Dinner & A Dance Party Friday- Asparagus

Tonight's dinner inspiration comes from A Tribe Called Quest. They may start out this song dissing ham and eggs for their high cholesterol content but they soon move on to what they do like to eat - vegetables.

"Asparagus tips look yummy, yummy, yummy," Q-Tip croons knowingly. They sure do. Especially right now. Look for them at the peak of their perfection at a farmers market near you. Last week I picked up several bunches from Viereck Farm at the Westmont Farmers Market in Haddon Twp., N.J.

I knew I wanted to prepare the tender spears in a way that they would simply shine but still bring a festive aspect to our first meal of the season featuring asparagus. After trimming the ends by about an inch, I drizzled them with olive oil. They were seasoned with kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. A single Meyer lemon sliced thinly joined them on the baking sheet. After about 12 minutes in a 375 degree oven, they were ready.

Whole crispy fish with roasted asparagus and lemon. - Rachel Weston

Meanwhile, I made  three slits on both sides of a whole dorado. I dusted the fish with salt, pepper and all purpose flour and cooked in until it was golden brown on both sides in about a 1/2 cup olive oil in a cast iron skillet. By the time the asparagus was roasted, the fish was ready.

This dinner was done in  thirty minutes including a side of wild rice and a salad of canned black eyed peas, carrot from Chickadee Creek Farm and a smidge of a spicy jalepeno pickle made by friend Shalini to enliven the flavors.

My book, "New Jersey Fresh: Four Seasons from Farm to Table" has plenty of ideas for simple yet delicious meals like this one. The asparagus chapter includes a story about my first summer after culinary school when I made countless orders of asparagus risotto at Brandl restaurant in Belmar, N.J.  Plus tips for selecting, peeling and trimming asparagus stalks.

Dinner & A Dance Party Friday: Chicken

Chicken is a bit of a blind spot for me. I never ever order it when I go out to eat and I rarely used to turn to it for dinner inspiration. That has changed in the past year after I started teaching more recreational culinary classes. Evidently, everyone else is just as fed up with their chicken ideas, too and are desperate for some new ones. It is my most requested menu item when building class ideas.

Honey bourbon glazed chicken with smashed sweet potatoes, charred leeks, meyer lemon.

As the fab Cab Calloway song here tells us, a chicken is just a bird. But all birds are not created equal. I make the effort to seek out antibiotic free, organic or pastured options. Even when paying a premium for a bird that lived a better life, chicken is still an affordable protein compared to other options. Especially if you buy a whole bird.

This week I wanted to test a honey bourbon glaze for an upcoming Southern themed class. I mixed up bourbon, honey, molasses and mustard and set it aside. Then I spatchcocked the chicken. You did what? I simply made two cuts and removed the back from a whole chicken. By flattening out the bird on a sheet pan, there was much more surface to spread the glaze and it reduced the cooking time.

Pro tip: Instead of discarding the back, I roasted it right on the same pan without the glaze. I added it to my ever growing bag in the freezer of odds and ends to make stock with in the future.

Spatchcock a chicken to reduce cooking time and make sure every bite is flavor packed.

While I was prepping the chicken and sauce, I roasted the last leeks from our garden until they charred up slightly and set them aside. Smashed sweet potatoes on the side kept the meal seasonal and homey - my top priorities.

One bite made me want to do a happy little dance. Funky chicken, anyone?

Dinner & A Dance Party Fridays

Many, many moons ago on my original blog, The Metaphorical Magpie, I used to post a weekly Friday Dance Party post. I'm bringing back the weekly grooves and adding a tasty component to the platter with Dinner & Dance Party Fridays. Each Friday, I'll pick a song with a food themed vibe and match it up with something to eat, too.

The Groove: "Brown Sugar" by D'Angelo.

D'Angelo - "Brown Sugar" Album: Brown Sugar Released: 1995

Today is the ten-year anniversary of my husband moving in with me. We'd only been together a few months but it just felt right to have him walk away from his oceanfront apartment and into my little bungalow.

When he got all settled in, I reluctantly had to put away the framed portrait of D'Angelo that had prominently been displayed on my nightstand for years. It was the right thing to do.

Now, I didn't say, I got rid of the picture. I actually found it last month when I cleaned out the nightstand to prepare for finally getting new bedroom furniture that we are choosing together.

I posted my old French provincial furniture set for sale on Etsy. Yet again, I'll need to find a new place to stash my photo of big D.

Nutty Nutella Morning Buns    Photo credit: Shawn Weston

My husband's not mad at me. He bought me the new D'Angelo record, Black Messiah for Christmas and makes sure I know when he's going to be on tv. Before he even moved in he had earned the nickname Sweets. I guess by now he's pretty confident he can hold his own in the sugar department.

I'm testing recipes this week for several upcoming classes at Taste & Technique Culinary Studio. A buttery yeast dough slathered with chocolate goodness and set upon a brown sugar, butter and nut base before baking is sure to be a hit at my Mother's Day class. More importantly, they made my Sweets happy when they were waiting for him after work.

First Press on "New Jersey Fresh: Four Seasons from Farm to Table"

I am thrilled to reveal the first press coverage about my book "New Jersey Fresh: Four Seasons from Farm to Table."   I was interviewed by Carrie Havranek for an article in the spring 2015 issue of Edible Jersey.

The Edible Jersey story gives readers the first glimpse of the book cover. I love the way the colors play against each other. Farmer Rose Robson contributed a cover photo of a peach galette made from fruit grown on Robson's Farm. I can't wait until summer to try out her recipe which is included in the book along with others from chefs, bakers and mixologists from New Jersey.

Recipe: Quail eggs in Purgatory

With Halloween on the way, I thought I'd share a spooky sounding recipe with you. Although there is nothing scary about cooking these. I love the quail eggs from Griggstown Farm. Sometimes I'll pick them up at H-Mart, too. Chicken or duck eggs can be substituted for the quail eggs, just cook them a bit longer until whites are set.

The purgatory refers to the heat. You can skip it all together or use a few shakes of Tabasco or red pepper flakes. Smoked paprika will add smoke without heat. If you can handle the heat, feel free to add as much spice as you can take.

 Serves 6

Ingredients:

 1- 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes, preferably a NJ brand like Scalfani or Jersey Fresh

1 chipotle pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp adobo sauce from the chipotle can

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

1 dozen quail eggs

2 Tbsp grated parmesan or manchego cheese

Directions:

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

1.    Warm the tomatoes, chipotle, adobo in a sauce pan.

2.    Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.    Divide the sauce between six ramekins on a sheet tray.

4.    Use the back of a spoon to create a depression in the sauce. Crack the eggs into the space.

5.    Bake for 8-10 minutes or until whites are set. Yolks will be runny.

6.    Sprinkle with grated cheese.

7.    Serve with crusty bread or crostini.

Holiday Gifts from the Kitchen class

Reservations are now open for my Holiday Gifts From the Kitchen class at Taste & Technique Studio in Fair Haven. In this hands-on class we'll be making sweet and savory edible gifts. Recipes and packaging ideas will provided along with samples to get you started on checking off that holiday list.

Review the menu on the Culinary Class event listing.

Seating is limited. Register early. My last class at T&T sold out.