Dinner Party Worthy Fresh Asparagus

Submitted by twissis

"There's nothing better than fresh asparagus & this is a very tasty way to serve it & impress for a company meal w/a chicken breast & green salad. Sadly fresh asparagus is rarely available here in Iceland & very expensive when I find it, so I don't fix this often like I did in the US. It can be prepared ahead, but don't refrigerate (read note below)."

 

• Ready In: 55mins
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh asparagus
• 6 hard-boiled eggs (sliced)
• 6 slices bacon (sliced crosswise & crisped)
• 1⁄4 cup butter
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon mccormick lemon-pepper seasoning
• 6 tablespoons crushed croutons (cheese flavored)
• chopped fresh chives (to garnish, or parsley)

directions

1. Wash asparagus well & trim stem-ends so spears are 8" long. Parboil spears till just barely fork-tender, but still fairly crisp. Quickly drain & cover w/cold water to stop cooking process. Drain again when cool & set aside.
2. Cut bacon slices crosswise, fry till crisp & drain well on paper towel.
3. Slice ea egg crosswise into 6 slices.
4. To assemble, pat asparagus spears dry w/paper towel & place equally in 6 groups in a 9"x13" baking dish. Top ea group w/1 sliced egg + equal amts of the crisped bacon pieces along their length & set aside.
5. Microwave cream cheese in sml dish to soften & warm slightly. Set aside.
6. Combine butter & flour over med-low heat to make a roux & gradually add milk. Use the flat a spatula to eliminate any lumps as you go.
7. Do not overcook sauce. When milk has been added & the sauce is smooth & thickening, remove from heat & incorporate the softened cream cheese & lemon pepper seasoning salt.
8. Spoon cream sauce over ea asparagus group, "dust" w/1 tbsp crushed croutons + sprinkle w/fresh chives or parsley.
9. Bake in hot oven (400F) just till bubbling & serve immediately. (Can also microwave till heated through, but do not refrigerate as this will lengthen the cooking time & potentially cause the sauce to separate).
10. NOTES: Sliced fresh mushrooms also work well as an addition -- For a 1-dish meal w/only a salad on the side, use this combo to stuff a well-pounded chicken breast & add mushrooms on top as a finishing touch.

Reviews

[Andi Longmeadow Farm]

Party worthy and beyond! Since we have an overabundance of asparagus (Sorry for me!) I tagged this wonderful asparagus treat. Beyond comfort food for us! Our whole family proclaimed this to be made at least once a week here on the farm. Didn't have croutons, so I crushed up some Ritz crackers to add to top. I also added some crushed garlic and minced onion to the cream cheese prior to softening it up. (I was using the garlic and onion for another recipe, so just thought I would throw that in too) I can't tell you how much we loved this recipe. All measurements worked well for us, so other then my few additions, didn't change a thing! Thanks, twissis. Didn't take a picture, as kiwidutch added a beautiful ones!

 

[Nimz_]

This was a very nice side dish to my shrimp burbon. I will admit that I left out the eggs for my own personal preference. Thanks twissis.

 

[kiwidutch]

Yum... this a great recipe and easy to throw together. I omitted the croutons but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I used 1 bunch of aspargus (not sure what they weigh) and see from my sauce that 2 bunches would have been better,(lack of croutons probably made a difference here too) The taste was lovely and I will definiately be making this again. pease see my rating system: a lovely 4 stars. Thanks!!!