking a whole turkey rub the skin with the butter.
4. Place the turkey in the roasting pan breast-side up.
5. Pour the OJ over the turkey, allowing some to get inside the cavity.
6. Sprinkle the paprika, garlic powder and black pepper over the bird so that it’s evenly covered.  If using a whole turkey also use salt.

Cook:

1. Place the turkey in the oven.
2. Baste every 30 minutes by pouring the bird’s drippings back over it.  If you don’t own a baster you can use a large spoon.
3. When you have reached the approximate time that the bird should cook, check the temperature using a meat thermometer.
4. When finished remove the bird from the pan and place on a cutting board to rest for about 20 minutes before carving.  While the meat is resting it’s a good time to prepare gravy with the drippings or save them to serve as is.
5. Carve the turkey, serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies – 1 rolling pin (Adapted from Very Best Baking)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (like canola)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Prep:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a 9×9 inch square pan with butter.
3. In a small bowl separate the two egg whites.

Bake:

1. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, 1 egg and egg whites, and oil.
2. Stir until well combined.
3. Add to the bowl the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt.
4. Stir until everything is combined and there are no lumps of flour.
5. Add to the bowl the chocolate chips and stir until just evenly incorporated.
6. Carefully pour the batter into the baking pan, making sure its spread evenly.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  With my oven I usually need to bake for the full 20 minutes.
8. Allow the brownies to cool, serve and enjoy!