Another Spring Meal

1. hors d'oeuvre: asparagus stalks slow baked (a la Slow Mediterranean Kitchen) and then wrapped in smoked ham. The Spanish asparagus is different enough from that which we got in CA that the slow-baking method works quite well and compares favorably to sauteing it.
2. soup: Bärlauch soup from a recipe in this month's Le Menu. I gave the vegetable bouillon a bit more oomph by cooking the asparagus peels and stalk ends in water for 30 minutes or so and then using that drained liquid as the base. I don't often do cream soups, but they can be damn nice.
3. main: Kohlrabi stuffed with veal and morels. This is another one from this month's Le Menu. The veal cubes are browned, then stewed with garlic, white wine, and veal essence. At the end the morels (also browned a bit), some chives, and a bit of cream are added. The veal-mushroom mixture is served in hollowed out kohlrabi that have been steamed until they are soft. Serving the veal in the kohlrabi was a bit of frou-frou (they could have just as easily been next to each other), but the dish was very good.
   
4. side: oven-roasted potato wedges
5. dessert: rhubarb stewed with dates, orange (juice and zest), and clove. This is a recipe from Bittman and it's really nice. The combination of different flavors and sweet and sour is great.
   

This was a bunch of very good food.