Anne Byrn is widely known for her baking prowess. As the creator of “The Cake Mix Doctor” cookbook series, she taught home cooks how to turn store-bought cake mix into delicious desserts. She guided them further with books like “American Cake,” “American Cookie,” “A New Take on Cake,” and her most recent, “Baking in the American South.” But throughout her career, Byrn’s interest in food has encompassed more than doughs and batters.
A case in point is “Spring for Asparagus,” a story that Byrn wrote for The Atlanta Journal in April 1988. At that time, the Tennessee native was 10 years into her career as a food journalist, having been hired at The Atlanta Journal in 1978 after graduating from the University of Georgia and promoted to food editor for both the Journal and the Constitution when the two newsrooms merged in 1982.
In a recent phone interview, Byrn discussed her 15-year tenure at the newspapers, admitting that fresh out of college she “really didn’t know food.” “I really learned about cooking from the people I interviewed in those early years. I was really curious. Every assignment, every feature I did, I was educating myself and the readers of the newspaper.”
“It was a very interesting time to be writing about food,” she said, recalling the 1970s as a period of food activism that raised questions about food safety, dietary guidelines and nutrition, while 1980 marked “the beginning of the movement to appreciate American regional food.”
During the ‘80s, Byrn and other food writers at the newspaper served readers a steady diet of Southern recipes, but she was also drawn to the food scene in California. “Microgreens, olive oil, the wine industry was all coming out of California. As a food writer in 1988, I would have been really interested in light greens and what Deborah Madison was doing,” said Byrn, who included Madison’s recipe for Tagliatelle, Asparagus and Peas with Saffron Cream in her asparagus feature story.
Credit: Danielle Atkins
Credit: Danielle Atkins
Byrn’s tips for selecting, storing and cooking asparagus are as reliable and helpful as when her words appeared in print 37 years ago. “Look for plump, crisp straight stems that haven’t curled over as if burdened by a heavy load. Avoid those spears which have wilted, look shriveled, have unraveling tips and more than an inch of woody white fiber at the base. It’s best to store fresh asparagus upright in a glass of cold water in the refrigerator, just as you might cut flowers. Then to protect the tips from wilting, loosely cover with plastic wrap.”
Whether to peel asparagus is “a simple matter of personal preference,” wrote Byrn. “Some folks just snap spears at the point of tenderness, about two-thirds down the stalk where you can get a good break. Others snap and then peel the stalk with a vegetable peeler, removing stringy skin, but stopping an inch away from the tips.”
And here’s her handy tip for a no-waste meal: “Toss discarded asparagus ends into a soup pot with some chicken stock and seasoning. Cook until soft, then puree in a food processor. Add light cream or milk to thin, and you have a most satisfying asparagus soup.”
Credit: AJC archives
Credit: AJC archives
Tagliatelle, Asparagus and Peas with Saffron Cream
- 1 pound thin asparagus
- 1 pound fresh English peas
- 1/8 teaspoon saffron threads
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 shallots, finely minced
- 1 1/2 cups light or heavy cream
- Salt
- 1/2 pound fresh pasta, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (or use fettuccine)
- Chopped fresh chervil leaves
- 1 thin strip lemon peel, finely slivered
- Parmesan cheese, for garnish
- Cracked black pepper, for garnish
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Snap off tough ends of asparagus and set them aside to use in a soup stock or discard. Cut off tips, leaving them about 2 inches long. Slice remaining pieces on the diagonal. Shell peas. Cover saffron with a couple of tablespoons boiling water.
- Melt butter in a wide saute pan. Saute shallots in butter until soft. Add cream and saffron mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce slightly, and season with salt.
- When pasta water is boiling, add salt. Cook asparagus and then peas in boiling water. Scoop them out when done and add them to the cream sauce. Cook pasta. When it’s done, add it to the cream, turning several times with a pair of tongs to coat with sauce. Add chervil leaves and lemon peel and serve on warm plates with grated Parmesan cheese and pepper.
Serves 4.
Per serving, using light cream: 472 calories (percent of calories from fat, 28), 19 grams protein, 68 grams carbohydrates, 14 grams total sugars, 11 grams fiber, 18 grams total fat (8 grams saturated), 39 milligrams cholesterol, 230 milligrams sodium.
Reprinted from “The Greens Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine From the Celebrated Restaurant” by Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown (Bantam Books, 1988).
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