Thursday, February 14, 2008

Shepherd's Pie with What?!?

Do your eyes ever light up when you see that asparagus is on sale? Until about a year ago, I never dreamed mine would either. My parents never served it when I was growing up (my dad and his brothers intentionally threw long passes to each other so they'd be "forced" to trample through Grandma's asparagus garden), and my few encounters with it in adulthood were somewhat underwhelming.

Then I ran across a recipe for Asparagus Shepherd's Pie. For reasons I still can't explain, I decided to give it a whirl. Phillip and I both loved it, and I cheerfully devoured the leftovers for lunch the next three days straight. Now whenever I see a bargain on asparagus, I pick up a pound of it, a can of cream of asparagus soup (sounds vile, doesn't it?), and a few potatoes. I usually have the rest of the ingredients on hand already.

Incidentally, this entree freezes well, and it passes the toddler test, too - Joy loves the stuff. Any recipe that can get a baby to gobble asparagus is a winner in my book.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny enough, I really like asparagus too. I say funny because like you, I'd never really had it growing up and frankly, it looks kind of suspect. But Louis and I had some grilled as a side dish at a restaurant and I loved it. Then we found a recipie for grilled asparagus with a fried egg and a little salad on the side. It was really good also, so yah, I do get excited when I see asparagus in the store. :]

PS. Happy Valentine's Day!

Natalie said...

I never had asparagus growing up either. The first time I tried it was in college and thought it was ok. Boy do they taste good roasted in the oven wrapped in bacon and covered in Parmesan. These days I like them cooked (I do it in the microwave)with some butter, salt and pepper until they're just the right tenderness and then doused with some lemon juice. Yum!

Jodi Jean said...

mmmm, we love asparagus as well. i generally roast with with olive oil, salt & pepper, garlic and parm. but boy this sounds good, i just might have to try it!!

Desmama said...

All I know about asparagus was that our Senora in Spain would cook white asparagus and it wasn't . . . that . . . great. Maybe I'll give it a whirl again though, with your recipe.

Dori said...

Hey, I am really enjoying reading your blog! I enjoyed your thoughts on the presidential candidates, you are a great writer, and one cool lady:) I am excited to try your recipe!

CJ said...

Sounds tantalizing. :) Grilled with butter is my favorite way to eat it. I am a true asparagus fan, but have run across very few recipes that list it as an ingredient, much less the main ingredient. I'll definitely file this one away for the day that asparagus goes on sale in my supermarket.

Nicole Shelby said...

i haven't tried anything asparagus in a long time. it always looks so pretty in mags, and then it tastes, like you said, "vile". we'll see.

Science Teacher Mommy said...

No, I don't think my husband would go for it. But I can eat well-cooked (not OVER cooked) asparagus by the ton, particularly with my to die for cheese sauce.

Roxanne said...

wow! it sounds great I'll have to get the recipe.