Is it a guilty pleasure to enjoy making dinner for yourself? I hope not, because I love the chance to do exactly that. On the occasional night when no one is home but me I make what I want for dinner. That means I can have vegetables that extend beyond the range of green beans! That means I don’t have to cook some kind of protein. No bread, no biggie! Sure, I could settle for popcorn or a bowl of cereal, or worse, a night of mindless snacking, but I deserve more than that and you do too. Dining alone can be a lovely experience. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t do creepy stuff like setting the table and lighting candles.
In fact my favorite company is a good book, or one of the more sleazy Nashville re-runs. A final rule is that the dinner has to be easy and reasonably quick. No need to put yourself to a lot of trouble for what should be a treat!
Last night I had no dinner plans and just opened the fridge to possibilities. There was the asparagus I meant to cook Sunday before my son announced that he’d invited the guys over for spaghetti. Yum. I love asparagus and only cook it for me because no one else here will eat it.
I always have good Parmesan cheese; it’s a staple in our house. That was a start. The cabinet revealed really adorable pasta – mini penne – it’s fun to say that. A lemon, an egg, some butter and olive oil, and a great dinner plan was in the works. So here is the result: asparagus marinated in lemon juice and olive oil and grilled, topping pasta mixed with lemon zest and melted butter, a poached egg added extra richness, and a healthy touch of Parmesan made this the perfect dinner. I guess we’ll call it Asparagus and Pasta with Lemon Butter. You don’t even have to grill the asparagus – just roast it in a hot oven. You don’t have to have adorable pasta – plain old spaghetti is always in style. I guess in a pinch you could use cheese in the green can, but let’s try not to. Just treat yourself to a good dinner when you get the chance. You’ll like this one. One disclaimer, my husband is not enthusiastic about this post. He wants to know what’s wrong with a frozen pizza.
Asparagus with Lemon Butter Pasta
Ingredients
Asparagus, as much as you want
1 lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt
1 cup dry pasta
1 Tbsp butter
1 egg
Shaved or grated Parmesan cheese (I just a vegetable peeler)
Directions
Zest the lemon into a small bowl.
Mix lemon juice and olive oil in a bowl large enough to hold the asparagus.
Add asparagus and salt and pepper to taste.
Either light your grill or pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Grill or roast asparagus until crisp/tender (still a little snappy).
While the asparagus cooks poach (or fry – your call) the egg making sure not to over cook the yolk.
To assemble: Mix pasta with lemon zest and butter, top with asparagus, the egg, and Parmesan cheese. Break the yolk to mix in and enjoy!
