Well, now I can say I've peeled stalks of asparagus - never done that before. In fact I didn't know anybody did that, but there it is, direction #1:
1. Trim the asparagus spears, peel the stalks, and cook the asparagus as described on page 466."
One of the features of a lot of these recipes is Marcella's detailed directions on how to perform specific tasks - so it's not uncommon to be flipping forward or back in the cookbook to learn a technique that she initially covered with another recipe or as part of a general introduction to a chapter.
The ingredients, including some Marsala wine partly hidden behind the pepper grinder. I like quaffing most wine, but Marsala is an exception. I use it only for cooking.
This recipe took longer than I first assumed..... Oh, you mean I have to cook the asparagus first; then sauté the scaloppine before combining the two in a parchment-lined dish, covering with slices of Fontina cheese and sauce from the sauté pan; then baking the dish in the oven. Guess I didn't read the directions very carefully the first time.
Almost ready to go into the over:
The only difficult part of the directions to follow relates to the parchment paper. Marcella provides an option to use aluminum foil, but since I had the parchment paper, I went with that. However, the directions called for two sheets of paper crimped to provide a tight seal for the scaloppine before baking. I had difficulty getting a tight seal. Aluminum foil would likely be much easier to create the seal and it's what I will use next time.
The final result:
What I liked about this recipe:
Almost everything. Great result.
What I didn't I like about this recipe:
Preparation time a bit long & a bit picky (peeling asparagus stalks?) for me, but no real issues.
Would I make it again?
Yes - well, actually I already have. We served it to some friends a couple of weeks after I first prepared it. It was a big hit.
Want a recipe that's sure to impress? Try this one.
