Every spring, I welcome the new crop of produce available at the market, as well as the flowers starting to poke through the soil in front of my condo: hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips all represent the beginning of spring to me.

I may not yet have flowers to enjoy, but I can at least start cooking. I saw an easy recipe for cream of asparagus soup in Everyday Food, and I couldn’t wait to try this soup on a cold, grey day. The time arrived earlier this week. I was a little short on the amount of asparagus needed (the original recipe calls for three pounds), so I decided to add some green beans that had been hanging out in my freezer a little too long. Even with my changes, the taste of asparagus was the most prevalent in this soup. The lemon helped brighten things up and cut through the fat a bit, resulting in a nice overall balance.

I made the cheesy croutons to go with the soup because, frankly, the soup alone for lunch wouldn’t be enough to get me through to dinner. I used gruyere because I adore it, but as I ate the first crouton I realized that parmesan probably would have been a better choice. Oh well, next time. . .

Cream of Asparagus Soup
adapted from Everyday Food

3 tablespoons butter
5 large shallots, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons flour
5 cups water
1 1/2 pounds asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
½ pound green beans (fresh or frozen), chopped into 1 inch pieces
salt
1/3 cup cream
juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)
baguette, sliced into ½ in pieces
olive oil
gruyere or parmesan slices

for the soup:
Melt butter in medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add shallots and cook until soft. Add flour and cook, stirring frequently, for one minute. Add asparagus and water, and season with salt. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until asparagus is bright green. Uncover and remove from heat.

Puree using an immersion blender (or in batches using a standard blender). Add lemon juice and cream, taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary.

For the croutons:
Preheat oven to 450*F. Arrange bread on a rimmed baking sheet and brush both sides with olive oil. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until golden.

Turn the broiler on. Place a slice of cheese on each crouton and broil until bubbly. Serve the croutons with the soup.

I love, love, love curried couscous, but in the past I’ve often cheated and bought the boxed stuff. But in my attempt to cook as much as my own food as possible, I dug out this Barefoot Contessa recipe that I mentally bookmarked a few years back. I’ve made a few changes based on my personal preferences, and I’m happy with the results.

This recipe is simple and relatively quick to make, and I have to admit I have no excuse to not make this dish from scratch every time.

Curried Couscous
adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 ½ cup couscous
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ cup boiling water
¼ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 ¼ teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
½ cup shredded carrots
¼ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup chopped cilantro
¼ cup sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced
¼ cup small-diced red onions

Place couscous in medium bowl. Melt butter in the boiling water and pour over couscous. Cover tightly for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Whisk together yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over fluffed couscous and mix well with a fork. Add carrots, parsley, cilantro, almonds, scallions, and red onions. Mix well and taste for seasoning.

My grape tomato plant is out of control. I always get the bulk of my tomato crop in late summer to early fall, and this year is no exception. While my larger tomato varieties haven’t done so well this year, the grape tomatoes seem to want to make up for their counterparts.

This salad came about from the need to use some ripe tomatoes, some lettuce that was on its last day, and some mozzarella in the fridge that didn’t melt very well, but tasted okay when it was cut up. This salad begs for the best olive oil you have, and a splash of aged Balsamic takes it to another level. A sprinkle of whole basil leaves, salt, and pepper finishes things off nicely.

Of course, with the addition of lettuce and balsamic vineger, this salad isn’t your traditional caprese, but it sure does taste great. It would have been even better had I thought to make a few brioche croutons, but I didn’t have that brainiac moment until I was halfway through the salad. Next time, though…after all, I still have many more tomatoes to eat in the coming weeks.

This really isn’t a recipe, but here’s what you do to make this salad:

In a large bowl (I have an old serving bowl that I use for salads), pile high a few cups of torn lettuce leaves. Top with about eight cherry or grape tomatoes, halved, and several cubes of mozzarella cheese. Spinkle a few whole basil leaves over the top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Enjoy. It’s sometimes difficult to believe that something this simple could be so satisfying.

When asked what his choice for his last meal would be, this was Anthony Bourdain’s pick. Well, Bourdain would have Fergus Henderson of St. John restaurant roasting his marrow bones, but marrow is surprisingly easy to prepare, though a little daunting at first if you’ve never encountered this delicacy.

Prepared with brown sugar and ancho, spread over toasted slices of baguette, marrow is a delightful marriage of sweetness, richness, spice, and crunch. The ancho and sugar will alter the color of the bones and the upper marrow a bit, but in a good way.

Wow. I just realized that my macarons post was my 100th post. I suppose it’s fitting that I included a more temperamental dessert in a milestone post, rather than the flop I’m posting today. I’m quite embarrassed to post the picture, as everything about the dish turned out that bad. But, flops happen. And I promised to post what I did with the leftovers of Project Chicken, so there was no getting out of this one.

I confess that I usually buy a gourmet spicy peanut sauce from a local specialty shop. The sauce is delicious, the price is decent, and I don’t have to stock 10 bottles of various Asian sauce components in my fridge. I make these sauces so rarely that the ingredients always seem to go bad before I get around to using everything up. The purchased peanut sauce, however, gets used up every time.

Well, this time I made my own sauce, following a recipe I found here. I had all of the ingredients, but I chose to forego the pasta and just do chicken with vegetables. At that point in the week, I really needed to use up that chicken, and having a bunch of leftovers was not ideal, since I wouldn’t be able to eat them anyway.

Um, I didn’t like this sauce. I only tasted peanut butter, and even though I thinned it not once, but twice, and only used some of it, it still was just way too overpowering. I’m curious as to whether anyone has a go-to spicy peanut recipe that actually tastes good…

Spicy Peanut Chicken and Vegetables
adapted from Delish

Leftover shredded chicken (I used about one breast)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
One bag of stir-fry vegetables
1 teaspoon oil

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, chili sauce, and ginger.

Heat oil in a wok or large saute pan (preferrably non-stick) over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and saute until tender. Add chicken and saute for a minute to warm through. Reduce heat to medium-low and add peanut sauce. Thin with water to desired consistency.

*This dish likely would have turned out better with the noodles, as the peanut sauce would have been covering more food, and the noodles would have absorbed a little of the sauce. Then again, I didn’t like the flavor of the sauce, and I don’t think noodles would have helped that.

I never really thought I would like BBQ Chicken Pizza, but I have a friend obsessed with BBQ sauce; several years ago when we went out for pizza, I let him talk me into a thin crust BBQ Chicken Pizza.

It was really, really good.

Once I got over my shock at actually liking the pizza, I have put in on the menu from time to time. Unlike your standard tomato sauce & cheese pizza, which I could quite happily devour at every meal, I really have to be in the mood for this pizza.

The mood struck when I happened to have a fridge full of leftover chicken and cilantro that was quickly going to seed; I had very little time left to take advantage of this flavorfull herb. If I had some pre-baked crusts, I certainly would have used them, but that particular night, I had planned on making a flatbread. When dinner rolled around, laziness trumped the flatbread plan, and I used a tortilla.

The results were excellent. This was the first time I actually toasted the tortilla over a burner before using it as a pizza base, and I have to say, this is definitely the way to go. The entire “crust” was very crisp, and for the first time in my experience, strong enough to actually pick up a slice of the pizza, without the crust going limp (which always seems to result in an avalanche of cheese and toppings).

Super Quick BBQ Chicken Pizza

1 tortilla
BBQ sauce
shredded cooked chicken
shredded mozzarella
shredded cheddar or gouda
1 teaspoon chopped red onion
1 tsp chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400*F. Heat an electric or gas burner over high heat. If using gas, throw the tortilla on the burner until it starts to puff up, then flip it over to repeat. For electric burner, hold the tortilla with a tongs, close to the element until it starts to puff up. Flip over and repeat.

Place tortilla on a baking sheet. Top with desired amount of BBQ sauce and cheese. Sprinkle with onions, chicken, and cilantro. Bake until cheese melts, about 5-7 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes before cutting.

And now for some shameless self-promotion: If you enjoy My Madison Bistro, consider nominating this blog on Foodbuzz! You don’t have to have a blog to nominate others, this is merely a way for you to show support for your favorite food blogs in a variety of categories. You can click on this link for additional information, including the categories, or simply vote by clicking here. And if you are also a food blogger, you can nominate your own blog for up to two categories (but not best food blog)!

I’m about to share with you an easy make-ahead recipe that could potentially save you from losing your mind during the middle of a busy week: the make-ahead pizza crust.

Think about it. The crust is often the part that has you nixing the thought of making homemade pizza during the week, and good intentions for a fun Friday night dinner might fly out the window when you’re simply too tired or hungry. Enter the make-ahead crust.

All you need to do is take an extra hour or two on the weekend to make your crusts, then pop them in the freezer until an emergency strikes. Of course, these crusts are so awesome that you just might have an emergency a few nights in a row. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything.

Make-Ahead Pizza Crusts
makes 3 pizza crusts

1 package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tablespoon honey or sugar
1 1/2 cups bread flour*
pinch of salt
1 tsp dried Italian herbs (optional)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine yeast, water, and honey in a liquid measuring cup. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. You will smell the yeast and the mixture will look very foamy on top – if this does not happen, toss it and start over – the yeast was bad. (By the way, this step will ensure a perfect pizza crust for you, since you’ll know right away whether or not your yeast will give you any trouble. So for those of you afraid of trying anything with yeast, trust me on this, you’ll get good results from this dough.)

Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt (and herbs, if using) in a medium-sized bowl. With a spoon, make a well in the middle of the bowl and add the olive oil. Pour the water into the well. With a spoon, stir the flour and water. When it gets difficult to combine the flour and water (usually after five or six strokes), use your hand to mix. If the dough seems a bit dry, add a small sprinkle of water. When the dough comes together in a ball (the texture will still be rough), knead the dough about 10 times or until smooth. I have a shallow enough bowl that I can knead the dough right in the bowl, but kneading on a floured board works as well.

Coat the same bowl with olive oil. Toss the dough in the bowl so it’s evenly coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 475*F. Spray large baking sheet with cooking spray or brush with oil.

Divide dough into 3 balls and press into circles on baking sheet for a rustic look (if you want more perfect looking circles, go ahead and use a rolling pin). Bake on lowest rack for 6 minutes.

Cool crusts completely on a wire rack. Freeze until ready to use (I just put them all in a large plastic bag with waxed paper in between the crusts).

To make a pizza: Take out the number of crusts that you need. Preheat oven to 450*F. Top each crust with desired sauce and toppings, bake for 7-8 minutes on the middle rack for a cheese pizza, more like 9-12 minutes if you add toppings.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut and enjoy!

*You can substitute half of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. You can also use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour in place of the bread flour. Don’t, however, do half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour…there’s just not enough gluten to produce gread results.

I’m in denial. Though it certainly still feels like summer, I want to believe that autumn is here. I mean, the leaves are starting to turn, my mums are blooming…it looks like fall.

And then the warmth inside my condo yanks me back into reality. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still pretend, just a little, that autumn is here. Today I kept up the charade by focusing on a flavor profile associated with autumn: sweet potatoes, nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon.

Last night I went to bed with a headache; by morning it was threatening to turn into a full-blown migraine. I simply did not have the energy or brain-power to cook, so I went with one of the easiest options in my kitchen: a package of sweet potato ravioli that has been stashed in my freezer for way too long. (The headache still lingers, so if my writing doesn’t make much sense today, there’s a reason for it…) But plunking those ravioli into boiling water and browning a little butter was so easy, even I could handle it today. The combination is so ridiculously delicious that I had to photograph it and share the recipe with you. For those of you who can’t do the pasta thing (like I shouldn’t be doing), try drizzling the spiced brown butter over a baked sweet potato, or even pieces of roasted sweet potato. Butternut squash or pumpkin would be great substitutes.

And for those of you who noticed the second picture included some shaved parmesan…I tried that at first but ultimately decided the cheese fought with the rest of the flavors, and I completely forgot to take another close-up picture. I told you this headache is evil.

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Spiced Brown Butter
serves 2

9 ounces package of sweet potato ravioli*
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
pinch of salt
toasted hazelnuts, if desired

Heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the butter starts bubbling, stir frequently, scraping the bottom to loosen any brown bits. When the butter smells nutty and looks like it is just shy of starting to burn, remove it from heat. Stir in spices, salt, and brown sugar.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add a generous sprinkle of salt to the water, then a small pour of oil (the oil will help keep foam to a minimum). Add the ravioli and cook for about four minutes, or until the ravioli are all floating at the top. Remove the ravioli from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the brown butter. Stir to coat.

If desired, garnish with toasted hazelnuts. (To toast, place hazelnuts in a dry frying pan and heat over medium-high, occasionally giving the pan a gentle shake. When nuts become fragrant, remove from pan to a bowl to cool. This only takes a few minutes, so don’t walk away – they can go from toasted to burned quite quickly.)

*I get my ravioli from a local pasta company that distributes to the grocery stores. You may also be able to find a similar ravioli (fresh or frozen) in your local grocery, or a specialty gourmet shop.

Chili in June? When temperatures are below normal by a good ten degrees, slow-cooker chili is a great weeknight meal. It’s effortless, but it also freezes beautifully, so even if you only have one day of cool temperatures, you don’t have to worry that the chili will go to waste. And if, during the middle of summer, you’re blessed with a cool evening, you can always pull that chili out of the freezer!

Making chili in the slow-cooker was one of my first ventures into cooking. After college, I didn’t have many pots, but I did have a slow cooker. I learned that you can make a tasty chili simply by throwing all of the ingredients into the crock (no browning necessary), and letting it do its thing. After all, who doesn’t want to come home to dinner being ready?

I’ve come across a few people who don’t like the idea of leaving a slow-cooker turned on during the day, but really, that’s kind of the point of this little appliance: toss in the food and go. With the advent of the removable crock (that’s dishwasher safe!), utilizing a slow-cooker has never taken less time. Some folks really like the plastic crock liners, but I have some misgivings about them. I used one once, and it leaked, but not from a hole – it seemed more like the liner melted in places. I also do not like the idea of cooking food in plastic – who knows what exactly is leaching out of the liner into your food?

Slow-Cooker Chili

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground round (or ground turkey)
1 large yellow or red onion, cut into medium dice
1 large green pepper, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
2 jalapenos, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T chili powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/8-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (unsalted)
1 14 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1/4 c salsa
8 oz beef stock
Juice of 1 lime

salt
pepper
3 T chopped cilantro

Garnishes
sour cream
shredded cheddar
sliced green onions
tortilla chips

Instructions
Lightly spray the inside of the crock with cooking spray. Add the beef through the lime juice. Stir a couple of times to break up the beef a little, then cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours. During the last hour of cooking time, add the cilantro, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with garnishes.