potato leek soup

With the craziness of a fabulous Christmas over, we're ready for a season of rest; and so we've been hunkering down for a nice and long cozy winter. I've found myself wondering if winter is not too unlike the Sabbath of seasons. Spring brings energy with its brighter days, new life to flora & fauna and the work of planting. Summer is for traveling, celebrating, filling our schedules to the brim and staying up much too late. We harvest, bustle about and feast in the Fall. And then comes Winter - with its dark days, quiet snow and frozen ground. Perhaps I can grow to appreciate the rest and waiting. And perhaps, Lord willing, I will use this quiet season for spiritual and imaginative refreshment.

So yes, this southern girl still finds cold weather disgusting, but she's realized that a fresh perspective helps a bit.

But on to my point :)

I have the perfect winter soup recipe. In fact, the conclusions above were reached while I prepared this fabulous Potato Leek Soup (found on a friend's pinterest board, where everything she pins looks so tempting).Simple ingredients, minimal fussing and incredibly filling - that's my kind of meal. The biggest hassle is cleaning and prepping the leeks, but I've discovered a technique that makes everything easier. The leeks I find out here are always so filthy with mud and sand. But look at this easy (and beautiful, I think) way of cleaning them:

Maybe everyone else has always cleaned their leeks this way, and I'm just late to the party....either way, I'm super glad to finally know better.

As mentioned, this soup is so simple (and affordable!). The leeks are sauteed with butter and salt; potatoes, water, thyme, chili pepper and bay leaves are added; simmer for 20 minutes or so; stir/blend/emulsify to your texture preference. And that's it!

I'd recommend adding more potatoes to increase the soup's thickness. Also, blending the soup gave it a wonderful velvety texture. We sliced up a crusty loaf of bread and paired it with a bit of sherry. It was a wonderful, simple and cozy dinner. 

Perfect for a calm, restful and reflective winter night.

B

disgustingly delicious

When I was younger, my little brothers and I had a favorite phrase: ‘disgustingly delicious’. We would say it really loud and be SUPER awkward about it, usually when something tasty but mushy was served for dinner. Or when we made our own crazy concoctions in the kitchen (think peanut butter, butter, bacon and cheese sandwiches). “Mmmmm, this is DISGUSTINGLY delicious” or “Hey look how disgustingly delicious this looks!”  Please, don’t judge – we also wore black dress socks with sneakers and threw tantrums because we weren’t allowed to watch Power Rangers.

Yeah…..that’s not helping our case now, is it?

Anyways, I haven’t thought about that phrase for years but last night it sprang uninvited to my mind. Why? Because I made macaroni and cheese for a company pot-luck lunch. And why did that particular childhood phrase seem so appropriate? Because I used 3 sticks of butter, 3 cups of half & half, ¼ gallon of whole milk and 4lbs of cheese.  

And it was  – truly – disgustingly delicious. It was the most creamy, decadent and tasty thing I’ve eaten all year.  It also made me feel very conflicted: did I want to dress up and eat it off of fine china or put on sweat pants and eat from a bowl with a giant spoon?

We’re typically very healthy eaters, so I like to think that indulging every so often is ok. No joke, I would live off of celery year-round if it allowed me to splurge like this. And I know this is a heavily biased post, but I work with food scientists and flavorists and they also highly approved. This dish leaves you feeling fat, dumb and happy.

I’m kind of a mac n’ cheese genius. Then again, everything's delicious with enough butter and cheese. 

B

disgusting day

Today's forecast has a high of 60 F. Cloudy. Chance of rain. 'Unseasonably cool' the weather report says.

I'd be in a better mood if today were only a fluke. But it's not, because we live in Chicagoland. It's only downhill from here - a straight nosedive into 6 months of winter. Grey slushy snow, fingers that never warm up, cloudy skies, icy sidewalks....Grrr I might just move to Australia.

So in an attempt to put a positive spin on this situation, I'm wearing my favorite corduroy pants (in stable brown). And I'm planning a fabulous menu: Roasted Garlic Soup with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes. Think 50 cloves of garlic, onions, thyme, a splash of heavy cream and a touch of fresh lemon.

Give garlic a try. How could anything this lovely not be incredibly delish?

Beautiful potatoes

We'll cozy ourselves away and feast. We'll pull out the quilts and invite the cats to cuddle. And we'll rest in the quiet that comes with early sundowns.

Perhaps I shall survive the cold.

B

oh yoko

Currently working on a Cajun dinner party--ettoufee, crab dip, collard greens, shrimp cornbread...the works.
(total count: 5 onions, 4 green peppers, 4 jalapeños, 4 lbs of shrimp, 2 lbs of celery.  I'm expecting it to be delicious).

While elbows deep in the spicy madness, I have itunes set on shuffle.



This song just came on and shot me back to Hillsdale days.  Esp of driving around with AH and KP with the speakers blaring.  And Wes Anderson films.

Good times Yoko.

B

food for thought

A recent dinner of ours:

fresh snapper and ingredients

stuffed with lemon and thyme

covered in 3 lbs of salt and egg whites

out of the oven and salt crust removed

skin removed

raw kale salad, ale and white wine

nothing left

It was one of those occasions where every flavor was simple, elevated and perfectly blended.  Lingering over our food and drink encouraged better conversation and appreciation for all things--great and small. 

Preparing an entire fish was (strangely) nice as well.  It was working with real food--fresh, humanely caught and delicious.  It felt wholesome to resist the world's trend of cheez-whiz and chicken paste.  In my opinion, if you can't handle working with the real thing you shouldn't eat it at all.

B

Little Debbie better watch her back

I was in serious need of comfort food last night.  This winter weather is dragging on. and. on. and. on.  I had to have something warm and soothing.  Did I make thick beef stew (yuck)?  A hearty loaf of bread?  Warm pumpkin pie?

No.

I fiddled around with a couple of oatmeal cookie recipes and sort of made my own.  I wanted them to have some depth and spice.  Here's the recipe as best I can remember:

1 c butter, softened
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
3 c quick oats
pinch of all-spice
dash of cardamom
touch of nutmeg
splash of cloves

Combine in usual fashion (ie cream butter with sugars, add eggs and vanilla, combine dry ingredients-except oats-and add slowly to wet mixture, stir in oats).  Drop on ungreased cookie sheet by the tablespoon.  Bake at 325 F for about 15 minutes.
So simple.

We were completely out of cinnamon, which is why I made up such a mix of spices.  Truth be told, just cinnamon would have been boring.  The husband thought it could use some chocolate chips.  I accused him of heresy.  Chocolate-no.  Marshmallow cream-yes!

I could have just gone out and bought some of these:

...but that would have been disgusting.  And our insides would have slowly petrified.

Sidenote: I eat most (if not all) of the raw cookie dough before I even get around to baking.  Always have, always will.  My husband knows better than to automatically assume he's getting cookies if he sees me making cookie dough.
THIS is the most addicting dough I have ever made.  It took every ounce of determination I have to bake any at all.


B

what's for dinner

Tonight's menu was born of several inspirations.

#1 Whenever I've a spare moment, I run down the road to the library and browse the cooking section.  Don't think the variety/quality of my literature cramped, because it's not; it's just that I find new recipes and foods therapeutic, adventuresome and (dare I say it) invigorating.  I love Nigella Lawson in part because she's British and has great variety, but mostly because she eats like a horse and cooks like the fat southern grandmother I never had.  Anywho, a picture in her book How to be a Domestic Goddess instantly caught my eye (don't bother mocking the title...my husband has that covered). Feast your eyes on:

Sooooo, we all  love  should love onions (after all, who can resist their transformational flavors AND their ability to ward off the common cold?!?).  Seriously...I judge you if you can't take the plunge.  After seeing the photo and reading how easy it was to make, I decided to keep this recipe close at hand.  Onion pie for dinner.

Step #2 of inspiration:  We found the most epic of finds at a thrift store 2 weeks ago: a vintage tweed sport-coat for the husband.  For $4.  That fits him like a glove.  

Now, while my husband is NOT as pre-pubescent as this gem of a male model, the jacket does fit him in a similar manner.  It's complete with suede elbow patches.  Be still my beating heart.

#3.  You may be asking how a tweed sport-coat goes with onion pie.  Read on.

After reading James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small this summer/fall (and every other sequel that followed), it was with great delight that we discovered the BBC television adaptation.  We've been watching it regularly as part of our evening routine.  There is no word to describe the perfection of this television show (esp with Robert Hardy at the helm)...not even 'delightful'.  Perhaps 'scrumtrulescent' alle SNL's 'Inside Actor's Studio'.  Perhaps.

We love having our four cats, one dog and six birds while watching this program.  We also love that it's the dead of winter weather out here in Chicago, with wind chills significantly below zero.  The Yorkshire farmers--in the books and the television show--live every year in similar conditions.  They battle the elements, maintaining their animal stock and livelihood, whilst remaining salt-of-the-earth-folk.  

Bringing it all full circle: they eat heartily and dress in thick woolen tweed.  As did we tonight.

Dinner was quite delicious.  Warmed us from the inside out.

Although that may have been because we were covered in purring cats and kittens.

We love having company.  The front door is always open.

B

   

crustaceans

I'm going through a lobster phase.

As a child, I would always press my face against the glass of the grocery store's lobster tank, plotting ways I could buy one and keep it as a pet--saving it from a boiling and untimely death.

While I never successfully saved any of my invertebrate friends, I have managed to keep the spirit alive.  For example: our dog, Sweet Lime Sake, dressed up for a Halloween costume contest as a-

and yes, she won 1st place...

I found myself with a bit of extra time yesterday, so I whipped up a layered spice cake with a caramel filling just for fun, decorated with a-

And when we move and/or have the chance to re-redo our living room, you can bet that there will pillows with a-

So much fun.  So whimsical.  So...delicious.

B

For Dinner

As requested by my husband, I'm whipping up this delicious, fresh and healthy dinner tonight (thank you Whole Foods).  Perhaps we can snap a picture before it gets inhaled.  I'm thinking a nice raw kale salad and white wine (as yet undecided) will be just the thing to complete the meal.

Mediterranean Tuna Salad

4 (6-ounce) cans albacore tuna, drained well
1 (14-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives
2 tablespoons finely chopped capers
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup fresh chopped basil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano 

Low-fat mayonnaise to taste (I ended up using about 1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and gently fold together until well combined.  I let the flavors develop by covering the bowl and chilling in the fridge for an hour.
Slice and toast fresh bread (we're partial to Super Target's asiago cheese demi loaf).  Cover with tuna and enjoy!

B