Asparagus And An Appetizer.

The other afternoon, Xmaskatie and Glowria
stopped by for a visit and I decided
 to make a quick appetizer for them to munch on.

My ingredients:
 dates
 mascarpone cheese
 ricotta cheese
goat cheese
 parmesan cheese
 parsley
 bacon

I mixed equal parts mascarpone, ricotta, goat, and parmesan cheeses.

I seasoned with salt and pepper and added in the parsley.

I stuffed each date with the mixture.

As you can see, I have awesome date-stuffing skillz.

Next, I sprinkled smoked paprika over the halved bacon slices ... and wrapped each date up, paprika side on the inside, and skewered them with toothpicks.

Here they are, ready for the oven.

I baked on the first side for about 8-9 minutes at 350 degrees,
then turned them over and cooked for another 7-8 minutes.
 I like my bacon crispy.

Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.

And here are my little appetizers.

Pretty, aren't they? And they tasted pretty darn good too.

This was an all-around excellent taste experience what with the sweetness of the dates, the smokiness of the bacon, and the herbiness of the filling. Nice textures too with the crunch of the bacon, the toothiness of the dates, and the smooth, creaminess of the cheeses. For dinner, I went outside to pick my asparagus. There's just nothing like a freshly-picked asparagus. Much more tender than what you get in the stores.

My ingredients:
 asparagus
proscuitto
 fresh parsley
and lemon.

I chopped my parsley and zested my lemon.

Then I laid a piece of proscuitto in the parsley/zest mixture, pressing to coat the proscuitto ...

Then I simply spiral-wrapped my asparagus spear with the parsley coated proscuitto.

Here are all my little wrapped spears.

I heated my pan, added a tablespoon of butter to melt,
 then put in my spears.
Just a few minutes on each side.

Poured in a little Chardonnay.

Let it bubble a bit.

And I turned them out onto my serving plate with the jus.

The asparagus were crunchy/tender.
 And the parsley and zest gave it a fresh boost in flavor,
 complementing the saltiness of the proscuitto.
 And my au jus needed to be sopped up with a piece of bread.
 No sense in letting that go to waste.