asparagus and seared shallots in a lemmon butter sauce

• 2 bunches fresh asparagus, cut on the bias (at an angle)
• 5 shallots
• 2 tablespoons butter (or Olivio)
• 1/2 lemon

Melt butter over medium flame, add shallots and cook for 3-5 minutes. Add asparagus and saute for about 5 minutes or until asparagus is a bright green and crisp, but not raw. Turn off heat and add juice of lemon half. Season to taste with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, stir until blended.

The dish: Almost every time I see asparagus it's hiding out beneath a blanket of hollandaise sauce. It's not that I don't enjoy that preparation, it's just that I got curious and looked up how to make that velvety yellow sauce; take about a third of your body weight in butter and egg yolks and add some lemon to the mix. I'm not too strict with keeping a healthy diet, but I can't justify being that decadent without at least looking for an alternative. This dish gives you the fresh lemon and butter flavor without drowning the greens, and the shallots add a nice earthy touch. The ingredients for this dish were purchased in the middle of the night with faithful reader, Mike from Brooklyn. If you ever want to meet your blogger just go to Hannaford long after all the same people are done shopping for the day and look for the dude comparing heads of lettuce, that's most likely me.

cilantro lime shrimp soft tacos

• corn tortillas
• 1lb large shrimp, shelled
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 lime
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• lettuce, shredded

In a little bit of butter (or better yet, Olivio) brown onion and garlic over a medium flame for 5 minutes. Add wine, increase heat to medium high, continue sauteing until reduced, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp to pan, reduce heat back down to medium. Meanwhile, warm tortillas in oven for 3-5 minutes or in separate pan for about 30 seconds. Once shrimp is cooked (it will turn pink), add juice of lime to pan along with cilantro. Spoon mixture over lettuce placed on tortillas.

The dish: Back when your creditors could kick your ass for not paying (a possible solution to the sub-prime mess?), France invaded Mexico for being deadbeats. Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of the unlikely victory of Mexico in that battle (the French lost a fight- no way). Here in America us gringos use the day as an opportunity to eat spicy foods and drink tequila (not me, the last time I touched the nectar of agave I wound up on a bus going to Toledo wearing someone else's pants- but whatever). Cilantro, lime and tacos are three basic building blocks in Mexican cuisine, so putting them together was a no-brainer (which is good as I have a limited supply after the Toledo incident). I added the butter and wine as a nod to the French, as without their aggressive debt collection May 5th would be just another day. This dish worked well, but it could easily have been chicken or pork, or burritos or enchiladas. I served it alongside some poblano roasted corn and guacamole. This year more than ever we all need to celebrate the heritage of our neighbors to the south and forget all about that nasty cough so many of them seem to have. Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone!!

salmon with lentils

• 3 fresh salmon fillets, skin and bones removed (the ones I used were a little better than 1/3 of a pound each
• 3 carrots, peeled and cubed into small pieces
• 2 shallots, chopped finely
• 3 cups of vegetable stock
• fresh thyme, chopped
• 2 cups of brown lentils (or any kind- I think they all cook up about the same)
• good quality mustard (I used an even mix of Grey Poupon Dijon and spicy brown)
• unsalted butter

Saute carrot and shallots in large pot with a little olive oil over a medium high flame for about 5 minutes. Add lentils, a few sprigs of thyme, vegetable stock and about 1.5 cups of water, bring to boil and then reduce heat and simmer, adding more water as needed, for about 35 minutes or until lentils are cooked (they should be firm but tender). Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat melt about two tablespoons butter and cook salmon for about 5 minutes (or longer, I like mine done on the rare side of medium) turning once. Remove fillet from pan and place on warm plate under tin foil. In same skillet, melt just a little more butter (maybe a tablespoon depending on how much is left in the pan) and whisk in about 4 heaping tablespoons of mustard and some chopped thyme. Turn flame off and continue to whisk until sauce is thick and creamy. Serve salmon over a mound of lentils with sauce spooned over both. We had it with broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic- it basically rocked.

The dish: I think I'm about to go on a salmon kick. It is hands down my favorite cooked fish (tuna winning the raw award) and I've got about 4 or 5 really good, really easy (this is by and large the hardest) recipes that I'll be posting soon. If you haven't tried preparing it at home, I highly recommend it as it tastes great, is easy and versatile and doesn't leave your house smelling like the Fulton Fish Market. It's also packed with Vitamin D and more Omega 3 than just about any other food, just be careful not to make yourself mad as a hatter.