Asparagus season is upon us and though it is the first sign of all the vibrant fruits and veggies still to come our way, we can only use asparagus as a side dish so many times before panicking at the sight of those green stalks in the grocery store. Today’s simple salad recipe not only showcases the fresh, nutty flavours of the classic spring vegetable, it also makes a great dish to bring to a BBQ.



Recipe: Shaved Asparagus Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
500g fresh asparagus
half a fresh lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)



To serve 4-6 people, grab about 400-500g of asparagus. Look for crisp, thin stalks. Wash and dry them well.



Remove the denser, woody lower section of the stalks by gently bending and allowing the stalk to break at a natural point.



Using a veggie peeler, slice the asparagus into thin strips. Simply peel away thin layers and keep going until there’s no more asparagus left. This is a good job for one of the older kids.



Toss all the asparagus slivers into a large bowl as you go.



Squeeze some fresh lemon on the salad, then drizzle it with about a tablespoon of good olive oil. Toss and season with salt and pepper.



Grate a ½ cup fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) and toss with the salad just before serving. Don’t use the fake or pre-grated stuff; it does not yield the same flavour!



You can prep the salad in advance and just add the dressing before serving. To add a bit of colour, toss in some shaved radish slices. Either way, it’s a perfect match for anything on the grill.

Recipe: Shaved Asparagus Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
500g fresh asparagus
half a fresh lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)

Instructions
 

1. Wash and dry the asparagus, then snap off the lower, woody part of the stems.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, start to shave off thin slices of asparagus and collect them in a large bowl.
3. Squeeze fresh lemon over the salad and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and fresh pepper and toss to combine.
4. Add the Parmesan just before serving and toss lightly.

Sue Riedl is a Toronto-based food writer with a passion for cheese who writes a column called The Spread for The Globe and Mail. She loves to push stinky cheese on her 4-year-old. 

Related: 

• Family Fun: Roasted Brussels Sprouts 
• Family Fun: Mother’s Day Ginger Fruit Salad 
• Family Fun: Cobb Salad — For Eating Outside (Finally!) 

Happy Friday! We hope you're looking forward to firing up the grill this weekend, because we've got some delicious recipes for you to try out. May is National BBQ Month and we've been tweeting our favourite recipes and tips from the grill, so follow us @FoodNetworkCA to get in on the conversation!

This week, we're counting down our favourite BBQ toppings. Whatever you're grilling up, toppings are the easiest way to take a dish from simple to extraordinary. Make sure to check out our top burgers, grilled fish, and BBQ sauces as well! Happy BBQing!

Caribbean Salsa 

Super-Quick Guacamole 

Creamy Spinach Burger Topping 

Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Spread 

Gourmet Mushroom Topping 

Related: 

• Healthy Summer Grilling 
• A Day at the Beach 
• Cooking with Grilled Fruit 

Shortbread cookies get a spring makeover when disguised as bright blooms in a potted planter. This clever DIY makes a wonderful hostess gift or birthday present for kids and adults alike. We used Anna Olson’s Shortbread Cookies – they’re the perfect backdrop for colourful sprinkles – but Chocolate Chip Cookies or even Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies would be just as delicious. 

Supplies:
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Cookie pop sticks
Sprinkles
Potted planter
Desert foam blocks
Spanish Moss
Glue gun + glue gun sticks
Ribbon

Anna Olson’s Shortbread Cookies
Yields 4 big cookie lollipops and 8 small cookie lollipops, enough for 3 cookie bouquets.

Ingredients:
 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar
¼ cup cornstarch or rice flour
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
¼ cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Sift in icing sugar and beat again until fluffy, scraping down sides of the bowl often. Sift in cornstarch or rice flour and blend in. Sift in all purpose flour and salt and mix until dough comes together (it will be soft). Stir in vanilla.

Now for the twist…
1. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Split the dough into two separate pieces. Roll one half of the dough into a two inch wide log, and the other half of the dough into a one inch wide log. The two inch log will be used to make large cookies, and the one inch log will be used to make small cookies.
2. Slice each log into 1cm thick discs.
3. To assemble the cookie pops, place a disc on the parchment-lined cookie sheet, laying the large and small discs on separate cookie sheets. Then, press the top of a cookie-pop stick in the center of the disc.
4. Place another disc (of the same size) on top. Press and mold it into a circle so that the cookie-pop stick is firmly in place. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
5. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with ¼ cup water. Brush egg wash on each cookie pop. This will help the sprinkles stick to the cookie. Decorate with sprinkles.
6. Bake cookies at 350F for 18-20 minutes, removing the cookie sheet of small discs after 15-16 minutes.  
7. To assemble the cookie bouquet, begin by pressing the desert foam into the potted planter.
8. Using a glue gun, glue the Spanish moss onto the top of the desert foam. Fill in any empty space on the edges of the potted planter with Spanish moss as well.
9. Tie bows with ribbon onto each cookie pop. Press the stick of the cookie pops into the desert foam, and voila! Your cookie bouquet is complete.

Adena Lazowski is the founder of the charming food blog, Lace and Lemon Drops. A bona fide domestic goddess, she loves her sea-blue KitchenAid mixer, big bowls of pasta, and most of all, preparing food for family and friends. 

Related: 

• Chocolate Marshmallow Linzer Cookies 
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies 
• Spice Gingerbread Cookies 

We've got part 2 of our In the Hot Seat interview with Top Chef Canada guest judge, Massimo Capra! If you haven't seen part 1 yet, make sure you have a look, and also check out Massimo's behind-the-scenes look at his time on the show. Enjoy!

Related: 

• Top Chef Canada: Behind the Scenes with Russell Peters 
• Taking the Challenge Home; Episode 10 
• Top Chef Canada: Episode 10 Recap 

Sharpen those knives and button your whites, because Top Chef Canada is returning for a fourth season! Food Network Canada’s highest rated show is looking for a fresh and fierce batch of competitors to chop their way to the top.

Hungry for the chance to compete in this showdown of culinary elite, take home the coveted title of Canada’s Top Chef and bank that $100,000 prize?

Our latest national casting call has commenced!

If you are aged 19 years or older, are an up-and-coming culinary star, and think you have what it takes to impress our judges, then click over to http://www.topchefcanadacasting.ca and fill out your application.

The hunt for Canada’s next Top Chef will close on June 11th, 2013.

Then tune in to the current season (Mondays 9ET/10PT) or watch Top Chef Canada episodes online for a taste of the challenge, and follow us on Twitter (@FoodNetworkca / @TopChefCanada) and Facebook for more updates to come!

Bonne chance!

We'll always be the first to admit our undying love for spuds. Whether they're baked, mashed or scalloped, potatoes are the ultimate snack. It's National BBQ Month, and this week, we're counting down our top 5 potato salad recipes. There's no better side dish at a backyard BBQ than a big, creamy bowl of the stuff, right?

We've been tweeting our favourite BBQ tips and recipes, so make sure you follow us @FoodNetworkCA to get in on the discussion. You can also check out our favourite burgers, grilled fish, BBQ sauces, and patio snacks for even more inspiration.

1. Mediterranean Potato Salad 

2. Potato Salad with Avocado and Grilled Scampi 

3. Octopus and Potato Salad 

4. Edamame Potato Salad 

5. Fresh Pesto Potato Salad with Brick Cheese 

Funny man Russell Peters was one of the guest judges on this week's epsiode of Top Chef Canada, and we sat down with the comedian to chat about his time on the show. Check out the interview below!

Related: 

• Top Chef Canada: Behind the Scenes with Massimo Capra 
• Top Chef Canada: In the Hot Seat with David Rocco 

Are you all caught up on this week's episode of Top Chef Canada? If not, you can watch Top Chef Canada online or read our episode recaps. It's week nine of Taking the Challenge Home, a weekly post where we challenge Calgary-based blogger Dan Clapson to recreate a dish from each episode of the season. You get to vote on which dish he recreates, so vote as many times as you'd like below. We'll keep polls open until Thursday at 9am, then check back in with us on Monday so you can see the results! Make sure to have a look at last week's Taking the Challenge Home, too!  

Related: 

• Taking the Challenge Home; Week 6 
• Taking the Challenge Home; Week 5 
• Top Chef Canada: Episode 7 Recap 

10 episodes down and 3 to go! The Top Chef Canada season 3 finale is just around the corner (June 10th - mark your calendars!) and the competition is heating up. With every moment on the show turning into a nail-biter, it's a miracle we haven't gnawed off our fingers yet! (Sorry for the gross visual! Now, back to the appetizing stuff...). If you missed last night's episode, you can always watch Top Chef Canada online. Here come the spoilers!

This week's Quickfire Challenge was set at Toronto Pearson International Airport. However, the chefs did not jet-set off anywhere. Instead, they prepared meals for others who were doing just that. The challenge was to create a fast, light meal that could be sold to travelers at the airport and also reflects the multicultural nature of Toronto. Each chef had 90 minutes to create a dish based on one of the following destinations: Barcelona, Bangkok, Sydney, Mexico City, New Orleans and Tokyo. This time around, the guest judges were the employees of Toronto Pearson Airport. At the end of the intense challenge, the weakest dishes were Jonathan's too-plain teriyaki chicken and Danny's impractical noodle soup. The winner of the challenge was Dennis, with his New Orleans-inspired chicken and rice gumbo with buttermilk cornbread.

Next up was the Elimination Challenge, where the chefs had to prepare and serve a 6-course Indian feast. This week, there were two guest judges: Canada's leading Indian cuisine expert, Vikram Vij and comedian Russell Peters. Up for grabs was a $5000 cash prize. Everything seemed to go smoothly in the kitchen for everyone but poor Nicole, who was still fighting a cold and could not smell or taste anything. To make matters worse, she didn't finish plating her dish in time, which landed her in the bottom three this week, alongside Geoff and Jonathan.

The strongest dishes of the challenge belonged to Danny, Dennis and Matt, with Matt's Braised Beef with Coconut Curry, Banana Chutney and Jasmine Rice coming out on top.

Do you think the right person went home? Let us know by tweeting us @FoodNetworkCA and check out the dishes from this episode's Elimination Challenge below.

Related: 

• Taking the Challenge Home; Week 6 
• Taking the Challenge Home; Week 5 
• Top Chef Canada: Episode 7 Recap 

Listen up, Food Network Canada fans on the West Coast; we've got a special treat for you! On May 24th to 26th, the EAT! Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival will be taking place at BC Place Stadium, and lucky for you, we have some tickets to give away! This is the final of three giveaways, so good luck to everyone who enters! Some of our chefs will be appearing on the Food Network Canada celebrity stage, so don't miss your chance to see your favourites! On hand that weekend will be Chuck Hughes, Bal Arneson, Rob Feenie and Anna Olson. This round of the contest will be open until Thursday, May 23rd at 9am.  

During round 3 of the giveaway, we'll be giving away 7 sets of 5 tickets, so you and 4 friends can enjoy the best food that Vancouver is dishing up!

GIVEAWAY: We have seven sets of five tickets to give away. For your chance to win, email giveaways@foodnetwork.ca with the answer to the following question: 

Name one of the Food Network Canada chefs appearing at EAT! Vancouver, who lives in Vancouver, B.C.  

Giveaway Rules
The following are the giveaway rules (“Rules”) for the EAT! Vancouver giveaway (the “Giveaway”) being administered by Shaw Media (“Shaw”).
 
RULE 1. HOW TO ENTER
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. To enter, entrants must answer the question posted above correctly, as determined by a Shaw representative. The Giveaway shall run until May 23rd, after which time no answers will be considered.
 
RULE 2. SELECTION OF WINNER
Upon completion of the Giveaway, a Shaw representative shall review the answers submitted by each entrant to determine which entrant answered the question correctly. From the entrants that correctly answered the question, Shaw will randomly select the prize winner (“Winner”) and provide the prize to the winner. For the purposes of this Giveaway and the awarding of prize, these Rules shall govern in all respects and the decision of any Shaw representatives shall be final.
 
RULE 3. PRIZE
There are five prizes available to be won, which consist of a copy of five tickets to EAT Vancouver Food and Cooking Festival (“Prize”). The approximate value of the Prize is fourteen dollars Canadian (CDN $14).

RULE 4. GENERAL
By participating in this Giveaway, you agree to abide by these Rules and the decisions of Shaw in awarding the Prize, which decisions shall be final and binding upon all entrants. Entrants who have not complied with these Rules are subject to disqualification. Shaw reserves the right to modify the Rules, before or during the Giveaway, in its sole discretion, in any way at any time it deems necessary or appropriate without materially affecting the terms and conditions of this Giveaway. Interpretation of these Giveaway rules by Shaw shall be final.

Personal information collected during the course of this Giveaway shall be used by Shaw and its authorized representatives solely for the purposes of conducting the Giveaway and awarding prizes, and will not be used or disclosed for any other purpose unless required by law.

The Prize is not transferable and not redeemable for cash, will not be extended under any circumstances and must be accepted as offered without substitution.
Employees of Shaw and its affiliates, subsidiaries, related companies, advertising and promotional agencies and the household members of any of the above, are not eligible to participate in this Giveaway.
 
By participating in this Giveaway, the Winner agrees that his/her name may be used in any and all forms of media, without any further compensation by Shaw and waives all rights (including moral rights) with respect to printed, broadcast and other forms of publicity.

 
In the event of a dispute as to who submitted an electronic entry, the entry will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address.
 
Notwithstanding the defined Contest Period, Shaw reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate the Giveaway, in whole or part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the Giveaway, and/or these Rules in any way, at any time, for any reason without prior notice. Interpretation of these Giveaway

Rules by Shaw shall be final.

The Giveaway is subject to all applicable laws of the province of Ontario and the laws of Canada applicable therein.