Palate Changes

Ever since I was a kid, I always hated asparagus. I thought it was the mushiest, tasteless, and nastiest looking vegetable on the face of the planet, and I would either push it away from my food with my fork or just skip it as I served my plate. This feeling has lasted for about 30 years.


Enter Mimi's Cafe', April 3, 2008. I order a chicken dish with a lovely wine sauce, served on a bed of garlic potatoes with a side of grilled asparagus. I resisted the urge to push it off the chicken with my fork, or better yet, to transfer it to LeGrande's plate, as I often do with food that I either don't like or can't eat. He has this theory that when we go out to eat, we are not going to leave a single morsel of the food we bought on the plate...so if there is any left, he eats it up.


I tried the asparagus. It was AWESOME! I loved it and raved about it all night. And the next day. And probably the next. I looked in cookbooks for recipes that included asparagus and made them. Then, I found a recipe on the Food Network for grilled asparagus. It was simple...and divine. I made it for Father's Day and everyone loved it. All you had to do was wash and trim the stalks, sprinkle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and I added a twist of lemon just for a kick. Then you grill it- on medium for a couple of minutes on each side. Delicious! The only problem was that I lost about 10 stalks in the grill :( since I had no idea how to prevent this.


My brother's girlfriend suggested that I purchase a vegetable griller, available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Last Saturday I took one of their 20% off coupons and headed in search of THIS item.

VOILA!

The ultimate vegetable grilling tray...NOTHING can fall through the little holes and you get perfectly grilled veggies and fish in a few minutes. We have had grilled asparagus for dinner two times this week...but I think it's time to try another veggie before LeGrande puts a stop to my new found craving.