The First Dish I Ever Cooked: Fettuccine with Prosciutto, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

If you had a conversation with my mom about my teenage years you would probably walk away thinking that she should be put on the fast track to sanctification and that man, I was kind of a brat. I'm not sure if 'brat" is exactly the right term, but I did have a cavalier attitude about most things, and this includes school and my personal safety. Like most young people I thought I was invincible and could do anything. This attitude meant that I thought high school attendance was flexible, speed limits were simply a suggestion , and that the only good food existed in the form of Reese's peanut butter cups and Jack In the Box containers, oh yeah, and that adults were complete idiots. I know I wasn't alone in this line of thinking, these are all pretty standard reasons for why most people can't stand teenagers. It took a few years and some hard life lessons for me to realize that I couldn't just run through life doing whatever the hell I wanted or saying whatever the hell I wanted. For the most part, I now think mainly good things come with age and maturity, but there is a little part of me that wishes I still had a little bit more of my spirit before it was tamed. Not the reckless, ignorant part; but the confident part, that narcissistic (in a good way) thing that only young people possess. That brief moment in time where you think you can do whatever you want to, be whatever you want to, all because you want to.....

This was the kind of confidence I had the first time I decided to cook a meal. I had collected cookbooks long before I ever thought about actually putting them to use, I just liked reading them. Then one day, I was flipping through a book on Italian cooking, and I came across a recipe that sounded good. Right then and there I decided I'd make it for my high school graduation party. I didn't know how to cook at all, but the meal turned out great. Yes, this was probably due to luck and good ingredients, but I think it also had a little to do with a confident spirit. From then on, I started cooking all kinds of things, some great, some terrible! (I once made fish and chips that were completely inedible and homemade aioli where I didn't peel the garlic cloves! Yikes is right...)  The other day I was at the farmer's market and bought a bunch of fresh asparagus and started contemplating what to do with it, when I remembered this old recipe and decided to revisit this meal again. The recipe turned out just as good as I remembered; which I like to think was due to a different confidence, one learned over years spent in the kitchen, prepping and executing. However, I know I don't know everything about cooking yet, I don't believe anyone ever can, for there is always something new to learn. So this summer I made a promise to myself to be more confident and experimental in the kitchen. I have a couple ideas, one of them being that I am going to try canning. The process intimidates me, (fear of botulism; hello East of Eden.....) but I hope to tackle the task with a bit of my old youthful fervor! How about you? What intimidates you in the kitchen? How did you try and overcome your culinary fears? What was the first meal you ever cooked?

Fettuccine with Asparagus
Adapted from "The Italian Collection" by Food & Wine Books
Serves 6
1 pound this asparagus
6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces prosciutto, thinly sliced and cut into thin strips
1 (14 ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and then chopped. (I use Muir Glen Organic for quality flavor.)
1 pound fettuccine pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Snap the tough ends off asparagus and discard. Cut the fresh spears into 1 inch pieces. In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the asparagus just until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse in a colander, shocking them with cold water. (This stops the cooking process.)

In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook pasta until al dente, usually 8-10 minutes, then drain. While pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan, melt 4-6 tablespoons of butter over medium low heat. Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, turn the heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 Minutes. Add asparagus and cook a minute or two more until heated through. Add sauce to pot with pasta, adding Parmesan and a tablespoon more butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. It is important to mix pasta and sauce together for about 30 seconds as this ensures that all the flavors develop and that each piece of pasta is coated with sauce! Serve with a crisp white wine and enjoy!