A Rant about Bon Appetit

I subscribe to Fine Cooking and Bon Appetit.  IMHO Fine Cooking wins hands down.

Why? Because Bon Appetit recipes usually seem to call for some oddball ingredient that can't be found in the local supermarket.  Either than or the recipe requires an inordinate amount of work for a result that's not commensurate.

This morning I was thumbing through an old issue of Bon Appetit and came across Asparagus Salad with Parmesan Dressing. "Hey that would be great!", I thought.  It's already summer here in Phoenix Arizona and I was in the mood for something light.

Reading down the list of ingredients, I read "Fresh white asparagus".  Here we go again.  Not likely to find that.  Maybe at Whole Foods, clear across town. Careful reading of the recipe told me that the only reason for the white asparagus was to add a little color.  OK, Fine.  I can substitute hearts of palm.

On to the actual construction of this dish.  The making of the parmesan dressing required TWO saucepans and a strainer.  Imagine the effort to get all the melted cheese out of two saucepans and a strainer. And the end result was certainly not worth the effort.

I'll admit, the presentation was beautiful with the asparagus, palm hearts, and some peas.  Next time though I'll grab a bottle of Newman's Parmesan dressing.