Basting Sauce

* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, diced
* 1/3 cup chopped shallots
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
* 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

Vegetables

* 2 large ears fresh corn, husked, each cut crosswise into 4 pieces
* 1 small eggplant (about 1 pound), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
* 1 large red onion, cut into 3/4-inch-thick wedges
* 1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cut lengthwise into 6 strips
* 1 large yellow or green bell pepper, seeded, cut lengthwise into 6 strips
* 1 large zucchini, trimmed, quartered lengthwise
* 8 asparagus spears, trimmed
* 1 large carrot, peeled, cut on deep diagonal into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Grilling And Serving

* Fresh herb sprigs
* Lemon wedges

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in heavy medium saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until butter melts and sauce is well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cool. Whisk over low heat to rewarm before using.)

Arrange corn pieces, eggplant rounds and onion wedges in single layer on large baking sheet. arrange bell pepper strips, zucchini spears, asparagus spears and carrot slices in single layer on another large baking sheet. Transfer 1/2 cup sauce to small saucepan and reserve for dipping. Brush both sides of vegetables lightly with some of remaining basting sauce.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill Corn, eggplant and onion until tender and lightly charred, brushing occasionally with basting sauce and turning with tongs, about 6 minutes. Transfer vegetables to small platter as vegetables finish grilling. Tent with foil to keep warm.

Grill bell peppers, zucchini, asparagus and carrot until tender and lightly charred, brushing occasionally with basting sauce and turning with tongs, about 6 minutes. Transfer vegetables to same platter, arranging alongside other vegetables. Season all vegetables with salt and pepper. Garnish with fresh herb sprigs and lemon.

Place pan with reserved 1/2 cup sauce over low heat or at edge of barbecue and whisk sauce until warmed through. Transfer to small bowl. Serve vegetables, passing warm dipping sauce separately.

Lemon Asparagus Salad

Serves 8

The asparagus can be blanched
2 pounds asparagus , trimmed
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup juice from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1 garlic clove , minced
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add asparagus and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer to bowl of ice water. When completely cool, drain and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Combine lemon juice, mustard, honey, garlic 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Slowly whisk in oil to emulsify. Stir in chives. Arrange asparagus on platter and drizzle with vinaigrette. Serve.

Make Ahead: The blanched asparagus can be refrigerated in a large zipper-lock bag for 24 hours. The vinaigrette can be prepared (with exception of the chives) and refrigerated for 3 days. The chives should be chopped and added to the vinaigrette just prior to serving.

* 5 ounces fingerling potatoes
* Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
* Pizza Dough
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
* 1 garlic clove, pressed
* 4 green onions, thinly sliced, divided
* 1 1/3 cups grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
* 4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese, crumbled
* 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed, each spear cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 2- to 3-inch pieces
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation
Place potatoes in small saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 1 inch. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Cool. Cut potatoes into thin slices.
Preheat oven to 450°F. Sprinkle rimless baking sheet with cornmeal. Roll and stretch pizza dough to 16x11-inch oval. Transfer to baking sheet. Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil and garlic in small bowl. Brush garlic oil over dough. Sprinkle 3/4 of green onions over, then mozzarella, leaving 1/2-inch plain border. Top with potato slices and goat cheese. Toss asparagus and 1 tablespoon oil in medium bowl. Scatter asparagus over pizza. Sprinkle with Parmesan, then lightly with salt and generously with pepper.
Bake pizza until crust is browned and asparagus is tender, about 18 minutes. Transfer to cutting board. Sprinkle with remaining green onions. Cut into pieces.

 

1 lb. asperagus, cleaned, trimmed and cut into 2 in. lengths
1 medium sweet onion, cut in half and sliced into thin 1/2 rings
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or finely diced

Blanch the asperagus by dropping into boiling water for about 1 minute. Immediately place asperagus into a bowl of ice, or rinse under very cold water to stop the cooking.
Mix the remaining ingredients with the asperagus and chill for 30 minutes, or eat right away is you can't wait.

We love spicy, and this is a favorite latin marinade for meat, fish, or even our fresh asperagus

Chimichurri:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/2 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt

To prepare the Chimichurri: Combine garlic, jalapeno and lime in a small bowl. Whisk in vinegar and olive oil. Stir in parsley and cilantro. Add salt, cover and let stand 2 hours to allow the flavors to blend.

 

Again with the spicy. We usually make fresh salsa with whatever we happen to find at the market, so there are many variations on this theme.

Ingredients:

6 medium tomatillos
6 jalapeno peppers
1 head of garlic

1 or more chipoltle peppers (smoked jalapeno, usually canned in adobo)
1 medium red or sweet white onion
1 green pepper, or yellow, or red, or orange
1 bunch cilantro
1 or more limes
Olive oil

1 or 2 pinches of cumin (to taste)
1 or 2 pinches chile powder (to taste)

optional
one ripe mango
fresh pinapple
2 or 3 radishes
ripe avocado

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400
cut the top of the garlic head so that the cloves are exposed. Pour a small amount of olive oil over the exposed cloves. Wrap garlic tightly in aluminum foil.
Place garlic, jalapenos, and tomatillos on oven tray and roast approx. 45 minutes. Shake tray or turn peppers and tomatillos occasionally to roast evenly.
Remove and allow to cool.
when cool enough to handle, roughly chop all ingredients, including chipotles, onion, green pepper, and any optional ingredients.

Salsa can be kept at a rough chop, or placed in a food processor to create a smoother salsa.

Lastly, stir in cumin, chile powder, sprinkle with cilantro and squeeze lime juice into mixture. Stir, stir, stir and enjoy!