Writer's block, schmiter's block. It will take more than a tired brain to keep *me* from keeping the promises I make to my dear friends...
Cheese and shallot pie
makes 1 12"x 15" pie, 8 generous or 12 moderate slices
This is a variant form of the recipe I found in Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf, the one that made me all swoony. It varies from the original in that I had not started the pie (except for roasting the shallots) until after I had had my three-hour lace misadventure on Sunday, and thus did not have the strength to speak English, much less read a recipe for a dough I had not yet tried. Chef Lepard's recipe calls for 550g of Italian flatbread dough; I made this using our house focaccia recipe, which makes a bit more than 750g, but again, I did not have it in me to rescale the recipe. I'm sure that the bread with which we ended up doesn't hold a candle to the original, carefully-built recipe, but it was still very nice, especially when we dipped a few runaway shallot slices into HP Sauce.
12 medium shallots
1 recipe Focaccia al'olio (use 2 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast or 2 teaspoons instant yeast in the sponge, let the sponge ferment for only 30 minutes, and let final dough ferment for about an hour)
50g (scant 1/2 stick) unsalted butter
250g soft goat cheese (goat ricotta is perfect for this, if you can find it)
about 1/2 dozen sage leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
The day before you wish to make the bread, roast the shallots in a 425-degree (Gas Mark 7) oven for 40 minutes. Place into a small bowl, being careful not to burn your hands, cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, carefully peel the skin from the chilled shallots; slice off the tops and roots, and cut the shallots into quarters (larger ones can be cut into eighths). Mix the focaccia dough and set to ferment. Melt the butter, decant into a medium bowl, add the cheese and mix until well-blended. Add the sage, salt, pepper and the shallots. Taste it, adding salt, pepper and/or more sage if it pleases you.
Set a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 425F (Gas Mark 7). Line a sheet pan (I use a 12"x 18" pan) with kitchen parchment. Turn the focaccia onto a floured work surface and divide in half. Roll or gently stretch the dough into a rough 12"x 15" rectangle; drape it over your hands or your rolling pin, and place on the sheet pan. This is a very stretchable dough; if the center appears to stretch too thinly, press some dough from the thicker outer edges toward the center. Spread the cheese and shallot mixture over the dough, leaving a 1" border, roll out the other half of the dough, and place it over the cheese and shallots. Pinch the edges all around to seal. Press the top surface of the dough down in a 4"x 2" grid with the back of a chef's knife (it helps to oil the knife first). Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise for about 40 minutes. The dough will be nice and puffy.
Uncover the sheet pan and bake the bread for 40 minutes, rotating after 20 minutes. Decant to a cooling rack. Eat hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Pasta with roasted asparagus, creme fraiche and lemon zest
serves 3-4 as a main dish or 6-8 as a side dish
I think it was Regina Schrambling who said that pasta doesn't take nearly as well to improvisation as it seems it would. For the most part I agree with her, especially when I consider the repertoire of misbegotten pasta dishes I have made in my day, all fabulous in the conception, all ranging from the merely unfortunate to the truly horrific. For every rule, though, there is an exception, and this is mine. We are in the fresh flush of asparagus season here in New York, which means that this will be a staple dish around here until the end of June, when the asparagus goes away until next spring. This pasta is easy to make -- basically, the name of the dish says it all -- dreamy to eat, and, best of all, shows off every single ingredient to their best advantages. I love it when that happens.
1/2 pound dried short pasta (I really love fusilli bacati in this; the artisan stuff in the attached link is long, but DeCecco sells it in short lengths)
1 pound asparagus, woody ends snapped off, remaining lengths cut into 3" pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil (I use a cheap extra-virgin olive oil from Crete)
salt and pepper
approximately 1/4 cup creme fraiche (adjust up or down depending on whether you like this richer or lighter)
finely-grated zest of one small lemon
Preheat oven to 500 degrees (Gas Mark 9). Bring at least 3 quarts of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil into a roasting pan, add the asparagus, shake to coat with oil and salt and pepper generously. Roast the asparagus for five minutes; take them out of the oven, shake them again and test them for doneness with a paring knife; if they are still resistant, return to the oven for about 2-3 more minutes. Remove them from the oven when done. When pasta is cooked, drain and add to the roasting pan with the asparagus. Add the creme fraiche and lemon zest and stir it all through, until the creme fraiche is melted and everything is finely and evenly coated. Try not to pick out the asparagus and snack on it while you dish it up. 
(Coming up next: Gingerbread waffles, because MyDigitalis asked so sweetly, plus not one, but two chocolate chip cookie recipes for Kristi...)