Linda, when I make asparagus risotto, I cook the asparagus separately with the tough stems in boiling water (sometimes with a bit of celery and onion), and then I steam the top part of the stems (minus the tips) until almost done. Then I remove the top stems and make a vegetable stock with the tough part of the stems and use that stock in the risotto. I add the top stems (cut into 1/4" pieces) with the uncooked tips near the end of the cooking of the risotto. I always use Sauvignon Blanc (or Chardonnay) if I have it on hand, otherwise I omit wine. I do not always use onion, particularly if I decide to use garlic instead. I pretty much always add a bit of fresh Italian parsley at the end, now that it is so prolific in my back yard, and I always add Parmesan, but then I've never made the sundried tomato and beef broth version, which also sounds good. Lars

For gravy fries? A jar of Boston Market or Heinz gravy. $2. Or half that if you buy it on sale after a holiday. But... Here's CI's recipe for gravy from canned stock. I only made it once, years ago, which tells me I probably didn't love it but then again I find most of their recipes good so I'd give it another shot to be sure. Makes 2 cups. Published November 1, 2003. This gravy can be served with almost any type of meat or poultry or with mashed potatoes. If you would like to double the recipe, use a Dutch oven to give the vegetables ample space for browning and increase the cooking times by roughly 50 percent. The finished gravy can be frozen. To thaw either a single or double recipe, place the gravy and 1 tablespoon of water in a saucepan over low heat and bring slowly to a simmer. The gravy may appear broken or curdled as it thaws, but a vigorous whisking will recombine it. Ingredients 1 small carrot , peeled and chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) 1 small rib celery , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 1/2 cup) 1 small onion , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces (about 3/4 cup) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups low-sodium beef broth 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 5 whole black peppercorns Instructions 1. In food processor, pulse carrot until broken into rough 1/4-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. Add celery and onion; pulse until all vegetables are broken into 1/8-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. 2. Heat butter in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and well browned, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add broths; bring to boil, skimming off any foam that forms on surface. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 3 cups, 20 to 25 minutes. 3. Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer into clean saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

SOunds like a grand evening Jo! Sharon, sending best wishes for Wolf's speedy recovery. I know you are taking wonderful care of him and your photos look just delish. Yesterday was Smokefest here, so we had a gracious plenty of all sorts of beast. I prepped pork shoulder, brisket, ribs, chicken and salmon and another friend who is a hunter and fisherman brought venison tenderloin, pheasant legs, a sea bass, and a bluefish. I dry rubbed the venison and pheasant and brined the bluefish and seabass. The salmon was also cured then dried before smoking as were the pork and beef. The vegetarian grill had peppers, corn, eggplant and vidalias. Other sides were quinoa salad with cranberries and pecans, spinach salad, cole slaw and pasta salad. Appys were taco dip, smoked salmon spread, Habanero Gold with cream cheese and crackers, chips & dip, etc Dessert was That D@mn Cake, Fruit in crust with cheesecake pie (Tracey Oh on the Pie thread) and an apple cake. It was all really good, but we did discover that there are not a lot of Bluefish fans AND home smoked salmon is far better than anything you can buy. Alexa

* Posted by coconut-nj (My Page) on Sat, May 30, 09 at 11:27 Sally, anywhere that has alot of British imports would probably have it. I was checking out who had it online the other day and while you might not want 6 bottles of it.. smiles... Amazon has 6 bottles for $27.05. It's free shipping too. Most places sell it for between five and six or up to eight dollars, so that's a great price. They say they're 15 oz bottles. Maybe somebody else would want to go in on it with you?? I've always heard of it described as a mayo with more vinegar and also with a mustard taste. Sounds good. Smiles. My DW used it when she used to travel to the UK all the time for buisness. Surprised she didn't bring any back. I have a head of savoy cabbage so I'm going to make my easy 'stuffed' cabbage casserole that I described above. It makes it so easy and quick which is just what we want on a Saturday night. Steam the cabbage briefly, layer it with dirty rice, pour some tomato juice mixed with onion and garlic powder between layers and on top and bake for about 40 minutes. I'll see if I can manage to take a picture. I seem to be terrible at that. The camera is always in the other room and it's a kind of big house and by the time I'm done cooking I'm not walking very well. LOL.. We will see. Oh btw, I always make two dishes of this because Christy gets burnt out on "red" since I always have something made with red sauce around I make her a version with just some broth on it. I do stuffed peppers for her the same way. No red. I do love the red on it but prefer tomato juice since it's nice and light although I'll just water down tomato sauce or puree with chicken stock/broth, if I don't have any handy.