Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus

I am finally back in the kitchen and committed to cooking regularly again, not only to provide myself with tasty lunches to take to work, but also to get a grip on relying too readily on picking up something to go on my way home from work.

As I mentioned in recent posts, I've been traveling a good bit and this has put me not only behind on cooking, but also far behind on my magazine perusals for new recipes. I follow a few blogs for recipes as well as my monthly Cooking Light subscription but it had been weeks since I'd given any of those a look. So this first recipe as I find my way back to cooking again is a simple, light version of fettuccine alfredo, which relies on a lighter cream sauce and the addition of vegetables to flesh out the flavor. This was quite good and relatively guilt-free.

Fettuccine Alfredo with Asparagus (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

8 oz. uncooked fettuccine

1 tsp. olive oil

1 lb. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

3/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 TB butter

1 TB vodka or water

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 oz. 1/3-less-fat cream cheese

1/4 cup fat-free milk

1.5 oz. grated Parmesan cheese, about 6 TB

1 TB chopped fresh chives  

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain in a colander over a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water. I find the best way to do this is to position a bowl directly below the colander.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add asparagus, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from heat. Add rind and juice; toss. Keep warm.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add vodka and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add cream cheese, stirring until smooth. Stir in milk, Parmesan cheese, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Be sure to stir this consistently at a steady temperature to avoid clumping. Stir in reserved pasta water, pasta, and asparagus; toss to coat noodles.

Sprinkle with chives and serve. I enjoyed this with a fresh tomato salad.

Skillet Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese

Asparagus is in season as is regular Sunday family dinners. After travels and cleanses and other events that were causing the typical traditional fare to be altered on a regular basis, two weeks ago we were back on target with regular food (no offense, vegans) :)

I love a simple roasted asparagus, but this time around, I wanted to try something a bit different. The result was a great side salad for a big dinner party.

Skillet Asparagus Salad with Goat Cheese (serves 6)

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears, trimmed (about 30 medium spears)

1 cup water

2 tsp. julienne-cut orange rind

1 tsp. julienne-cut lemon rind

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 TB dry white wine

1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

5 tsp. olive oil

2 cups mixed baby salad greens

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

3 TB chopped pecans, toasted

1 TB fresh tarragon leaves

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add one-third of asparagus mixture; cook 4 minutes or until lightly charred and crisp-tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan; set aside. Repeat procedure twice with the remaining asparagus mixture.

Place 1 cup water in a microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave for 2 minutes or until water just boils. Add orange rind; let stand 20 seconds. Drain, reserving rind. Repeat procedure with lemon rind.

Combine orange rind, orange juice, and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until juice mixture measures about 3 tablespoons (about 5 minutes). Combine wine, lemon juice, mustard, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Gradually add 5 teaspoons oil, stirring constantly with a whisk. Stir in orange juice mixture.

Place 1/3 cup greens on each of six plates. Divide asparagus evenly among salads. Top evenly with cheese, pecans, and tarragon. Stir lemon rind and parsley into orange juice mixture; drizzle dressing over salads.

Asparagus Pesto Lasagna for Two

Have you ever watched that show called "Kitchen Nightmares?"  Neither have I...but I felt as if I was experiencing my own little kitchen nightmare when I made this dish last week. In theory, it's a great idea, and one I plan to repeat...with different ingredients. Who doesn't love a great lasagna. But it's rare that you have enough people over to warrant making a large batch of it. This recipe calls for making the lasagna in a loaf pan. I think this is a great concept, you just have to break the lasagna noodles in half to fit the pan, and layer just like you would for a regular lasagna.

So at which point did this become a kitchen nightmare? The moment I removed the lasagna from the oven. It was sitting in a bed of oil and even after training a bit and putting back in the oven, hoping it just needed a little more time, it remained an oily, slippery mess. The kicker is it tasted great, but it was not something I would ever serve to others.

So why post it? I'm convinced that the pesto is to blame (I used a jarred variety which may have been a bit too oily), and perhaps simply making this with tomato sauce and meat would have worked out just fine. Again, it's a great concept and something that I will try in a different form in the near future. This is proof that not everything I post is perfect, but I keep experimenting anyway, and come away smarter than I went in.

Asparagus Pesto Lasagna for 2

Ingredients:

1 cup whole basil leaves

1 small clove garlic

1 tablespoon pine nuts

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 TB grated parmesan cheese

Pinch of salt

1/2 pound asparagus

1 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 1/2 cups mascarpone cheese

1 sheet fresh pasta or 4 lasagna noodles , cooked, rinsed, and coated with olive oil

1 cup grated fontina cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Combine first 5 ingredients in a food processor and blend. (If too thick, add water or more olive oil.) Season with salt and set aside.

Sauté asparagus in olive oil over high heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute, and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a small loaf pan (about 4" x 8") with butter. Combine mascarpone and pesto. Cut pasta to fit dish and place enough noodles in pan to cover bottom; top with 1/3 cup fontina cheese, 1/3 of the asparagus, and 1/3 of the pesto mixture; then sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat layering two more times with remaining ingredients. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Discard foil and continue baking 10 additional minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.

Dijon Dipped Chicken and Asparagus with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Asparagus is so good and so cheap right now I'm cooking with it on a weekly basis. However, just the good ol' steamer gets old after awhile and quite frankly, I don't want to post another blog post that doesn't contain something a bit creative and unique, so I found a great recipe for asparagus involving fruit. I paired this with a beyond basic chicken recipe that I've made for more than 10 years. Some of my guy friends in college would rave about the "stuff" on this, rather, what oozed off the chicken and got a little crispy in the oven. So I present to you...

Dijon Dipped Chicken and Aspargus with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts (about 6 oz total)
• dijon mustard (approximately 1/2 cup)
• light sour cream (approximately 1/2 cup)
• breadcrumbs (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/3 cup sliced red onion
• 2 TB pine nuts
• 2 1/2 TB orange juice
• 3 TB raisins
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp orange rind
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions:

Combine equal amounts of sour cream and dijon mustard in a bowl and mix well. Dip each chicken breast into sour cream/mustard mixture and coat with Italian breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes depending on thickness of the breast.

For the asparagus side dish, you'll only need about 10 minutes to prepare and cook.

Cook asparagus in boiling water 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pine nuts; cook 4 minutes. Add orange juice, raisins, and honey; cook 2 minutes. Stir in salt and orange rind. Arrange asparagus on a platter; top with onion mixture. Sprinkle with pepper.