Asparagus Tart

With the onset of nice and even nicer weather, I have been spending less and less time showing you all what we have been eating in this joint. Every time I have a minute to sit down and create a post, I either get interrupted, find something else to do, or take a nap myself. Hey, the days outside take a lot of out of this girl. We have all been sleeping like babies, especially the babies!

So, today, or should I say, tonight, I am feeling the motivation. Mostly because Deadliest Catch is on. Now don't get me wrong. I love me some Sig but I don't get absorbed into the show. It's not like it's The Real Housewives of Anywhere. Those shows suck me in. Totally. And I am guessing that soon some Flipping Out with my all time favorite, Jeff Lewis, is going to start on Bravo. Did you know I love me everything Bravo? Well, I love it all. But I really love Jeff Lewis. Like, borderline obsessive. He has given me some of the best lines a TV show has even supplied me with. I won't share them with you because they may be offensive, but that is why I love him.

OK. So back to food. A few weeks back, I made this asparagus tart. It was so good. I love asparagus. I love it in all forms. And this was something different and new, but best of all, super easy. So, without further ado, here's how to make it.

First, in a small fry pan, swirl some extra virgin olive oil in the bottom and add a few cloves of garlic sliced up. Put the pan on medium heat and let the awesomeness from the garlic infuse into the oil. And if you are neurotic, first scrub down your stove top so there aren't water-over-boiled spots on in. And get a better pan than this. It's what I have. And it does what it is suppose to do, so I am good.

Let that sit there just getting all nice and delish for about eight minutes. Not five. Not ten. Eight. No, you can do it more or less depending on how much garlic flavor you would like.

Next, take a sheet of puff pastry that you thawed out and place it on a pan. I put a square sheet on a circular pan, but that's how I roll. Mostly because this pizza pan will fit in my dishwasher easier than a cookie sheet. Yes. I am lazy. I really dislike washing dishes, like, with a passion.

Brush your oil over the puff pastry. I rock it frozen puff pastry style because puff pastry is really hard to make. You need space, time, space, and patience. Just a few things I don't have. So I let Pepperidge Farm do the dirty work for me. In case you have never bought puff pastry sheets before, they are in the freezer section of your grocery store, usually by the frozen fruits, Cool Whip, and such.

Slice an onion thin...really thin. Almost paper thin. I only ended up using half an onion but mine was a biggin.

Trim your asparagus. I used a whole bunch. Lay them out all pretty like.

To trim the asparagus, hold one up, grabbing it at each end and bend it. It will snap somewhere closer to the end. Lay that piece next to the rest of the bunch and cut them all right there. If you have time and just want to hang out for a bit, you could snap each one. I like to do that. I also do that with green beans. I could totally just take bunch and cut them all but  I prefer to sit there and snap each bean individually, on both sides. Anywho. Just trim up your ass-pa-grass in whateva way you choose.

Lay your onions all nice and perrty over the asparagus. Then, I forgot to take a picture, but sprinkle the entire top with shredded Parmesan cheese. Don't be shy with it. As "they" say, cover it liberally. And by "they," I mean, all the cool cook-type chef people.

Bake that puppy at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes. It's just like pizza. Bake it until the cheese is all melted and bubbly and the puff pastry is golden brown. Cut it into squares and go to town on it.

If you wanted to make this a main dish instead of a nibbler, you could put some Alfredo sauce down instead of the oil, scatter some cooked chicken breast over the top, and use a little mozzarella and make a sort of pizza. I was going to do that but then I didn't. I just made chicken breasts marinated in Italian dressing to serve with it.

Got some asparagus to use? I bet you do! Well, here's the deets on how to make this scrumptiousness:

Asparagus Tart

Ingredients

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed

2 cloves garlic, sliced

a swirl of extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch of asparagus

1 onion, thinly sliced

A few handfuls of shredded Parmesan cheese

Sorry these are not specific measurements but it all depends on how much onion and cheese you would like. You can do it.

In a small saute pan, heat the extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and let sit for about eight minutes. Remove from heat.

Place the puff pastry on a baking sheet. Brush with garlic infused oil.

Top the puff pastry with asparagus, onion, and cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for about twenty minutes. Cut and mow down.

I promise we have been eating food here for hte past few weeks. I have a few recipes sitting here for you. I just am waiting for the time to write them up and share. Be patient, folks. They are a comin'!