BBQ beef sandwich, asparagus, and home fries.

Spring is here. And we all know what that means.



Except that I still had a pound of stew meat in my freezer on Saturday, collecting a layer of frost, a heavy reminder of the blankets of food that kept me warm all winter. And I'm grateful for that food, really. But I'm done with it. I had to get rid of that meat. And I certainly didn't want stew.



What to make with stew meat that's not stew? I found this sandwich at Simply Recipes and decided that a barbecue beef sandwich, sloppy and messy between two buns and just begging to be served at a backyard party in the middle of summer, would be a nice transition from winter to spring.

And I could serve it with asparagus.



Elise's recipe called for a 3-pound chuck roast, but after cutting the rest of the ingredients in half, a pound of stew meat worked just fine. After simmering for about two and half hours, I used two forks to pull apart the meat into fine shreds. Then I returned the shredded meat to the pot to warm through while I prepared the asparagus.



The asparagus was simple -- I just heated some olive oil in a skillet, dropped in a handful of trimmed asparagus, and rolled the spears around until they were crisp-tender, not even three minutes. Added salt, pepper, and lots of lemon. I am obsessed with lemony vegetables.



But then I realized that Murdo doesn't like asparagus, and that there were no chips in the apartment (I try not to buy them to avoid eating entire bags in one sitting), and he'd need something else to eat with his sandwich.

Enter these home fries.



Pan-fried in olive oil and butter, seasoned generously with salt and pepper, these home fries are so simple and delicious -- crisp-chewy on the outside and soft potato-ey on the inside. I might just start making them when I get potato chip cravings. And then I'd have to stop buying potatoes altogether.



And the sandwich? Well, I think I'll definitely have to get more stew meat, even if winter is over...