Sometimes you just have to come up with an appetizer (or main course, or dessert) on the fly and it’s times like these I hope that well-stocked fridge and pantry I always try to keep pays off.
My friend Julie’s mom, Sarah, called this “punting” and years ago now I can remember being at their condo in Sun Valley with Julie, and undoubtedly several others, as we all loved to go up there as often as possible for weekend getaways. As I remember, it was icy cold and dark outside and we were all in the great room with the wood fire popping away and dangerously stiff cocktails in hand, as that’s the only way Julie’s dad, Bill, knew how to make them. Maybe we had planned to go out but it was just too cozy to contemplate it now? I don’t even remember nor do I really remember what we made. I just know that Sarah and I perused the items on hand, made a game plan and got to work. What I do remember is that the food turned out great and the company was perfect – and that it wasn’t just the rum & Coke talking.
I’ve always been more of a planner. Look for a recipe. Make a shopping list. Go to the store. Follow the recipe. Serve. This night there was none of that – well, except for the serving, of course. It was one of those ah-ha moments.
Now I fly by the seat of my pants quite a bit of the time. That’s not to say that I still don’t make recipes, but I’ve definitely gotten a lot loosy-goosier with them. Measuring is more by eye (except when baking) and I have the confidence to wing it that comes with a few more years of cooking under my apron.
This is a lot of build up for such a simple recipe though – all wrapped up in memory lane that I was.
Back to my dilemma – I needed an appetizer stat! A quick scan of the fridge. Proscuitto. Asparagus. Perfect. Turn on the grill and let it get hot while separating the sheets of proscuitto (which is the hardest part of this whole thing, by the way), wrapping it around two spears (they were thin) of trimmed asparagus, a quick brush with some olive oil and then grilling until the asparagus gets slightly charred. Finish with a nice grind of black pepper and I was out the door and on the way to the party in no time flat – with a gluten free dish to boot which gets me bonus points with this party crowd.
If there’s more time next time, a drizzle of a balsamic reduction would be perfecto!
I’m pretty sure Sarah would approve.
