Catching up again; Asparagus is here

It's been too long since I've blogged. Way, way too long. Last few weeks have been very busy in the garden as well as at work. So, first of all, there hasn't been as much time to write, or for that matter, to cook a lot. So, we've eaten a lot of takeout. But I've also cooked a fair bit, and have neglected to tell you a bit about it.

The last few weeks, asparagus has been in season at the farmer's market. I think we've eaten asparagus in every imagineable form, many times. Cream of asparagus soup (twice), asparagus risotto, steamed, boiled asparagus, grilled asparagus, roasted asparagus. As a side, as an appetizer, as a main in bigger dishes. And, I'm still hungry for more. Now, if all you've ever eaten is supermarket bundled asparagus imported from California or South America or some other distant place, or, worse, from a can or freezer bag, you probably don't get what I'm saying. In season, locally grown, fresh picked asparagus is simply the most flavorful, tender-textured, beautiful thing you can imagine. Not much in the way of tough, fibrous woody pieces. No dried out, wilted looking spears. Of course, they're also not all the exact same size or shape.

So far, the only approach that I wasn't hugely enamored with was grilled--with steaks and potatoes on the grill. And that was my fault--I slightly overcooked it, and the flare up from the steaks created a bit more burn than desired. Ah, well, those that were good were very concentrated, so I'll try that again if I can.

Now, wine and asparagus are a notorious challenge, so you might think I'd be in trouble. But no, not so much. Sauvignon blanc is arguably the grape that pairs most beautifully with asparagus. I'm personally partial to sancerre, which produces these wonderfully minerally, gooseberry, chive and sometimes bell-pepper flavored wines (from the sauvignon blanc grape). This appellation within the Loire Valley of France is just amazing. Another decent pairing was chablis--a region of Burgundy that produces steely, minerally unoaked chardonnay. For me, that was a bit less lovely, still nice, but not great, with asparagus.

More soon on some food and wine encounters.