Welcome to My Kitchen

Spring weather in the daytime and winter weather at night seems to be the norm these past few weeks. Not quite ready to trade casseroles for salads, I tried a recipe for Asparagus-Tuna Casserole. The lemony sauce that pulls together this dish is a nice compliment to the tuna. The original recipe called for flavored tuna, but having only water pack variety on hand, I flavored my own with a teaspoon of minced garlic. This makes a lovely springtime meal when accompanied by a green side salad.

Asparagus-Tuna Casserole

1 cup dry penne pasta

1 pound small new potatoes, scrubbed and cut in 1/2 inch dice

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

2 1/4 cups milk

2 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

4 ounces provolone cheese, shredded

3 cans (4.5 ounces each) tuna packed in garlic olive oil, or desired flavor of tuna

1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved

1 1/2 pounds green, white and/or purple asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/4 cup soft bread crumbs

1/4 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan cook pasta according to package directions, adding diced potatoes during the last 4 minutes of cooking time. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, for sauce, in a large Dutch oven melt 2 Tbsp of the butter. Cook onion in butter about 3 minutes, until tender. Stir in flour and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Whisk in milk all at once. Add lemon peel. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk in Provolone cheese until melted. Gently fold pasta, potatoes, tuna, olives and asparagus into sauce. Pour into a greased 3-quart rectangular baking dish.

For topping, in a small bowl, melt remaining butter in microwave, about 10 seconds. Stir in bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle mixture over casserole. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and sauce is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Yield: 6 servings.

Note: the recipe did not say to drain the tuna, but I did. Maybe with the flavored tunas you want the oil for flavor in the dish. Haven’t tried it yet, but I believe this recipe would also work well with 2 cups of diced cooked chicken or turkey.

Soon, fresh green peas should be available locally. A favorite for many on harvesting the first picking of shelled peas is to creamed new peas and pearl onions. The only drawback to this dish is the labor intensive process of peeling all those little onions. Recently, I read a cooking article in Good Housekeeping Magazine that recommended microwaving small or pearl onions in a small bowl with 2 Tbsp water added and covered with plastic wrap. Microwave on High 1-1 1/2 minutes, depending on size, stirring once. Cool, then trim root end and the skins will slip right off. I tried it and it works. Also, I cooled them faster by draining and spreading out on a paper towel.

Creamed Peas and Onions

2 cups shelled green peas, cooked and drained

1 cup peeled pearl onions, cooked and drained

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Salt and pepper

2 cups milk

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, stir in flour and cook 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper. Whisk in milk all at once and cook, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Add cooked, drained peas and onions. Fold in gently and pour into serving dish. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings.

What do you do with leftover lemon? These two recipes will leave you with some left over peel and juice. The obvious answer is to save it for future recipes, but many have experienced finding them weeks later disguised as science projects at the back of the refrigerator. A little forethought can avoid this and save the extra in a form ready to use.

When confronted with a fresh lemon in a recipe, first wash and dry the lemon. Using a zester, or fine grater, remove all the yellow part of the rind and divide into teaspoon size piles on waxed or parchment paper and freeze. When solid, store in a small zip closure bag until needed for recipes.

Then squeeze all the juice from the lemon. After using what you need in your current recipe, freeze the remainder in ice cube trays in 1 tablespoon amounts. When cubes are solid, store in freezer in a small zip closure bag.

Not quite ready for the fruity desserts of summer? Try this rich, delicious but easy to prepare Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, submitted by Lecia Fink. Lecia is a master of finding scrumptious dessert recipes on the internet. Refrigerator chocolate chip cookie dough makes preparing the crust a cinch.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 rolls (16.5 ounces each) refrigerator chocolate chip cookie dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until well mixed; set aside.

Slice cookie dough rolls into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange slices from one roll on the bottom of a greased 9 x13 inch glass baking dish; press together so there are no holes in the dough. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over dough; top with remaining slices of cookie dough.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden and center is slightly firm. Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pan to loosen, then cool completely. Then refrigerate at least 3 hours, cut into slices when well chilled. Yummy on it’s own or topped with a bit of fruit and whipped cream. Yield: 15-18 servings.

Barbeque season is coming. Share your favorite grilling recipes by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. Box 458, Odessa WA 99159 or email them to therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Dill is sprouting.