A simple, elegant heart attack on a plate.

[rivka]

Because it's asparagus season now for so much of the northern hemisphere:

Smoked Salmon-Asparagus Pasta (adapted from The Joy of Cooking)

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed off
4 oz peppered smoked salmon (not lox, but the thick meaty stuff)
8 oz heavy cream
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound pasta (I use thin linguine)

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop the asparagus in and blanch it for a couple of minutes - two minutes if it's pencil thin, four minutes or so for thick, mature stalks. Then fish the asparagus out with a sieve and put the pasta into the water to boil.

Cut the salmon into bite-sized pieces.

Melt the butter in a skillet. Put the asparagus in and turn until coated with butter. Add the cream and the smoked salmon and warm over low heat until the pasta is done. Divide the asparagus evenly into two bowls of pasta and pour the smoked salmon cream over the top.

Serve with Lipitor (or the statin of your choice).


Also: final Respectful of Otters hit count for the day - 7712. Sheesh.

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Oh. My. God. I will make this with Dreamfields pasta, thereby fooling myelf into thinking it's healthier. Hahahahahaha!

Also: final Respectful of Otters hit count for the day - 7712. Sheesh.

It's been good stuff. It's *always* good stuff, but lately it's been unbelievable. Thank you for it. I'm so glad it's being read.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. Your praise means a great deal to me, because I know that you know whereof you speak.

And of course using Dreamfields pasta would turn this dish into a cardiologist's delight. Think nothing of it! :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Oh yum. That would be fabulous morphed with J's salmon lasagne recipe.

I adore that serious smoked salmon. My ex and I took a ferryboat from Prince Rupert, BC to Port Hardy, on Vancouver Island, in BC, and splurged (a huge splurge for us, we were broke) on the boat's dinner buffet. There was a big tray of smoked salmon like that, locally made, and we ate far more than the price of the buffet (about $US20, if I recall correctly, in 1992) in salmon. We ate until it hurt.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

That's a wonderful looking recipe, and quite respectable numbers!

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"Smoked Salmon-Asparagus Pasta"

Sounds delicious.

"Also: final Respectful of Otters hit count for the day - 7712."

I'm actually surprised it's that low. I've gotten 13K hits from a SlashDot link; just from that link. I think I've gotten more hits from a BoingBoing link. I'd be curious how that sustains over the next few days; Slate probably has more every-few-day readers than every-day readers. And -- more importantly -- how many new regular readers you get from the mainstream publicity.

B

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Sounds delicious.

And ready in fifteen minutes! The decadence to effort ratio is very high.

I'm actually surprised it's that low. I've gotten 13K hits from a SlashDot link; just from that link.

That doesn't surprise me at all. Slashdot is your natural constituency - probably the majority of people who read it would want to know what you think on a given issue, right?

Also, I was one of many people linked in the Slate post, rather than there being a dedicated item about how brilliant I am. :-) I think the most hits I've ever gotten in a day was around 10K, and that was when a few high-profile bloggers made single-link posts about something I wrote.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Right. Single-link posts will generate more traffic; that makes sense.

B

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

Wow. It sounds a lot like my sister's mother-in-law's cream of mushroom soup - but probably more healthful, on account of the fish and the pasta.

(Also - my respects to Otters!)

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Somehow I doubt the name-dropping I've been doing has done much. I know, for certain, of only about a half-dozen people I've referred to you (this week). Mind you that's a half-dozen I know to have gone. There are more who might have seen the referral.

The meal sounds lovely. I like smoked salmon, and raw, but usually cooking it makes it less pleasant to me. If I had more fish-eaters here, I might try it.

Then again, I might force it on them anyway.

TK

[kightp.livejournal.com]

A very respectable hit count, and an absolutely decadent dinner. What could be better?

[aloha-moira.livejournal.com]

mmm, how did you know I just bought asparagus yesterday?!

Also, congrats on the hit count. I really enjoyed (well, maybe enjoyed is not the right word... "got a lot out of" might be better) your posts on the Schiavo case, especially the medical point of view. So thanks for both of these items. :)

[pernishus.livejournal.com]

Inexpensive asparagus just became available during yesterday's shopping, and I indulged. We also have Willy Krause's smoked salmon in several varieties -- all in thick chunks -- so I believe I shall indulge myself this evening...

Thank you for the delicious-looking recipe...

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Asparagus was 99 cents a pound at the market on Sunday, which is why we had this dish last night. I hope you make it and like it!

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Oh...YUM!

I do something similar with salmon and an alfredo sauce, but this sounds SO good!

[papersky.livejournal.com]

People who don't like fishing asparagus out of boiling water can get the same effect by steaming it over the pasta while the pasta boils -- thin asparagus takes the same time to steam as pasta does to boil.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Ooh, clever! This might be especially useful for use on our boat. At home, we have a cunning Paderno asparagus pot, in which the asparagus stands upright in a basket.

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yummy. I love asparagus. And how can it be bad for me? It's got a vegetable in it!

(Thanks for the Schiavo post, too -- clarified things for me.)

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

7712! Eep!

-J

[rivka.livejournal.com]

You see why the hiding under the bed!

[ororo.livejournal.com]

Wow, I think I gained a pound just reading that.

Worth it!