I struggled a lot with a name for these Asparagus and Dill Roast Beef Rolls. It was hard to come up with something that was descriptive as well as appetizing. Something about Beef Rolls doesn’t quite sound right to me, so if you have ideas, I’m all ears. That said, the goal that led to the creation of the Asparagus and Dill Roast Beef Rolls was a dish for my Old Fashioned Croquet Party Menu that was really easy to make (I think these took about 10 minutes) and a little bit playful, since I knew I was going to have lots of children (old and young) in attendance. I loved how these Asparagus and Dill Roast Beef Rolls turned out. Again, it was nice to serve only dishes that could easily be made ahead. I was able to set out the spread at the beginning of the party and then relax. I check on things a couple of times, but I even got in a game of croquet. The beef rolls were no exception. They were actually the easiest dish to make aside from washing the strawberries and all of the moms commented that they felt like aside from being a great way to get kids into asparagus, the kids would have fun making them too. But don’t let all this talk of kids fool you, it was mostly the big kids that ensured that there wasn’t a single Asparagus and Dill Roast Beef Roll left at the end of the party; sometimes simple is best.
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon milk (maybe)
- 1-2 pounds blanched asparagus depending on thickness of spears (30 -35 spears)
- 2 pounds sliced roast beef (30-35 slices)
- In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, dill and a teaspoon of milk if you need it to get the cream cheese to be smooth.
- Lay out a platter for the rolls. Stack all of the roast beef slices on another plate.
- Trim the asparagus. Cut it down to the width of the roast beef.
- Blanch it for one minute in salted boiling water. Run it under cold water or shock it in an ice bath. Let dry.
- Spread a scant teaspoon of the cream cheese across the width of the roast beef. Place an asparagus spear on top.
- Roll up the slice. Remove to the serving platter. Repeat until all of the beef slices are used.
