Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan for #BrunchWeek

Simple roasted asparagus topped with a generous sprinkle of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese – it’s a side that’s delicious for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

This post is sponsored in conjunction with #BrunchWeek. I received product samples from sponsor companies to aid in the creation of the #Brunchweek recipes. All opinions are mine alone.

Simple roasted asparagus topped with a generous sprinkle of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese - it's a side that's delicious for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Today’s post is a simple one – one of my favorite ways to prepare asparagus. Dressed simply in olive oil, salt and pepper, the asparagus is roasted (or sauteed or grilled depending on my mood and the weather) and then topped with fresh Parmesan cheese. Yum! The simple fixing allows the spring vegetable to shine, whether you serve as a brunch, lunch, or dinner side dish. Pair it with a frittata or some roast chicken, and you have a satisfying, delicious meal.

In case you’ve forgotten, or are visiting for the first time, I want to remind you that our generous sponsors have donated some amazing prizes for #BrunchWeek readers. There are more than a few prizes to get excited about – high quality food from our sponsors, gift cards, gift sets that include marble pastry boards and slate cheese boards… Seriously good prizes. You can read about the prizes and our sponsors here, but scroll down to the Rafflecopter to enter below.

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Roasted Asparagus & Parmesan

Simple roasted asparagus topped with a generous sprinkle of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese – it’s a side that’s delicious for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4
Author Liz

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 Tbs. good quality extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 oz. freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
  2. Rinse asparagus and pat dry. Snap off bottoms. The bottom should snap off naturally.
  3. Toss asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper, adding more if needed. Spread out in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, until asparagus are cooked to desired degree of doneness.
  4. Transfer to a serving dish. Top with shaved Parmesan cheese (I used a microplane grater).
  5. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes: 

  • This recipe serves 4 as a side dish.
  • I roasted the asparagus for 15 minutes, for asparagus that was a still a bit crunchy. Cook longer if you prefer no crunch to your vegetable.
  • If you can find Michigan Asparagus, I’d recommend it – it’s just now showing up in markets. The season runs from mid-May to early June. Michigan Asparagus, one of the #BrunchWeek sponsors, is the largest as well as one of the only domestic production regions for U.S. grown asparagus.
  • Feel free to add additional Parmesan after serving. You can never have too much. 😉
Simple roasted asparagus topped with a generous sprinkle of freshly shaved Parmesan cheese - it's a side that's delicious for brunch, lunch, or dinner.

A Books n’ Cooks Original.

Take a look at what the #BrunchWeek Bloggers are creating today!

BrunchWeek Beverages:
Carrot Grapefruit Smoothie from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
Cranberry Orange Mimosas from The PinterTest Kitchen
Hazelnut Coffee Syrup from The Redhead Baker

BrunchWeek Appetizers:
Antipasto Salad from Cooking with Carlee
Egg & Asparagus BLT Salad from Sweet Beginnings
Spring Brunch Veggie Tray from Wholistic Woman

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:
California Club Omelet from The Barbee Housewife
Quick & Easy Cheesy Cheddar Asparagus Frittata from 4 Sons ‘R’ Us
Huevos Rancheros Cups from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Kuku Sabzi (Persian Herb Omelette) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains, and Pastries:
Buttermilk Scones from Mildly Meandering
New York Style Garlic Knots from Girl Abroad
Miso Butter Toast from Brunch-n-Bites
Pecan Belgian Waffles with Strawberry Sauce from Family Around the Table
Savory French Toast with Asparagus from Forking Up

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:
Breakfast Macaroni and Cheese from Strawberry Blondie Kitchen
Canadian Bacon, Egg & Asparagus Quesadilla from Kudos Kitchen by Renee

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:
Asparagus Fried Rice from Tara’s Multicultural Table
Asparagus Bacon Rollups from For the Love of Food
Creamy Baked Cheesy Asparagus from Daily Dish Recipes
Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan from Books n’ Cooks (above!)

BrunchWeek Desserts:
Blueberry Raspberry Chocolate Bark from Caroline’s Cooking
Raspberry Chocolate Cheesecake from The Crumby Kitchen
Red Velvet Cake Macaron from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
Succulent Vanilla Sugar Cookies from Love and Confections

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Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, LorAnn Oils and Flavors, Cento Fine Foods, Michigan Asparagus, Cal-Organic and Eggland’s Best for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek recipes. All opinions are my own. The #BrunchWeek giveaway is open to U.S. residents, age 18 & up. All entries for the winner will be checked and verified. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. The number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Seven (7) winners will be selected. The prize packages will be sent directly from the giveaway sponsors. The#BrunchWeek Bloggers are not responsible for the fulfillment or delivery of the prize packages. Bloggers hosting this giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or any other social channel mentioned in the #Brunchweek posts or entry.

Fruit Salad (Two Ways) with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette #BrunchWeek

BW Logo 2016Since having kids a couple of years ago, brunch has become one of my favorite times to host friends. It’s not just that it doesn’t get in the way of early afternoon nap time. It’s that brunch is (for me and my family) one of the easiest, most stress-free times to entertain. I find it’s easy to put together an impressive menu with very little effort. I’ve got it down to a science. Literally. With this formula, I can’t go wrong:

Egg dish + grain/carby side side + fruit dish

With this formula, I’ve got an easy, filling, balanced meal. Frittatas and quiches are my favorite egg dishes. I’ll frequently pair that with a fresh scone or muffin, or even homemade granola (served with yogurt) and then round off the meal with a serving of fresh fruit.

Today, I created two varieties of fruit salad, both of which are tossed with a light poppy seed vinaigrette. In the first, I jazz up some berries, grapes, and kiwi with a little fresh mint and in the other, I let the brightness of sweet Breeze apples (a new variety that originated in New Zealand, but is currently being grown in Washington State and introduced to US markets by Sage Fruit) and grapes shine through. Both were wonderful, but feel free to use your favorite in season fruit.

Do you have a standard menu or formula for brunch entertaining?

As a reminder, our amazing sponsors have generously donated some wonderful prizes. Visit here to learn more about our sponsors and enter to win one of the the awesome prizes they so generously provided.

Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Make Ahead: Vinaigrette and fruit salad may be made ahead of time, but don’t mix until just before serving, so that the fruit doesn’t get soggy.

Fruit Salad (Two Ways) with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

By Books n’ Cooks

Serves 5-6

Ingredients for the Salad:

  • 5-6 c. fruit, sliced into roughly 1-inch pieces (I used a mix of strawberries, raspberries, kiwi, and grapes)
  • 3 Tbs. fresh mint, coarsely chopped

or

  • 2 Breeze apples, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1-2 c. red seedless grapes
  • 1 c. mixed berries (I used raspberries and blackberries)

or

  • Your favorite mix of fresh fruit

Ingredients for the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 c. vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • zest of 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 Tbs. honey
  • 1 Tbs. poppy seeds

Apple Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Gently toss fruit and mint to mix. Set aside, or refrigerate until just before serving.

To make the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a jar and shake well (or, combine in a bowl or measuring cup and whisk well). Refrigerate until just before serving.

Add half of the vinaigrette to the fruit salad and toss to coat. Add more as desired. (I used only half of the vinaigrette for the 5-6 cups of fruit.)

Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Red Star Yeast, Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, Vidalia Onion Committee, Sage Fruits, Nielsen-Massey, KitchenIQ, and Le Creuset for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek. All opinions are my own.

Fruit Salad with Poppy Seed Vinaigrette for Brunch Week

Don’t forget to check out today’s other #BrunchWeek recipes, listed below.

BrunchWeek Beverages:

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains and Pastries:

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:

BrunchWeek Desserts:

Bacon, Cheddar & Chive Savory Scones for #BrunchWeek

BW Logo 2016

Today is the first day of #BrunchWeek, and I’m super excited to be participating. I made lists and lists of recipes that I wanted to make to share with you this week (way more than I could possibly do), and I spent the last couple of weeks drooling over the sneak peeks I got at some of the recipes my fellow bloggers have been preparing for you. I’ve gotten to work with some awesome brands – tasting new items for you and getting to play with some new kitchen gadgets.

On that note, I encourage you to do two things. First, visit this post to learn about the amazing sponsors and enter to win one of eight prize packages they provided, pictured below. Secondly, after you read my recipe, continue to the bottom of this post to check out the complete list of #BrunchWeek recipes we’ve put together for you.

Prize_Collage

Although I’ve been stoked about #BrunchWeek, life prevented me from getting into the kitchen as much as I would have liked. Last month in particular was a rough month, with a lot of houseguests and a lot of daycare cooties floating around my house. Cooties that cost me several days of work and my monthly ladies night out. 🙁

I was all ready to go – the scones were made and packaged up, but when my hubby came home from work sick, I couldn’t leave him alone with my sick daughter and super active baby. I was bummed, but my coworkers were more than happy to polish off the scones that were destined for ladies night, someone even commenting that he was unaware that scones could actually taste good. He was use to the dry, bland store-bought scones, not homemade scones – soft and full of flavor.

After that week, I went on a scone-making kick – from sweet to savory. These bacon, cheddar, and chive were a pleasant surprise to those who were not familiar with savory scones. The smokiness of the bacon and the subtle undertones of the cheddar made for a wonderful breakfast, and a great addition to this week’s #BrunchWeek.

Bacon Cheddar & Chive Scones

Bacon, Cheddar & Chive Savory Scones

By Books n’ Cooks

Makes 8 Scones

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together:

  • 3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbs. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. kosher salt

Then, gently stir in the following, just to coat:

  • 1 c. shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar Cheese (3-4 oz.)
  • 1/2 c. coarsely chopped cooked bacon (from 4 slices thick-cut bacon)
  • 2 Tbs. minced chives

Using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut in

  • 12 Tbs. cold unsalted butter

until mixture is crumbly. Finally, fold in:

Mixture will just start to come together, but will remain very crumbly. With clean hands, knead dough until it comes together. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Shape into a long rectangle (or circle), about 1 inch thick. Brush tops with

  • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until tops are golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking sheet for a few minutes.

Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

Disclaimer: Thank you to #BrunchWeek Sponsors: Red Star Yeast, Dixie Crystals, Cabot Cheese, Vidalia Onion Committee, Sage Fruits, Nielsen-Massey, KitchenIQ, and Le Creuset for providing the prizes free of charge. These companies also provided the bloggers with samples and product to use for #BrunchWeek. All opinions are my own.

Check out these other #BrunchWeek recipes from over 3 dozen bloggers.

BrunchWeek Beverages:

BrunchWeek Breads, Grains and Pastries:

BrunchWeek Fruits, Vegetables and Sides:

BrunchWeek Egg Dishes:

BrunchWeek Main Dishes:

BrunchWeek Desserts: