Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

CHICKEN PARMIGIANA

Posted: June 6, 2025 in chicken, Food, frying, Italian, Recipes, Uncategorized
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After making a batch of this for my daughter this week, I got a bunch of requests for the recipe. So here we go!

Chicken parmigiana, much like pizza, is a bit more difficult to make than you might think. Sure, there’s plenty of crappy chicken parm out there, made with processed frozen chicken cutlets, bad sauce and cheap cheese. But to make a really fantastic, mind-blowing chicken parm, that takes a little practice!

The key to this recipe is simple: don’t skimp on the quality ingredients. And my recipe makes a lot. Trust me: you will want leftovers.

The recipes for my Italian bread crumbs and my “Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce are at the bottom.

 

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

Gooey, cheesy, orgasmic.

 

 

6 Chicken breasts, the best quality you can get your hands on
Italian bread crumb seasoning (see recipe below)
3 eggs
vegetable oil for frying
“Don’t Call It Gravy” tomato sauce (see recipe below)
Fresh mozzarella cheese
oregano

Thaw the chicken breasts. Lay them flat on a cutting board, and you’ll see where the chicken tender is on the side of the breast. Cut the tender off and set aside, leaving the breast which is thinner at one end and thicker at the other. Slice the breast in half lengthwise at the thicker end, keeping the knife level, so that you wind up with 2 pieces of breast meat that are the same thickness, but one will be a longer piece (the bottom) and one about half its size (the top part you sliced off.) Do this with all the breasts.

By slicing the breasts lengthwise into evenly thick pieces, it will take the same amount of time for them to cook. (I prefer not to pound the hell out of the chicken breasts until they’re flat as a pancake.)

Pour the vegetable oil into a large frying pan. (I like to use corn oil or grapeseed oil.) Next to the pan, set up two bowls: one with my Italian bread crumb seasoning (recipe below) and in the other: crack the eggs and whisk them.

Now it’s your standard breading procedure: chicken meat in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs, coating well. Shake off the excess and place carefully in the pan of olive oil when the oil comes to temperature (about 350) for frying.

Fry the chicken in the oil until it’s golden brown. You want it cooked all the way through, but not overcooked. Place the fried chicken pieces on a wire rack to drain the oil. Do this with all the chicken. The fried chicken at this point is delicious all by itself: chop it and use it in a salad, or make a chicken sandwich. (By the way, if there’s breading left over, use it on the chicken tenders you cut off, and fry them up. My daughter gets these instead of store-bought chicken tenders, and she loves them.)

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Ladle out enough sauce (recipe below) to create a thin layer on the bottom of the baking sheet. Place the fried chicken breasts on top of the sauce. Cover the breasts with more sauce, then place shredded mozzarella on top. Sprinkle the top with a little oregano.

 

Place the baking sheet in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and bake until the cheese has melted and just starts to brown. Serve it with pasta.

 

MY “DON’T CALL IT GRAVY” TOMATO SAUCE

It’s not hard to make a good tomato sauce. But it takes a little work to make an amazing tomato sauce. Honed from a recipe handed down by a friend-of-a-friend’s Italian grandma, it is one very important part in two of my favorite Italian comfort food recipes: my meatballs…and my chicken parmigiana recipe.

 

1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
10 cups ground and peeled tomatoes…or 3 cans (28 oz.) tomatoes (real San Marzanos preferred)
2 teaspoons each: dried oregano, basil and parsley
3/4 teaspoon each anise seed and fennel seed
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 small can (6 oz.) tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar, optional

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and add the onions. Cook until onions are translucent, then add the garlic. Stir for about 10 seconds.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the orange foam disappears, stirring frequently.

Add the oregano, basil, parsley, anise seed, fennel seed, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Add the tomato paste, stirring well. Let the sauce just come to a boil (which helps the paste thicken the sauce), then reduce it to a simmer, and cook uncovered for at least an hour, stirring constantly, until the sauce reaches the consistency you like.

 

MY ITALIAN BREAD CRUMB SEASONING

This is the one part of the recipe (other than the optional pasta) that keeps this dish from being gluten-free. So I use gluten-free breadcrumbs, even if I don’t need to. I buy a loaf of Udi’s frozen gluten-free bread, toast the slices, and them put them in a food processor. I dare you to tell the difference between these and breadcrumbs with gluten!

 

1 Udi’s loaf, toasted and ground into breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

 

Combine all the ingredients well.

MARINATED BEEF TIPS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS

Posted: June 4, 2025 in beef, Carnivore!, Food, Italian, marinade, Recipes
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An easy way to marinate beef is to simply throw the meat in a bag and dump some Italian dressing into it. As simple as that sounds, it flavors the meat really nicely. But I’ve got a problem with anything that comes from a jar and was made in a factory, especially when it’s so easy to make my own Italian seasoning.
I recently bought some sirloin beef tips and after trimming the fat and silver skin (they always leave it on the meat), I cut it up into 1 inch cubes. I put the pieces in a glass container–a plastic bag would be fine–and then made my marinade. Combine the first set of ingredients to make the marinade.

1/4 cup decent quality balsamic vinegar–not the expensive stuff
1/4 cup avocado oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 lbs. sirloin beef tips, trimmed and cut into 1″ cubes
avocado oil
3 onions, sliced into rings
2 sweet bell peppers, sliced into thin strips
splash of white wine

Combine the marinade ingredients and pour them into the bag or container with the meat. Mix it around so that every bit of the meat gets coated with the marinade. Seal the container and place in the fridge overnight.
Next day, remove it from the fridge and let it come to room temperature before cooking.

 

Marinated beef, ready to cook.

Marinated beef, ready to cook.

 

Heat a large cast-iron skillet until hot. You may not need to add oil, since the meat has marinated in it. Using tongs to shake off any marinade, place the beef tips in the skillet, and brown on all sides, constantly flipping them. Cook the meat until it is done: medium to medium rare. (Of course, a hardwood fire is great for cooking these, too.)

Remove the meat from the pan and put it in a bowl to the side. In the hot pan, toss in the sliced onions and peppers. Cook until the onions and peppers are caramelized, and splash a little white wine to de-glaze the pan if you like. (The alcohol cooks off.) If there’s any left over marinade in the bag or container, you can pour it into the pan at this time.

Return the beef to the pan, being sure to include all the juices that may have settled into the bottom of the bowl. Mix through until it’s all thoroughly heated and serve immediately.

 

I made a lot more...forgot to take the pic before devouring!

I made a lot more…forgot to take the pic before devouring!

 

THE BOULEVARDIER COCKTAIL

Posted: May 28, 2025 in Cocktails, drink recipes, Drinks, Food, Iron Chefs, mixology, Recipes, Uncategorized
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I’ve always loved Manhattans and Negronis…two different cocktails, yet similar in certain respects. Both use sweet vermouth. Both have a touch of bitterness: Manhattans will often include a few dashes of angostura bitters, where a Negroni gets its bitterness from Campari. So when I visited Food Network chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s The Lambs Club restaurant in NYC many years ago, and tasted my first Boulevardier, I was instantly hooked.

Loosely translated, a boulevardier is a “man about town.”

The cocktail was created by Erskine Gwynne, the publisher of “Boulevardier,” a magazine for expats living in Paris in the 1920s. It’s basically a Negroni with whiskey instead of gin.

My personal preference for whiskey is bourbon, and one of my favorite bourbons to mix with is the very affordable 1792 Small Batch, though Buffalo Trace is another great choice. And for sweet vermouth, nothing beats the grandaddy of them all: Carpano’s Antica Formula.

I was just reading an interview with food blogger and cocktail expert, David Lebovitz, in the Wall Street Journal, and he mentioned the Boulevardier as one of his favorite cocktails. I hadn’t had one in ages, and started digging in my bar inventory. Bourbon is something I always have…but I also found Campari and an unopened small bottle of Antica Formula. I was all set!

Be very careful, especially with the vermouth. If you stray and buy some cheap brand, the drink will resemble nothing even close to what it could truly be!

 

Eagle Rare is a great choice for bourbon as well, but its prices have skyrocketed recently.

Many recipes go for the classic 1:1:1 ratio, like you’d find in a Negroni. Others boost the bourbon to 1.5 ounces. But I actually prefer a 2:1:1 ratio.

2 oz. bourbon, whiskey, or rye
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. sweet vermouth (Antica Formula preferred)

 

Add some ice to a cocktail shaker. Add the ingredients and stir. Strain into a rocks glass with a large cube.

Some add a twist of lemon or orange. Others, a maraschino cherry. I like it as is.

 

 

 

Perfection.

 

1792 Small Batch bourbon: Everyone has their favorite bourbon, and I really enjoy this one, because it mixes well and, at about $40 a bottle, is very affordable. Made by the Buffalo Trace distillery, who can pretty much do no wrong. (Which is why I also recommend Buffalo Trace bourbon itself.)

Campari: A liqueur, invented in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, considered an aperitif. Its alcohol content depends on the country it’s sold in. It’s unique bitter flavor is obtained from the infusion of herbs and fruit in alcohol and water.

Carpano Antica Formula: First invented in 1786 in Turin by Antonio Benedetto Carpano, it has survived in its original recipe thanks to the Fratelli Branca Distillerie. It costs more than the typical 5-buck bottle of vermouth, because it’s simply the best you can get. Buy it once and you’ll never buy another sweet vermouth again.

 

 

 

 

ASPARAGUS WITH BUTTER AND PARMIGIANO REGGIANO

Posted: May 25, 2025 in Food, garden, Recipes, Rhode Island, Southern New England
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Butter and cheese. Can anything be better?

It’s especially great when asparagus is in season, growing in my garden, like right now.

This is a great side dish with any main course like a big slab of meat, and has special meaning to me because my cousin first introduced me to asparagus with this recipe when I was just a kid. She passed away many years ago, but I think of her every time I make this simple but delicious dish.

You can use almost any grated “parmesan” cheese, but nothing beats real Parmigiano Reggiano that you freshly grate yourself. Whatever you use, please, just don’t use the junk that comes in a plastic container on the store shelf.

 

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1 lb. fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

 

 

The easy way to trim an asparagus spear is to grab the thicker end between two fingers and bend it. It will snap at the point where the tough part ends and the softer, edible part begins. I toss the bottoms into my compost pile.

I heat the butter and oil together in a pan and then add the asparagus spears, cooking over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until al dente. (You don’t want them mushy.)

While the asparagus is still in the pan, I sprinkle the Parmigiano Reggiano on top, letting it melt a bit. I season with sea salt (I prefer Fleur de Sel) and freshly cracked black pepper.

 

 

 

LAMBURGERS WITH FETA CHEESE DRESSING

Posted: May 21, 2025 in barbecue, burgers, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, Food, lamb, Recipes
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When it comes to grilling, lamb is often overlooked. Some folks think it tastes too gamey, which can be true with grass-fed lamb that comes from New Zealand or Australia. Although you can’t beat their strict quality standards, the flavor can be intense.

I don’t mind that intense lamb flavor in a chop, but when I make lamburgers, I like to mix ground beef with ground lamb to give it a milder flavor. And when I cook them over hardwood charcoal, the flavor is outstanding! Even seared in a cast iron skillet and finished in the oven, these burgers are awesome.

1 lb. ground lamb
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon each fresh parsley, mint, and dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 large clove garlic, squeezed through a garlic press
1 scallion, finely chopped, green part only
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 

Fresh herbs make the difference!

 

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook it until it’s translucent, about 6 minutes. Transfer the onion to a plate to cool.

In a bowl, mix the cooled onion, mustard, parsley, mint, dill, oregano, cumin, garlic, scallion, and salt and pepper.

In another bowl, combine the lamb with the beef, so they are mixed well. Then add the onion mix bowl to the meat and make sure all the ingredients are combined. Add the breadcrumbs and mix again. Then add the egg and mix one more time.

Form the meat into patties. Place them on a baking sheet covered with non-stick foil, and place the baking sheet in the fridge.

 

The indentation in the center of the patty keeps it from swelling up while cooking.

 

Don’t let the lamburgers get too cold in the fridge…just enough to firm the meat up a bit. If it gets too cold, give it a few minutes at room temp to warm up again.  Grill the burgers over hardwood charcoal until they are cooked to medium.

If you’re cooking indoors, heat some avocado oil in an oven-proof pan, preferably cast iron. Sear the burgers well on both sides, then place the pan in a 350-degree oven to finish cooking.

 

Extra meat is great for meatballs! Just freeze them for another time.

 

Place the burgers on buns, and smear the bun with the feta cheese dressing.

If the food is good, someone’s always watching!

 

My recipe for feta cheese dressing works really well with lamburgers. But it’s also great on a salad.

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1  cup mayo
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce, like Franks Red Hot
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4–5 oz. crumbled feta cheese

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate. If you can wait a day, it’s even better.

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GRILLED CLAMS WITH PASTA

Posted: May 18, 2025 in barbecue, CHARCOAL, Food, Recipes, seafood
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Who says you have to only cook burgers and steaks on the grill? This is one of my favorite ways to enjoy clams…and without the clam knife! I always use hardwood charcoal.

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A couple of dozen (or more) little neck clams, washed and purged
1 stick (8 oz.) of unsalted butter
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

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The clams should be stored in the fridge until ready to use…not in water, not on ice. Place the clams in a bowl and cover them with a wet dish towel.

About an hour before cooking, I like to purge my clams to remove as much grit as possible. I fill a large bowl with cold water, add sea salt and some corn meal to it, and mix it around. Then I add the clams to this bowl and let them sit in this liquid for an hour. They will suck up the corn meal and spit out sand and grit. After an hour, I pour off the water/salt/meal/grit mix, and thoroughly wash the clams. Now they’re ready to grill!

I start my hardwood charcoal grill and divide it in half: coals on one side, no coals on the other.

While the coals are heating up, I grab a disposable aluminum foil tray and place it on a burner on my kitchen stovetop over medium heat. I add the butter, olive oil, parsley, oregano, basil, garlic and salt, and stir it all to combine. Once the butter has melted and everything has blended, I bring the tray over to the charcoal grill and place on the side of the grill without coals. It will stay warm.

Once the coals are hot, just place the clams directly on the grill. (Use tongs, unless you want to remove all of your knuckle hair.) They’re done as soon as they open, but you can cook them as long as you like, from raw to more thoroughly cooked. As each one reaches its desired doneness, place it carefully in the aluminum tray, making sure you don’t lose any of that precious liquid inside the clam shell. Give it a swish in the butter and herb mix.

When all the clams have been cooked and are in the tray, serve them with that herby butter sauce on top of pasta…or simply eat them with a fresh baguette. A glass of great white wine is a must.

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Really easy and really delicious!

PASTA WITH ASPARAGUS AND SAUSAGE

Posted: May 14, 2025 in asparagus, Carnivore!, cheese, Food, Italian, pork, Recipes, sausage
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When my daughter hangs out with me, I always ask her what she wants me to cook for her, and there are a few “Dad” recipes that are her favorites. This is one of them, especially when fresh asparagus is available. And as any parent will tell you, if your kid is craving a dish that has vegetables in it, count yourself lucky–and make it!!
Prepping asparagus is easy, and you don’t need a knife to cut off the woody bottoms of the stalks. Simply bend the stalks at the bottom and they will naturally snap off at the right point.
4 mild Italian sausages, sliced into pieces 1/2″ thick
1 lb. penne pasta
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 cup chopped fresh trumpet mushrooms (white button mushrooms work, too), optional
2 cups fresh asparagus, sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, passed through a garlic press
1 cup homemade chicken broth
6 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Have the pasta water salted and boiling, and add the pasta, cooking until just a bit more undercooked than al dente.
Heat a large pan, and drizzle in some olive oil. Sauté the sausage pieces until browned and cooked through, but not overcooked. Remove the sausages from the pan and place them in a separate bowl. Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the fat left behind in the pan.
Place the pan back on stove and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the garlic, and sauté for 10 seconds. Add the sage, and saute for 10 seconds, stirring. Add the chopped mushrooms and saute for a few minutes, then add the chicken broth, and simmer until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Pour the contents of the pan into the bowl with the sausages.
Return the pan to the stove, add a little more olive oil, and on medium heat, sauté the asparagus pieces. Cook them until they are al dente, not too soft. Once the asparagus has reached this stage, return all the contents of the sausage/mushroom bowl to the pan to heat through. Drain the pasta, and add it to the pan as well, combining all the ingredients. If it looks too dry, add a little pasta water to the pan. Season with salt and pepper.
Make sure you serve this hot, with grated Parmigiano Reggiano on top, and drizzle lightly over the top with extra virgin olive oil.

ASIAN NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Posted: May 11, 2025 in Food, Recipes
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There’s something about Asian noodle dishes that make them incredibly addictive. They’re great hot or cold, and easy to make at home. I store an arsenal of basic Asian ingredients in my pantry, so slapping this together is no effort at all. And if you don’t have Asian noodles around, chances are you’ve got a box of pasta, which works just as well.

Next time you’ve got a bunch of people coming over, cook a batch a few hours beforehand and let it come to room temperature. It’s great with anything, really. Grab a bag of frozen egg rolls or some potstickers, and you’ve got great munchies for your guests.

Adding boiled and chilled shrimp to these noodles makes it a cool meal. I usually double the sauce recipe when I do that.

If you need to go gluten-free, use GF pasta or rice noodles…and you can find gluten-free hoisin sauce in the Asian food section of many supermarkets.

Asian noodles

4 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon Chinese chili garlic sauce (more, if you like it spicy!)
16 oz. package Chinese noodles or pasta

Combine the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, and chili garlic sauce in a bowl. Set it aside. I keep my peanut butter in the fridge once the jar is open, so sometimes it’s a bit thick. So I just zap it in the microwave for about 10 seconds to soften it up.

Boil the noodles or pasta until al dente. Drain it and place it in a large bowl.

Mix the noodles with the sauce.

It’s easy to make this recipe a meal by adding meat and veggies, which is what I did recently.

I took about a pound of chicken breasts, and sliced them thin, into strips, placing them in a bowl. I added a little soy sauce (go gluten-free soy sauce if you need to…La Choy is the brand I use) and a little rice vinegar, and I let the chicken marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

Meanwhile, I chopped up some broccoli and blanched it in boiling water, just to cook it a little. I drained the water and set the broccoli aside.

I chopped some sugar snap peas on the bias, and set them aside. And I had a bag of mung bean sprouts purchased, ready to go.

This time, I used Udan noodles for this dish (by my daughter’s request) and I found a brand that simply needed to be microwaved for 90 seconds before using.

So once we were ready to eat, I put a little avocado oil in a hot pan and seared the chicken that was marinating, getting some nice caramelization on the meat. Toward the end, I threw in the snap peas and broccoli just to heat them up. I tossed it all into a large bowl.

I heated the Udon noodles in the microwave and tossed them in the bowl.

I added the bean sprouts to the bowl, and then a generous supply of the peanut sauce mixture, as above.

I really gave it all a good mix before serving it in bowls, with a garnish of fresh cilantro on top.

SPICY BRINED AND GRILLED CHICKEN WINGS

Posted: May 9, 2025 in barbecue, brining, Carnivore!, CHARCOAL, chicken, Food, grilling, Recipes, spicy
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Brining, the process of letting a hunk of protein soak in a salt solution for a few hours, is a great way to add flavor and moisture to any cut of meat. I brine these wings for 3 hours before using a sweet and spicy rub. They can be grilled or roasted in the oven.

 

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The brine…

1/2 cup Kosher salt
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 whole bay leaf
2 quarts water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove it from the heat, and let it cool to room temperature.

The rub…

1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon granulated onion
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Place 3 lbs. of chicken wings in a Ziploc bag and pour the cooled brine into the bag. Place the bag in a bowl to prevent leaks and keep it at room temp for 3 hours. I wouldn’t brine it longer than that, or it will get really salty.

 

After 3 hours, remove the chicken from the brine and dry the wings with paper towels. Discard the brine.

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and sprinkle them with 1/3 cup of the rub, tossing to coat the chicken well. Place the bowl with the chicken in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.

 

About 30 minutes before cooking, remove the bowl from the fridge and let the chicken come to room temperature.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 or light a grill.

Toss the chicken with some more of the rub, if you like, then place the pieces on a sheet pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. Lower the oven temperature if it starts to burn.

If you’re grilling, cook the wings over medium heat, turning them frequently to prevent burning. Cook until the wings are done.

 

PICKLED ASPARAGUS: THE NEW SEASON

Posted: May 6, 2025 in asparagus, pickling, Recipes
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I moved to my current home in the fall of last year. One of the toughest things to say goodbye to in my previous garden was my asparagus patch. Over the years, I had grown loads and loads of delicious asparagus, but sadly, there was no good way to transport that patch to my new place.

I’ve got a much smaller garden space at my current home, a small space that gets full sun, and despite its limited size, asparagus is too important of a crop to leave out. So I bought a bunch of plants this spring, and planted them. And now I have to wait. They say you’re not supposed to harvest asparagus for at least a couple of years to let the new bed establish, but I found that pretty much impossible to do…I have to have at least a bit of a taste.

Hoping to get some spears next season!

In the meantime, I can only look back at my previous success with asparagus…

The home garden is already showing signs of activity. Overwintered dill and arugula seeds are sprouting. And cool weather seeds that I’ve sown early: peas, turnips, radishes, and others are doing the same.

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Asparagus is really easy to grow. You just need the space, and the plants practically do the rest.
Space them about a foot apart, and before you know it, you will have a vast network of tasty stalks sprouting through the soil every spring. They are so much better than anything you can buy in a supermarket.
In the start of the growing season, the stalks don’t even make it into the house. I cut them and just eat them straight out of the garden. Eventually, they make the move to the kitchen, where I love to simply place them on a baking sheet and drizzle a little olive oil over them. Salt and pepper…and then in a 400-degree oven until they’ve caramelized.

Sometimes I toss some tasty chives with blossom buds on top of the asparagus and roast.

In the past, I’ve had I so much asparagus that I just didn’t know what to do with them all. So I started pickling them…a really easy process that ensured I had delicious asparagus well into the summer.

Several bunches of asparagus spears
2 cups white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups water
20 peppercorns
Garlic cloves, peeled
Kosher salt (1 teaspoon per quart-sized Mason jar. Use less for smaller jars.)
Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and peppercorns to a boil. Set the pan aside.
Trim the bottom of the asparagus spears so that the spears are just slightly shorter than the height of the quart-sized Mason jar you will use. Or cut them into pieces that will fit smaller jars.
Pack the jars as tightly as you can with the asparagus spears. (They will shrink when processed.) Add the garlic clove and 1 teaspoon of salt to every quart-sized Mason jar…less for smaller jars.
Fill the jars with the vinegar mixture and seal them tightly.
Process the jars for 10 minutes. Let them cool before placing them in the refrigerator. If you know you’re going to eat all the asparagus in the next week, processing isn’t really necessary.

DOES YOUR PEE SMELL FUNNY WHEN YOU EAT ASPARAGUS?

Asparagus has a sulfur-containing compound identified by scientists as methyl mercaptan. A colorless gas, this compound is also found in blood, feces, garlic, eggs, cheese and even skunk secretions. Another ingredient found in asparagus is asparagine. Present in foods like dairy products, seafood, poultry, fish and nuts, this amino acid is known to have a distinctive smell when heated. To metabolize both methyl mercaptan and asparagine, your body needs to break these compounds down and it’s this breakdown that’s responsible for your urine’s strange smell.

Since both methyl mercaptan and asparagine are associated with the sense of smell, there is debate over which ingredient is actually responsible for the asparagus-urine phenomenon. It could be one, or both.

Many people claim that, regardless of asparagus consumption, their urine does not smell. There are multiple theories about that as well. The first claims that everyone’s urine is in fact affected by asparagus, but only about half of the population have the specific gene that is required to smell the change. On the other hand, the second theory states that only half of the world’s population has the gene that’s required to break down the compounds found in asparagus and, if the body doesn’t break them down, no smell is emitted. In fact, one study published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that only 46 percent of British people tested produced the odor while 100 percent of French people tested did. So whatever the reason, asparagus will forever be known as the vegetable that makes your urine smell strange.

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