Adam's Famous Asparagus

This post has been a long time coming... Ever since valentines day I've been meaning to post about Adam's asparagus that he made me as part of his classic steak dinner. I have never ever had asparagus like this. They are tender, juicy and absolutely delicious. The sauce is made up of 3 ingredients — butter, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar. How can you go wrong with that, right? He roasts the asparagus with Jane's mixed up salt seasoning, (read about it here, its fantastic) and olive oil. Then while the asparagus is roasting, he melts the butter and and adds the soy and balsamic and then, my favorite part to watch, pours it over the roasted asparagus. And in case you were wondering, he also served rib-eye steak (my favorite type of steak), sautéed bell peppers with red onions, and creamed spinach. YUM!

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch fresh asparagus (look for thick stalks and closed tips)

olive oil

salt seasoning, to taste

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim ends of asparagus (or snap the ends off) and rinse. Dry the asparagus and lay on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet (we do this in the toaster oven, so we use the smallest baking sheet).

2 Brush asparagus with olive oil and season with salt seasoning, to taste

3 Make sure the asparagus are in one layer and roast for 12 minutes.

4 While the asparagus is in the oven, melt butter in a small saucepan. Then, remove from heat and stir in the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.

5 Once the asparagus is done roasting, pour the sauce and serve immedietely.

Delicious Carrot Cake

I had such a craving for carrot cake the other day. Maybe it was the spring-ish weather we've been having. Or maybe it was just that amazingly rich frosting that I needed. Either way, I was going to make it. And I was going to eat it. And that was that.

This cake is a great way to use up a few carrots left in the crisper. The rest of the ingredients were pretty standard but I did add 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt to the batter because I really love a super moist cake. I also cut the sugar in half because I wanted it to be more of a cake you could eat with tea or coffee, rather than a overly sweet dessert. The frosting balanced that out though because it was just the right amount of sweetness. Next time I think I would add 1 or 2 more grated carrots, however this was absolutely delicious, and perfect for the beginning of spring.

Carrot Cake

adapted by The Pioneer Woman

For the Cake:

1 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups grated carrots, finely

For the icing:

1 stick unsalted softened butter

16 oz cream cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup pecans, chopped finely

1 In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil and sugar together.

2 In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

3 Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat little by little. Add grated carrots to the batter and stir.

4 Pour into a greased 9x13 pyrex and bake 25 minutes.

5 While the cake is in the oven, prepare the icing by creaming the softened butter and cream cheese together. Add sugar and vanilla and blend well. Then, add the pecans and stir throughout. Spread on cooled cake.

Brunch Berries

I made these white chocolate strawberries for brunch alongside a baby dutch pancake. I originally wasn't going to post this, but this image just makes me so happy. I hope it brightens your Sunday!

Eggplant, Olive & Pesto Pizza

This doesn't look like just any pizza, does it? Let me tell you that it's not. For one thing, it is jam packed with all things yummy — silky roasted eggplant, garlic spiked roasted tomatoes, salty kalamata olives, buttery pesto (seriously, I licked the spoon and said, out loud, 'omg, that is like butter!'), tangy feta cheese and lots of grated white cheddar (it's all I had left in the fridge). The next thing about this pizza that makes it special is the crust. It is made of puff pastry. Of course I didn't make it from scratch, I defrosted a frozen puff pastry sheet and there was my crust — light, airy and crispy. This crust can work with any toppings you want, how simply and easy!

Eggplant, Olive & Pesto Pizza

1 puff pastry sheet - yields 6 square pieces

3 korean eggplants (they are smaller and narrower than regular american eggplants, but those will work as

well)

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Pinch of cumin

olive oil

1/2 lb grape tomatoes, sliced lengthwise

1 garlic, chopped finely

spoonful of pesto (mine is from tj's and is awesome)

shredded cheese, any will work

kalamata olives, pitted

feta cheese

1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take out 1 puff pastry sheet and defrost on the counter, this will take about

40 minutes.

2 Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with cumin.

Do this with all 6 halves. Broil for about 10 minutes on each side until soft and bruised. (I did this the night before using the

toaster oven and kept the roasted eggplants in the fridge overnight but you can do this the day of as well).

Cube up the eggplant and set aside.

3 Slice up the tomatoes and chopped garlic and mix. Broil for about 5-7 minutes until softened and starting

to break down. (you can broil the eggplant and tomatoes at the same time)

4 Once the puff pastry is defrosted, roll it out a bit thinner and prick with a fork all over. Brush the

outer edge (what will end up the crust) with olive oil and cover the interior with pesto, smoothing with the

back of a large spoon.

5 Next, top with shredded cheese then the eggplant, tomato/garlic mixture, then the olives then the feta and

then top with more shredded cheese!

6 Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.