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Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Best Reason (I know) to Buy Asparagus

I don't always go through EDFs as I should.  I always find new recipes that are somewhat inspiring when I go back through them.  There is a reason that I currently am not getting any food magazines:  so many recipes already housed in my kitchen.  Here is a delicious recipe that could have been glossed over for a myriad of reasons.
EDF has a regular feature, Cooking for One.  This is a recipe from there.  When cooking for 2, as I have been since the fall of 2006, this would be a great reason to skip this one.  I find that when I make this, in doubling the recipe I get enough for 3 servings of the onions, asparagus, and sausage.  Plus, I love the grits....but I change them too.
I present to you the recipe for Chicken Sausage and Asparagus Saute over Cheese Grits, from May 2008's Everday Food.  I would love to provide you with the link to Martha Stewart, but it is apparent that they have disowned this recipe.  I am unable to find it on their site:


Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 precooked sausages, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced
One bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. lemon juice
coarse salt and ground pepper
1/2 c yellow cornmeal
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated

Method:
1.  Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage and onions until browned, tossing occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes; transfer to a plate. Reduce heat to medium. Cook onion until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add asparagus, thyme, and 1/3 cup water. Cover, and steam until asparagus is just tender and water has evaporated, about 6 minutes. Add sausage and lemon juice; toss. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
2.  In a small saucepan, bring 2 cups chicken broth to a boil; gradually whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 6 minutes.Stir in cheese and 2 tbsp butter; season with salt and pepper. Serve sausage and asparagus over grits.
This is a lovely dish...very comforting.  I make a double the recipe with no issues.  And seeing as I'm pulling out broth for this, I usually just steam the veggies with broth too.  I brown uncooked sausage, and soften the onion in the drippings of the sausages instead of adding oil.
This is one of the few recipes that J requests whenever I announce that asparagus is on sale in winter.  So good...so easy.  I can have this on the table in about 45 minutes.  Another bowl full of yum.

1 comment:

  1. Hi there, Melissa here from Food Bloggers of Canada. Just popping by to check out your blog and to let you know we’ve added you to our Membership Directory. Welcome aboard!

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