Cooking in the Spring means bright flavors and colors. In fact, this weekend I was cooking with broccoli and was almost in awe of the bright natural green! Unbelievably beautiful. I know that sounds silly but winter in so blah whereas spring in all about bright! Not only are the colors bright but so are the flavors!
Here are a few of my favorite bites in the spring!
Monte Cristo Sandwich
2 eggs
pinches of salt and pepper
4 slices sourdough or honey white bread
2 tablespoons mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
½ pound thick sliced baked ham
1 cup shredded Havarti cheese
4 slices baby swiss cheese
additional salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Beat eggs in a shallow pie pan with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Assemble sandwiches, with mustard, mayonnaise, ham, and both cheeses.
Dip and coat the sandwich in the egg mixture. Place sandwich on a panini press or in a skillet to cook. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or honey.
Mandy’s Springtime Tarts
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 lb. fresh asparagus spears
1 pkg. cream cheese Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon fresh dill, chopped
3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 sea salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove pastry dough from freezer and let thaw for 10 minutes. While dough is thawing, wash and trim asparagus so it is 1-1/2 inches shorter than width of pastry sheet. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, grated Parmesan, chopped dill and lemon juice. Set aside. Unfold dough onto a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cut into 4 equal rectangles. Separate rectangles slightly on sheet. Spread cream cheese mixture onto each of the pastry rectangles, not quite to edges. Â Press 4 asparagus spears onto each rectangle, alternating directions. Sprinkle pastries with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes until pastries are golden brown. Remove from oven, cut each pastry in half and transfer to serving platter. Garnish with a sprinkle of shaved Parmesan cheese and serve.