Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

There is a wonderful tailgate market in the historic town of Flat Rock not far from our home. Local farmers, herbalists, flower vendors, wild mushroom collectors and meat and seafood purveyors convene in a picturesque shady dell behind the local bakery and antique shop to sell their specialities. The market is held every Thursday from 3:00 to 6:00. This early in the season it is prudent to get there by 3:00.

All of the Spring vegetables go quickly. Unfortunately we did not arrive until after 4:00 and there was very little left. But what we did find were beautiful shrimp caught off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. The seafood vendor said that he normally gets his fresh seafood from the Carolina coast, but that it was too early for that. The shrimp were beautiful and very large. We decided to do a simple pasta dish with them. I love lemon with my seafood pasta dishes. It lightens and brightens the heaviness of the pasta. And since I used whole wheat spaghetti in this recipe it was necessary. The recipe does not call for mushrooms, but I already had some sauteed mushrooms from another meal, so feel free to add them if you like. We loved this so much that it will be repeated often.

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I am late with my Barefoot Blogger recipe this month but want to thank Cassandra of Foodie with Little Thyme for choosing this cookie recipe. We have had two cookie recipes this month and I am sure all of those with a sweet tooth are very pleased. But frankly, I hope that we have at least one savory recipe next month so that my scales will stop screaming at me. These cookies were very good and easy to make. For some reason my cookie dough was a little dry, so that the cookies crumbled when I rolled and pressed them. But that did not affect the buttery flavor. The coconut added a nice touch and you can get very creative with the jam that you use. All I had on hand was blueberry and raspberry. If you have apricot jam or orange marmalade it will give you a nice contrast with the raspberry jam if you do half of the cookies with each jam.

JAM THUMBPRINT COOKIES ( The Barefoot Contessa )

Everything is in the ground now. The marked rows contain sugar snap peas, rainbow chard, shallots and green onions. We have two hills of squash and tomato plants, pepper plants and cucumbers.

Hopefully we will be harvesting by July. The Friends of Hickory Nut Gorge Community Gardens have asked all of the participants to donate 10% of the harvest to charity.

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This chicken dish began with a mistake. Our only local supermarket is about 15 minutes away around the lake. Sometimes we try to combine trips. David needed to go to the hardware store so I reluctantly turned over my lenghthy grocery list to him. I wanted to try the recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu that was in the latest issue of Cook’s Country. It called for boneless chicken breasts, black forest ham and swiss cheese. It seemed simple at the time, but David came home with thin boneless chicken breasts. Of course I was very understanding. Afterall, I am always even-tempered and perfect. . . . enough said. To his credit, the store was actually out of boneless chicken breasts when he was there and he figured I could make do with the thin ones. But what he didn’t know was that the whole premise of this recipe was to cut a pocket into the chicken breasts and insert two cylinders of cheese stuffed ham. There was no way that was going to happen. So I improvised and I think the results were great.

I placed about 1/2 cup of grated swiss cheese on a stack of two ham slices, rolled it up and placed the roll in the center of one of the chicken breasts. I pounded a second chicken breast in wax paper to make it slightly larger than the first and placed it over the top. I pressed gently on the meat to make it stick together. When all of the breasts were stuffed they went in the refrigerator for a half an hour. I then proceeded with the breading and the baking. The seal worked very well, with just a little of the cheese oozing out. I loved the breading which included bread crumbs and Ritz crackers. This is one of those dishes you can prepare ahead and bake when you are ready. Great for company. You can do it my way or follow this recipe.

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I took this picture before we worked in the community garden yesterday. The soil looks rich and not at all like the usual red clay soil that is found in most of North Carolina. The view of Chimney Rock is inspirational and makes spending time in the garden worthwhile. Yesterday we hoed and raked the soil and enclosed our space with poles and wire mesh. David added lime and manure to the plot and planted tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash. I will post more pictures soon. One thing we could not plant was asparagus. Asparagus takes a few years to develop and we do not have a guarantee that we will have the same plot next year. But asparagus is in the market right now and it is the best time to enjoy it.

The parchment paper insulates the asparagus and cooks it evenly so that the tips and the bottoms of the stalk are equally tender. This recipe added shiitakes, prosciutto, olive oil and fresh tarragon which infused the spears with wonderful flavor. The slow cooking enhanced the flavor even more. Give it a try. I will be posting about that wonderful chicken cordon bleu next.

BAKED ASPARAGUS WITH SHIITAKE AND PROSCIUTTO

1 pound asparagus, ends trimmed

1/4 pound shitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 1/4 inch strips

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Ground black pepper, to taste

Grated nutmeg

3 tarragon sprigs

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (it should be twice as long as pan). Lay asparagus in a pile in center. Scatter mushrooms and prosciutto on top. Drizzle with 2 tablespoon oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt, the pepper and nutmeg. Toss vegetables to coat evely. Lay tarragon over top.

2. Fold parchment to completely enclose vegetables, and staple top and sides shut. Transfer pan to oven and bake for one hour. Asparagus should be just cooked through. If too crisp, return to oven until done to taste.

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Sometimes a dish is more than the sum of it’s parts. Sometimes a dish totally surprises you with how good it is. I have to tell you that this salad is one of the best salads I have ever eaten. I have been familiar with Mollie Katzen for a long time. She is the author of the Moosewood Cookbook and The Enchanted Broccoli Forest. All things vegetable are her forte. In her latest book, The Vegetable Dishes I Can’t Live Without, she presents us with almost 100 vegetable recipes that are her current favorites. When I first looked at this broccoli salad recipe I thought of another broccoli salad recipe that I have made in the past that involved raisins and nuts and mayonnaise. I loved that salad. This one seemed sparse in comparison. How wrong I was. All I can tell you is that it is the best. It could become a classic. It looks simple and it is simple to make, but the combination of the blanched broccoli, the wilted red onions and the crisp apples with the honey- mustard viniagrette is genious. I could not stop eating it. Molly Katzen knows what she is doing.

It is appropo that I am giving you a vegetable recipe right now. We have just joined the Friends of the Hickory Nut Gorge Community Garden. We have signed up for a beautiful garden plot with a view of Chimney Rock and the Hickory Nut Falls. Our garden plot is small but we want to grow heirloom tomatoes and peppers, squash, and beans. I plan on posting pictures of our garden as it evolves.

In the meantime, you seriously have to try this salad. I don’t usually wax poetically about my recipes, but I am now. This is excellant!

BROCCOLI, APPLES, AND RED ONION SALAD

1 large bunch broccoli
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons honey
5 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 medium sized tart apple, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1. Put up a large saucepan of water to boil. While waiting for this to happen, remove and discard the thick lower stems of the broccoli, and cut the thinner upper stems and tops into medium-sized spears.
2. Measure the vinegar into a medium-large bowl. Use a small whisk to stir constantly as you add the mustard, garlic, salt, and honey.
3. Keep whisking as you drizzle in the oil in a steady stream. The mixture will thicken as the oil becomes incorporated.
4. By now the water should be boiling. Turn it down to a simmer and add the broccoli. Let it cook in the water for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it becomes very bright green and tender-crisp. Meanwhile, place the sliced red onion in a large colander in the sink.
5. Pour the broccoli and all its water over the onion in the colander. ( The hot water will wilt the onion slightly upon contact. ) Place the colander of vegetables under cold running water for a few minutes, then shake to drain well.
6. Transfer the vegetables to the bowlful of dressing. Use tongs to toss until the broccoli is well coated, adding the apple slices as you go. You can serve this right away, or cover and let it marinate in the refregerator, where the flavor will deepen. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

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