Weren’t the 50’s amazing? Everything was slathered in cheese or butter and topped with bread crumbs. I love my old cookbooks because I find so many delicious recipes that get lost in time, but sometimes I come across recipes and photographs and I’m like… really? Someone ate that? I find myself laughing quite often at terrible food photography. I have to wonder if they arranged the food in the most disturbing and completely unappealing way they possibly could. The advertisements too are wildly sexist… I just can’t help but laugh.
I’ve seen so many of these wonderfully strange things and I’ve thought about compiling them into a book. I really wish I had thought of it first but I have been “beat to the punch”. I found a hilarious author, James Lileks who put together a collection of terrible recipes and food photography found in 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s cookbooks. His commentaries are really funny, I got a laugh from this book. The preview on Amazon alone is hilarious!
Back to Asparagus with cheese sauce though. This recipe… is NOT a regrettable recipe! Even though it comes from the 50’s, asparagus with cheese sauce is good! By the time its dished up on your plate there really isn’t much cheese sauce on it, just enough to add some of that comfort cheesy food flavor that makes it so scrumptious. I love finding new varieties to vegetable side dishes because the same old quickly heated up vegetables are so boring, especially if you are trying to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. This is a tasty, simple and practical dish.
Asparagus with cheese sauce is really easy to just toss together for a simple variety to the simple asparagus dish. The kids love it and so do I. This guilty pleasure of mine really is de-lish!
- 2 pounds asparagus tips
- cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup milk
- dash salt and pepper
- 1 cup cheddar cheese
- Cook asparagus upright in boiling salted water until stems are nearly tender. Continue cooking with tips in water until tender. Drain.
- Combine butter and flour in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat. When combined add milk and bring to a boil. Stir constantly until sauce thickens. Add seasonings and cheese stirring until cheese is melted.
- Serve cheese sauce on top of asparagus. Top with cayenne pepper.
looks like a delicious way to eat asparagus!
I agree!