Tuesday, June 7, 2011

What's cookin good lookin?

The answer to that question is ASPARAGUS!  It's spring and that means asparagus coming out the ears.  I've been buying a bunch every time I go to the store or market.  The Gardening blogs I read tell me that asparagus are easy to grow and I really want to try that once I have the giant garden I'm dreaming of.  Until then, I'm going to buy a ton of asparagus when they're in season.  Produce tastes so much better when it's in season.

Anyway, I've been making some yummy stuff with those asparagus.  First I saw on a cooking show that asparagus naturally snap where they should when you bend them.  So no knife necessary!  I discovered this spring how good asparagus are when grilled.  Much better flavor than boiled.  And you don't need to put oil on top, just a bit of salt & pepper.
Grilled Asparagus
The cooking blogs are a twitter with yummy asparagus recipes.  Here are my faves! 

Best spring salad ever!

(check out my new cherry place mats!)

Thursday, June 2, 2011

We ♥ Barolo

Micah & Anna came up to Piemonte for a night to visit Micah's parents and sister who were in town for the Alba Music Festival.  Saturday afternoon we picked up Micah & Anna from the Savigliano train station and went straight to La Morra for another day of Barolo wine tastings!  The weather was gorgeous and we had a little lunch outside before beginning the tasting. 
We were happy to try 23 different mostly 2007 Barolos!  It was very interesting talking to the producers and learning about the wine.  We all chose our favorites and then spent a bunch of money at the cantina buying wine.  Well, what's the point of knowing your favorite if you don't have a bottle of it at home? 
After a stroll in the sunshine and a bit of gelato, we hopped in the car and headed to Alba.  Micah & Anna joined Micah's family for dinner and Fabri & I met our friend Mike for an aperitivo.  Who knows why that was necessary after 23 wines, but it was fun!  Then Fabri and I had to run back home to have dinner and pick up our puppy, but it was fun to spend some time with our friends, even just a short time!