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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

What Makes our Toes Curl?

The Kitchen of Love in this household is open 24/7.. 99% of the time the foods both myself and Hubbs prepare are foods that the other loves, and we're thinking about each other when we cook. True story. (awwwwwww)

I keep him pretty informed of the goings on in my blogging life, because he likes to help out when he can and he loves to give suggestions on what I should make for certain events. He also enjoys mocking me when it comes to the food I want to highlight on my blog. For instance, he's just tickled - to the point of giggling - when he cooks something, uhmm.. mundane. You know.. a pb&j sammich, a bowl of cereal, or when he opens up a can of his favorite corned beef hash - he'll plate it up and then ask where my camera is so he can take pictures. He'll search through the veggie crisper of the fridge until he finds the perfect twig of parsley to lay on top of his peanut butter & blueberry jam sammich. And then to top the mockery off.. after he's finished eating his "creation" he'll jump up and exclaim, "I need to go blog about this!"

Yeah I know.. you'd think I fell in love with a stand up comedian, eh? (this is where I'm rolling my eyes)

But mostly he's very supportive of my blogging and really does love to get involved. So when I told him about "Peaches'" aphrodisiac-ally wonderful event called Kitchen of Love he decided to do a lil research to find some foods labeled as aphrodisiacs so he could choose which tripped his trigger, so to speak.

Ohh if you're wondering who Peaches is - well that's the simply gorgeous and incredibly sweet Chris of Mele Cotte. She's known as Peaches in this house due to the fact that she came to my aid a few months ago when I was craving a good peach and sent me a big box of the most delicious peaches I've ever had. So Hubbs dubbed her "Peaches". :)

The Asparagus Aphrodisiac The Sweet Potato Aphrodisiac

Anyhoo.. when he came to me with the foods he thought we should make, I wasn't surprised to see he chose vegetables. The man loves his veggies. He chose sweet potatoes and asparagus - which just happen to be two of my most favorite veggies as well, so this worked out nicely. Since he's a "meat and potatoes" kinda guy, we decided to pan fry a couple beef tenderloin steaks while we roasted the veggies.

There is no recipe in this post, kids. It's a pretty simple preparation - and in my opinion simple preparations for veggies are always so much better than long, involved recipes. Here's what you do.. pick a nice bunch of asparagus - try to buy the thinnest you can find. Seriously. There is nothing better IN THIS WORLD than roasted thin asparagus - it gets crunchy and nutty.. it's like eating the best "good for you" French fries in alla world. If asparagus wasn't so expensive throughout most of the year, we'd probably eat it more than potatoes. It's that good.

The Asparagus Aphrodisiac

Okay so you've got your bunch of asparagus. Trim off the woody ends, although you don't need to trim a lot off for roasting because they will get really tender. Now arrange them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and then drizzle some good olive oil over them. Add a generous sprinkling of either kosher or sea salt (we love sea salt) over them and then give them a lil shuzz to coat them well and pop 'em into a preheated 425ยบ F oven for about 18 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip 'em over and roast for another 10-15 minutes. *swoon* The stalks get melt in your mouth tender and the tips crunch up.. OH MY GOD they are SO GOOD - and from the reaction that he and I have every time we eat our asparagus this way, completely defines why this vegetable is known as an aphrodisiac. 'kay well not in the way it was meant to be defined.. but we get all melty, shuddery, toe curling-ly happy when we get to indulge in these babies. ;)

The Sweet Potato Aphrodisiac

Now the sweet potatoes.. same prep exactly although they don't need quite as long in the oven - you can give these a flip after about 10-15 minutes and then take them out after an additional 5 to 10. I guess it really depends on how big you chunk them. Less time in the oven for the smaller chunks. He eats his plain, but the lily gilder over here likes to drizzle a little honey over her sweet spuds and sometimes a sprinkle of Vietnamese cinnamon knocks her socks off too. ;)

A dinner chock full of aphrodisiacs :D

The steaks were prepared simply as well. Seasoned with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper only, they were pan fried in a little olive oil and butter combo until they were a buttery tender medium rare. We could almost cut these steaks with our forks.. and talk about flavorful. A good tenderloin, with a nice marble of fat throughout, was just the perfect accompaniment to our roasted veggies.

A dinner chock full of aphrodisiacs :D

After dinner last night there was definitely some purring going on in our living room.. we were both very happy campers to say the very least. ;) And by happy campers, I mean we both passed out in a fuzzy fog of satisfaction about 20 minutes after we ate.. what the hell were you expecting? We're an old married couple. :P

What a great idea for a foodie event, Chris - thank you so much for hosting, my love! And I apologize for being late, but am very happy you agreed to sneak me in. You rock, Peaches! :D

xoxo

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Comments on "What Makes our Toes Curl?"

 

Blogger Chris said ... (2/13/2008 8:16 AM) : 

I want my toes to curdle...:) And, love my nickname....gives people the allusion I am a sweet girl. Ha! Thanks for particpating, my friend - even if the aphrodisiac had the adverse effect on you and the hubby. You have to work on that one!

 

Blogger glamah16 said ... (2/13/2008 9:39 AM) : 

Hahaha. I like the last part. I'm finding thats so true( passing out in contentmeent after a good meal).

 

Blogger Valerie Harrison (bellini) said ... (2/13/2008 11:17 AM) : 

How not to fall asleep after a great meal...now there's something to experiment on :D In the mean time keep the great recipes coming :D

 

Blogger MyKitchenInHalfCups said ... (2/13/2008 11:26 AM) : 

Curls my toes just reading it. Peaches seems the perfect nickname for Chris!
Fabulous, don't mess too much with my veggies makes for wonderful eating and healthy!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/13/2008 1:44 PM) : 

Your asparagus..simple and delicious. That last picture is so good, it's making me sleepy :)

 

Blogger Judy@nofearentertaining said ... (2/13/2008 2:29 PM) : 

Yummm...everything looked so good! Sigh...I too am part of an old married couple isn't it great???

 

Blogger Lindsay Blau Portnoy said ... (2/13/2008 2:34 PM) : 

Hello stranger! I just wanted to let you know that I'm quasi back to blogland and I have given you an award...on my site! Check it out...and again, thank you for everything =)

 

Blogger Randi said ... (2/13/2008 6:54 PM) : 

so cute and delicious looking. man, i want some steak. how can you not fall in love with someone who is willing to make you stomach-contenting goodies. happy v-day :)

 

Blogger kellypea said ... (2/13/2008 7:29 PM) : 

Mmmmm...we HEART asparagus any which way we can get it! And I can just picture your hubs getting all goofy over his pb&j with parsley. I won't say what mine does. Scary.

 

Blogger Mary said ... (2/14/2008 12:41 AM) : 

My husband and I both love roasted asparagus also! Your posts always make me giggle. I'm glad my husband doesn't read them or he'd get even more ideas on how to tease me about my blogging!

 

Blogger Elle said ... (2/14/2008 1:20 AM) : 

Can see why that meal is toe curling-ly happy making...looks divine. I love asparagus & grilled or roasted is my favorite way to cook them. Happy Valentine's to you and Hubbs.
BTW - finally posted the meme from January...I'm jsut pretending that January never happened. :D

 

Blogger Peabody said ... (2/14/2008 5:32 AM) : 

LOL- I must be an old married couple too. A big meal always puts me to sleep. Looks like a good one though...I love my asparagus that way.

 

Blogger Meeta K. Wolff said ... (2/14/2008 8:51 AM) : 

Nothing better to do than curling your toes after a big meal. Lis, this certainly was an awesome looking meal!

 

Blogger Cheryl said ... (2/14/2008 9:04 AM) : 

I will now have to refer to Chris as "Peaches".

You should start a new segment of your blog called "What Love Made" and put your husband's fantastic PB&J creations. We would all enjoy.

 

Blogger Tracy said ... (2/14/2008 10:03 AM) : 

Yum. Looks great. I was thinking of making steaks tonight.
My husband does the same thing, by the way. Mocks out my food photos, takes pictures of ordinary stuff. Aren't these guys lucky to be married to secure women who have great senses of humor? :-)

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/14/2008 11:22 AM) : 

ooh ... the asparagus sounds delicious the way it is being cooked. I will try that when it is the season again.

 

Blogger Tempered Woman said ... (2/14/2008 4:58 PM) : 

You are so funny~ some of us not so old couples like to have our perfect meals and then just nod off as well. The tummy is full- what more could we possibly want?!?! ;-)

 

Blogger Cookie baker Lynn said ... (2/14/2008 5:51 PM) : 

You have an awesome husband! He eats his veggies AND makes you smile. Definitely a keeper.

 

Blogger Unknown said ... (2/14/2008 9:03 PM) : 

I L.O.V.E. asparagust an it's on sale this week! I'm definitely getting some. I agree about the roasting...when the ends get crispy it reminds me of fresh fried okra! Mmmm!

 

Blogger Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said ... (2/15/2008 12:30 AM) : 

I love roasted asparagus -- it's now my favorite way to prepare them. And my husband, too, supports (and occasionally pokes fun at) my blogging. He cracks me up!

 

Blogger Kelly said ... (2/16/2008 6:28 PM) : 

I wouldn't have believed that a toe curdling story could involve veggies but you proved my wrong! They may not have worked to bring out your amorous side that night but it sure brought out the love. What a wonderful way to spend an evening!!

 

Blogger Helene said ... (2/17/2008 3:39 PM) : 

He's a keeper allright! At least you don't have to beg yours or be bedridden to have him boil water!! What a great meal...makes me hungry and I just had lunch, but you know me and steak and potatoes!!

 

Blogger Shelby said ... (2/18/2008 4:45 AM) : 

My Grumpy does the same to me! I've even talked about it in my blog!

 

Blogger SteamyKitchen said ... (2/18/2008 11:22 PM) : 

Sometimes the simplest things are the most sexy!

 

Blogger Vida said ... (2/22/2008 8:14 PM) : 

Hello, I was wondering if I could ask you for some help? I had seen a wonderful yule log from your challenge in December but I cannot remember who's it was and I wanted to know if there was a way of seeing them all in order to find the one I am looking for... I know I could go through the roll opening every one and then scrolling down to December but it may take me FOREVER... so I thought there may be a way to see them all at once? Can you help me please??? Vida x x x thank you!!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (2/24/2008 9:03 PM) : 

Oh yum... asapragus and sweet potatoes, what could be better? I love your posts, you always make me giggle!

 

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