let the boy do his thing: roasted asparagus

Anyone who knows me knows that I like to plan things. In high school I planned our senior trip to my beach house (and held weekly meetings on my parents back patio to "organize" the crew). In college I planned Spring Break in Ft. Lauderdale, FL (and re-planned a detour to Key West when we realized our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale was disgusting). Nowadays I plan dinners and drinks and picnics and house-parties to get the girls together (and have a nicely color-coordinated Google-calendar to prove it).

So it should have come as no surprise last week when I got anxious with the bf who was "whisking me away" for a surprise weekend "somewhere." I thought and thought about where we could be going, outlined every destination within a 4-hour driving radius, and hemmed and hawed over what to pack. Did I need cute jeans and heels or a summer dress and flip flops? Did I need a hair dryer or a flat iron? How was my planner-type personality going to let this surprise weekend happen without biting all of my nails down to the quick?

Well friends, from now on I'm keeping my mouth SHUT and letting the boy do his thing. I just got home from the best weekend of the year so far and I had no control over any of it. Actually it was a good lesson in self control and patience - and it absolutely paid off. Bf wins. BIGTIME.

Knowing me so well, he booked us a fabulous condo in Amagansett, Long Island -- complete with a full kitchen! Some people might want to escape cooking for themselves on vacation... but not me. We grilled out (grilled! On a charcoal GRILL!) both nights and ate and sipped wine with the sound of the ocean crashing nearby. We slept in, read our books, laid out, and swam the Butterfly in the lovely heated pool on the property. I even limited my Blackberry-ing to a minimum. And then we ate some more.

It was the most refreshing weekend I've had in a really long time and I got back to the city this afternoon feeling completely rejuvenated. Sometimes you just need to be forced off the grid for a while, ya know?

The recipe I'm sharing is one we didn't quite get to this weekend, though we got close. With all intentions of re-creating this delicious prosciutto-wrapped asparagus that I had thrown together last week for an impromptu dinner party, we ended up simply roasting the asparagus on the grill and letting the charcoal do the work.

Both options work wonders, but here's the simple (yet delicious) recipe to try in the future. I took Giada's directions a bit further and after wrapping the asparagus in prosciutto, seared it in a pan with a little olive oil over medium-high heat for a crispier flavor. I also served it warm as I prefer that over room temperature. Asparagus is one of my favorite greens and both of these methods (roasted or grilled) made a delicious summer side dish.

Roasted Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

Giada De Laurentiis (via the Food Network)

1 pound asparagus (about 19 stalks), trimmed

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6-8 paper-thin slices prosciutto, halved lengthwise

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Snap the dry stem ends off of each asparagus and place on a heavy baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss. Roast until the asparagus is tender, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.

Wrap each asparagus with 1 piece of prosciutto, exposing tips. Arrange on a platter and serve at room temperature.