Kids Dish

We were away for the long President’s weekend in New Hampshire with two other couples. My plan was to make some sort of casserole or easily frozen dish to reheat for dinner one night. Bob, however, felt that my suggestions (spanakopita, lasagna) weren’t meaty enough- never mind that my favorite lasagna to make is lasagna Bolognese- so I scrapped the idea and brought nothing but a batch of cranberry muffins, a dozen bagels and cream cheese, fruit and Sam’s favorite snacks.

The two nights we cooked (the third night we had pizza) I ended up making the vegetable dishes and garlic bread to serve along with the pasta and salad. I can’t help but mention that all of the meals prepared over the weekend were most decidedly not meaty, but that’s neither here nor there. We had fettuccine carbonara the first night and baked ziti the second night.

Sam, in typical toddler fashion, preferred to snack on crackers instead of eating dinner. He did eat a ton of bacon on the carbonara night, something he’s never shown interest in before. But in typical Sam fashion he did eat the veggies and lots of them. One night I cooked asparagus, a vegetable we haven’t really eaten since spring. Sam LOVED it.

Asparagus is pretty versatile, but it’s really only in season for a short period of time. The rest of the year it can taste woody and stringy, especially if you’ve been lucky enough to eat it in season. While I learned to prepare it quickly and simply in spring to showcase its flavor, in the winter it benefits from roasting to bring out its sweetness.

Roasted Asparagus

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lay the asparagus on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil. Shake the baking sheet back and forth so the asparagus is coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Roast for 10 minutes, or until fork tender. You want the asparagus to still have a bit of crunch. Thicker stalks may take a bit longer, thinner stalks will take less time.