Judith Schrier <primate@BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU>

Scampi with Pasta

 Cook pasta (takes about 12-15 minutes). Meanwhile, combine butter, oil, seasonings, in large frypan (or wok), and heat to sizzling but not burning. Add seafood and stir until cooked. Lower flame; add parsley and grind in a bunch of pepper (I put in rather more than seems reasonable. I have no other way to measure, since I just grind it in. The stuff starts to look a little grey). Turn off the fire until the pasta is done. Drain pasta and add to frypan (or pour sauce into drained pasta, if it's easier that way). Toss. Add cheese. Toss some more. Eat with champagne. (There are some nice, inexpensive "Champagne Process" wines from Spain around these days. I got some for about $6 that is very pleasing. Recently I have added bits of cooked vegetables as well. AND, a magnificent variation from Texas...use lots more basil instead of the parsley.

Chicken Wings

 Cut chicken wings into 3 sections. Throw out the scrawny, bony, end sections. Put the rest into a large plastic bag with several mashed or chopped cloves of garlic and a spoonful or two of soy sauce. Let this rest in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Heat the oven to about 400F. Spread the pieces of wing evenly in a cookie pan (one with *edges*!). Bake for about 20 minutes. Turn each piece over and bake for about 15 minutes. Turn the oven up to BROIL. Put the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the pieces start to blacken nicely. Turn them over and broil another few minutes, if you like. If you like spicy stuff, you can make these into "Buffalo Wings" by spreading a combination of melted butter and Tobasco sauce (1/2 c of each) over the cooked wings.

Asparagus

 Wash asparagus. Snap off bottom quarter of each stalk. Break rest into two or three parts each. Steam until you can easily poke a fork into it. Place in a container with about 1 tsp. of soy sauce and 1/4 tsp. of sesame oil. A mashed clove of garlic wouldn't hurt, either.

To serve, drain into a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Beautiful Fish Dish

 Core and seed the peppers and cut them in strips. Peel and mince the garlic. Clean the scallions and cut them in 1 inch pieces. Sauté all in the oil until nearly soft, stirring gently. Place the fish on top of the peppers, cover the pan, and cook gently until the fish is done (it should be opaque and flaky). Move some of the peppers on top of the fish to serve.

(I just made this one up last week when the colored peppers were on sale...I used bluefish, but it doesn't matter.)

Cooking Hint - What to Consider When Buying or Gathering and Preparing Asparagus

 Asparagus is one vegetable that won't wait for harvesting. Once the spears push up through the earth and are three or four inches above the ground, they are ready to be cut down about two inches below the surface of the soil. If the weather is warm enough and the moisture is sufficient, this will be achieved easily in 24 hrs, and so it should be cut regularly every day. If asparagus grows taller, there may be considerable woodiness in the lower part of the spears, particularly in dry weather. For finest eating quality, full rich flavor, rich green color, and high vitamin value, the asparagus should be cooked as soon after it is cut as is feasible. The spears should be very tender and crisp and with as little woody fiber at the base of the stalk as possible. The finest asparagus procurable is from your own or local gardens or that shipped speedily by air. The best way to separate the woody fiber from the tender spears is to break the spears as low down the stalks as possible. The stalk will break with a snap where the woodiness begins. The lower woody part may be trimmed off and diced and cooked to make soup. Only enough water should be put on asparagus to cook it until tender which requires not more than 15 min for large tender spears and 20 min for trimmed off bottom stalks.

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