Make the vinaigrette by whisking the mustard with the lemon juice or vinegar. Slowly add the remaining olive oil while whisking. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the asparagus with the vinaigrette and serve warm or cold.
Serves 4.
CLASSIC S’MORES
8 sheets graham crackers, broken into 16 squares
2 milk or dark chocolate candy bars (3–4 ounces total), broken into rectangles that fit the crackers
8 standard size marshmallows
Preheat a grill to low-medium heat, or use a grill or charcoal fire that is cooling down.
Put a cracker on foil and top it with chocolate. Put it at the edge of the grill until the chocolate softens, usually less than a minute. Remove it from the grill.
Put a marshmallow on a stick or long skewer. Hold it over the heat, close enough to toast but not burn the marshmallow. Rotate it until the marshmallow turns golden brown, about 1–2 minutes.
Put the marshmallow on your chocolate-topped cracker and use another graham cracker to squash it and hold it down while you remove the skewer. You should now have a sandwich with melted chocolate and gooey marshmallow filling.
Yield: 8 s’mores of 2¼ inches
S’MORES TARTLETS
These treats bake in a mini muffin pan, no campfire or grill needed. They’re more buttery than the classic s’mores, and less messy. You’re likely to have crumbs instead of gooey marshmallows on your fingers and clothes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
2 milk or dark chocolate candy bars (approximately 1.45 ounces each), divided into rectangles
12 standard size marshmallows, each cut in half to make two circular pieces
Combine the crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter and mix until blended.
Lightly grease 24 cups (1¾–inch diameter) in a mini muffin pan.
Divide the crumbs among the cups. Press the crumbs down and around the sides with a tart tamper, a spoon, or your fingers.
Bake 4–5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. Put one chocolate rectangle in each cup and a marshmallow, cut side down, on top of it. Return the pan to the oven for 3 minutes or until the marshmallows are softened. To brown the marshmallows, put the pan under the broiler for a minute.
Cool the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Carefully lift each tartlet from its cup. Serve warm immediately or serve at room temperature after the tartlets have cooled down.
Yield: 24 tartlets
SAVORY CHEESE S’MORES
20 whole wheat or rice crackers
¼ cup sun-dried tomato pesto, homemade or store-bought
1 package Brie bites in sealed cups, 5 per package; or 10 Brie wedges cut from a wheel to the size of the crackers
For each s’more, spread a cracker with a teaspoon of pesto.
Spear a Brie bite or wedge on a long stick or skewer. Hold the cheese over an open fire or hot grill. Cook for about 2 minutes, turning the skewer to heat the cheese evenly.
Slide the Brie bite off the skewer with a fork and slice through the middle of it to make two rounds.
Place each round on a cracker with pesto. Top with a second cracker to make a sandwich.
Eat while warm.
Yield: 10 pieces
S'more Murders Page 23