Asperge, Plain & Simple!

I love this time of year. Asparagus season, green spears, and lovely fat white spears.

One of my favorite ways to prepare this tender veg, is to just grill them. Brush with a nice olive oil and grill till tender. If you don't have a BBQ, roast them in the oven. Finish off with a little Pine Nut oil and some Fleur de Sel.
To me, this is a much more flavorful way to enjoy spring at its best.
Sweet!

Young chef!

I have passed on some good genes to my son. He does love to cook! His specialty is breakfast, loaded with eggs and cheese! The kid loves smoked salmon added in too, he has rich tastes! Breakfast making skills could make him popular in collage, what do you think?

This morning he is on his way to Poland to help build homes (spring break?), this is his good deed for the year and helps achieve the Service part of his International IB Diploma. Before he takes off tho, he needs a good breakfast--prepared by noneother, himself.

Baseball cap as a hairnet, Boursin cheese and smoked salmon. Oh yeah, plenty of cheddar thrown in as well.

Maalox anyone? He also does a mean Heuvos Rancheros!

Chausson au Abricot

This weekend, a rainy and cold Paris spring weekend, I decided to whip up some Puff Dough. As it turns out, I've got to be at a coffee at my son's school tomorrow. Great excuse to practice. I made some Pastry Cream and some Almond Cream. Lets not talk about my high cholesterol levels, OK!!

The end result is this, a crisp exterior and a delicious surprise in the center.

I also finally figured out how to publish my Favorite Blogs, thanks to Food Blog S'Cool! Thanks Becks and Posh for adding this to your already wonderful blog!

Ode to a roasted bird!

I've been reading Dr. Biggles site for a while. A man and his grill, wife and kids......It's a beautiful thing! He roasted a chicken a few posts back and I was inspired.

He does something a little different, he cooks the bird in 'dry heat'. I always throw in some wine, some stock and it steams up with the cover on after a nice browning!

The Dr. uses a trivet, I only have a roasting rack, remember those items that we all must have bought many moons ago, it cradles your bird. My rack has been gathering dust, I gave it a hot rinse and put it to work.

There my Label Rouge Bird sits, propped up high and proud. Cooking magnificently in my new oven. I threw in some potatoes to brown (under the rack), seasoned with some fleur de sel. I rested my bird for about 15 minutes and he was juicy.
So.....Biggles.....I'm a trivet convert!