A craaaazy weekend!

This weekend has been full of crazy. And I mean in the best-possible-way kind of crazy. A wonderful, baffling, sunny and shiny weekend. 

I don't know what it is about springtime -- the warmer weather, the leaves on the trees, the ability to go outside without throwing on a coat, parka or caribou hide. Yesterday I bared my legs under a dress for the first time in like... years. I know, right? I know. Fire alarms were going off at work for no apparent reason, which sort of set the tone for weirdness. I also spent a ton of money at the mall today, and I never go to the mall, preferring to shop boutiques or online. My sisters and I got together on Friday night for dinner to celebrate [a couple of things], and down the grapevine I've heard of a couple marriage engagements and several first-home purchases and so on... it's got to just be that time of year. Sister Ali expresses my own feelings of "whaaat?" quite nicely:

She also made a killer chocolate mousse using avocado (!!) with homemade whipped cream and fresh-baked snickerdoodles. I love her:

Maddy and Ali prepped dessert; I just enjoyed it. They are so wonderful. I should just use this moment to say how much having sisters totally rules. And I've got a couple of gems for siblings. All our birthdays are in April, so springtime naturally finds us together for celebrating and enjoying one another's company. 

As far as dinner was concerned, my contributions consisted of the side dishes. The fruit salad was one, and my all-time favorite roasted asparagus was the other.

This is my go-to veggie dish. It's amazingly easy and quite quick, and super-duper yummy. I have it a couple times per week usually. If you like asparagus, I feel this is the tastiest way have it at home. All you need is a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roasted Asparagus

Serves 4 as a side

1 bunch asparagus (about a pound or so)

2 tsp olive oil

pinch kosher salt

cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 400F. Crack off the thick ends of the asparagus at their natural breaking point. Spread them out on a non-stick cookie sheet and drizzle the olive oil over the asparagus. The oil should just coat the asparagus, making them shine slightly, without much left over. If you need to add a little more, do so sparingly. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, mix the ingredients on top of the pan, thoroughly coating the asparagus and spreading it out evenly around the pan.

Roast asparagus for 12-15 minutes or until browned slightly, the tips just a little crispy. Serve immediately.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Herb Sauce

I've been on a prosciutto bender lately (yep, that's a thing). For a while, I was buying cantaloupe and wrapping prosciutto around the slices -- a popular starter referred to in Italy as prosciutto e melone. It just sounds amazing. Anyway, time passed and numerous meloni were consumed, and then I just got plain old sick of it. Except I still had a pricey pack of prosciutto in the fridge, so I decided to use it for good instead of... well, nothing.

Preparing meals for one can be a little challenging when it comes to number of portions and how long leftovers will last. I did a little rummaging around in my fridge to see what I had, other than the prosciutto, and when I remembered a small pack of organic fresh thyme, I thought of this prosciutto-wrapped pork tenderloin. I adapted this from a recipe in the October/November 2011 issue of Cook's Country Magazine, but I made a few small changes, mostly for ease of preparation, as I was making this to provide take-to-work lunches for myself. Here's the way I did it:

Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Herb Sauce

1 pork tenderloin (1.5lb package, pretrimmed)

5-6 slices thinly-sliced prosciutto

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup chicken broth

juice of one lemon

2 tablespoons minced fresh green onions (or chives)

salt and pepper to taste

Put the oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 450F. Pat tenderloins dry with paper towel. Wrap the tenderloin in prosciutto, covering as much as you can.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Brown the pork on all sides, 5-7 minutes, then transfer the tenderloin onto a wire rack set in a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature of meat reaches 145F.

While tenderloin is in the oven, heat the remaining oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add flour, thyme, and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute. Stir in the broth and lemon juice and cook until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Transfer sauce to a serving bowl and add green onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I suggest skipping the salt as prosciutto is already salty, and the lemon and chicken broth in the sauce will also provide salt). Slice pork and serve with sauce.

Serves 3-4.

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 117