Aug23

A Dinner with Asparagus and Paesano

This meal wasn’t a typical one; I put some ingredients together into some interesting ways.

Appetizer: Salad of Favorites

Appetizer of Prosciutto, Tomato, and Cheese

I combined my love for so-called prosciutto di parma, Hanover tomato, and buffalo mozzarella cheese, and provided flavor with EVOO and authentic, long-aged balsamic vinegar. The only gesture of perfection left would have been single leaves of baby basil placed on top.

Special Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

  • 1 large sweet onion
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • EVOO
  • salt, pepper
  • one bunch asparagus
  • one small carton, heavy cream
  • one quart chicken stock
  • white wine
  • one-half head broccoli-cauliflower hybrid vegetable
  • lemon juice

I cooked the onion and garlic in EVOO, until slight color came to the sweet onions. I added the green cauliflower, and stirred. Minutes later, I added the chopped stalks of asparagus, tips reserved. Once everything had been coated in the fat, I added the wine, then the chicken stock, and simmered the concoction for some 10 minutes.

Then, I removed the stock to a blender, and in 2 batches, pureéed the soup. Added back to the pot, I re-heated the mixture, mounting it with cream and the tips of asparagus, back up to a light simmer. The soup was then finally served, and garnished with fresh lemon juice.

Dinner was served alongside Zingerman’s Paesano bread.

Zingerman's Paesano Bread


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About Messy Cuisine

What is Messy Cuisine?

Several years ago, friends and I decided to produce our own cooking show. What might we call it? The Messy Chef was born, a moniker inspired by my own mother’s description of my abilities in the kitchen. “You might cook well, but you sure are messy.”

Messy Cuisine is a website dedicated to restaurant reviews and future online video productions of The Messy Chef. I hope to find ways to make the site more interactive for visitors.

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Under the navigation section, choose Category > Restaurant Reviews and the page that is displayed will show all reviews in alphabetical order.

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No, a pasttime and a passion.

Messy Cuisine Logo

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Tell me more about the Restaurant Reviews…

Unlike the NY Times, or other well-established locations, the reviews I write may be based on one or more visits, but sometimes it is just one. Typically, I’ll cover the best and worst points. I usually mention what I had, and make comments too on the service and the atmosphere of the restaurant. The ratings I assign are not derived from some complex rubric, but are a genealized, overall reaction to my meal at the particular restaurant. I do not discriminate on price: cheap eats can earn a top rating, just the same as an expensive restaurant. I think price and formality, however, can affect your choice when dining, so I’ve begun to use a 3-tiered indicator for price to guide your choices.

About the Chef

Not a chef, really… a gourmet, or simply an enthusiast for good things in life. I have shared reviews of places I eat online for over 6 years. I typically go out a lot, due to convenience and a desire to try new things. At home, I gravitate towards Italian cuisine, but also French technique and simple dishes and dinners. My baking skills aren’t great, but I do love a good pie or croissant.

Show Models

Probably my favorite TV program for cooking is TV Food Network’s Barefoot Contessa, for its style and content. We’re also inspired by NBC’s hit comedy show, The Office, and have attempted some take-offs on that filming style and charactature.

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The blog is powered by WordPress, the open source blog engine. I evaluted several content management systems (CMS) when beginning, but I was most familiar with this and its templating system.

Where else do you recommend I learn about good food online?

I really like a number of food blogs, which I link to up above in the main navigation area, a blogroll, so to speak. I also have included a link below to Vaynerchuck’s Wine Library TV.

WLTV