Fancy Food

This cauliflower soup came from Rocco Dispirito's Flavor, which I received for Christmas several years ago.  This is the second time I've made it, and both times I ended up a little disgruntled by how labor-intensive it is.  First, you make a basil simple syrup, which involves two saucepans and a blender; then, browning the pine nuts in oil--a small skillet; and finally cooking a whole head of cauliflower with a sweated onion--one saucepan and the blender, and finally another clean pot to reheat the soup.  And this is only a first-course soup, as it's very light.  I made focaccia with sage and walnuts to go with it, which made a balanced supper.

We ate it cold for lunch the next day, equally tasty.

Why am I whining about this?  Because I prefer to make simple things.  I've vowed to live without recipes for a while.  I already know how to cook!

On the positive side, there was leftover basil syrup, and I made this drink at Eva's suggestion:  gin, soda, a squeeze of lemon, and a teaspoon of the syrup.  Delicious!

Birthday Dinner

Dad and I collaborated on my birthday dinner last night. We had Crab Louis, Stromboli Bread, Golden Mushroom Soup, and two cute little desserts Dad picked up at AJ's. And Dad stayed up late and did all the dishes!

I saw this Stromboli Bread in a bread cookbook. I made my regular French bread dough (3 cups white flour) with the addition of 2 tablespoons of olive oil and let it rise; rolled it out to about 8 by 14 inches; sprinkled it with a mixture of Swiss cheese cubes, shredded parmesan, chopped ham, 2 cloves garlic, and a handful of chopped basil; rolled it up starting at the short end and brushed it with olive oil, then sprinkled on salt, pepper, and chopped rosemary; then poked holes in it before baking it without a second rising at 400 degrees for an hour. It was good-looking and delicious.

Zucchini Soup

It's great to be back in my own kitchen again. Last night, after a swim at Mary Ellen's, we all had a dinner of cold zucchini soup and homemade bread; followed by a second course of grilled Copper River red salmon, grilled eggplant from the garden, and French potato salad. I call it French to distinguish it from the mayonnaise version.

For the potato salad, I used red potatoes and after boiling them in their skins until barely tender I cut them into chunks and tossed them with this dressing: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, a pressed clove of garlic, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I also added a sliced green onion and some fresh tarragon.

Here is the soup recipe:

Curried Zucchini Soup

2 tablespoons butter
2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 onion, thinly sliced

Melt butter and add zucchini and onion. Cover and cook 10 minutes; do not brown.

2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt (maybe a little less)

Add curry powder and salt and cook another 2 minutes.

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half (or evaporated milk)

Place vegetables in blender, add broth and cream, and process until creamy. Chill. Garnish with chives or parsley.

Improv

Cooks improvise and substitute constantly in their cooking--the alternative is slavishly following written recipes and running to the store for every missing item.

I began to make bouillabaisse today for our Easter dinner and discovered I had no fresh fennel, no leek, and no celery for the broth (note to self: read recipe before shopping). Instead I used anise seed, onion, and celery seed. There's plenty of flavor in this dish already with saffron, wine, and fish stock. For seafood I used two crab legs, scallops, shrimp, and tilapia. It was good.

Grandma made bread and lemon pudding, I made the soup, and Dad made the salad. Mary Ellen brought champagne and red wine and we had an excellent party. Happy Easter to all. I missed dyeing and hiding eggs, though.

Diagnosis: Purple Soup

The strange cooking slump continues. This has never happened to me before for more than a few days: it's like I've lost both confidence and sense. I've made some good food and some crummy food, but I haven't felt right about any of it. It's like being a pitcher or shooting free throws -- something is off, and I don't know what, but the fact that I know it's off reinforces the offness of it.

Too abstract? Here's an exhibit.

I made chicken tortilla soup a few nights ago. Homemade stock, nice roasted chicken, green chiles, tortillas fried in a mixture of peanut oil and schmaltz [I have a newfound academic interest in schmaltz thanks to Melanie] -- good stuff. I had some red cabbage in the fridge that I wanted to use up. "Cabbage would be good in tortilla soup," I thought to myself. But my cooking sense should have followed that up with "Green cabbage, maybe. Red cabbage would turn the soup purple."

But that second voice never spoke, and indeed, the soup was purple.

Tasty, but purple.

Now that I've identified the problem, I think the only way to solve it will be to ignore cooking for a short time -- to keep doing it, but to just stop thinking about it. Again, exactly like shooting free throws.

So last night we had grilled cheese sandwiches with pickles on the side. They were excellent. For lunch today I'm having black beans from a can mixed with cheddar and hot sauce and heated up in the microwave. It hardly counts as cooking. That's the idea.

Meanwhile, in the absence of cooking mojo, there has been more knitting. I made Lawson a kickass scarf. And here is part of a hat.

Bouillabaisse

Norm and Jane from Washington came for dinner and to spend the night. Norm is a vintner and brought two delicious bottles of his wine, an unusual Petit Verdot and a Voignier. Here was our Valentine menu.

Bouillabaisse

Homemade Bread

Salad from the Garden

+++

Brownies

Strawberry Ice Cream

Fresh Blackberries

This soup is wonderful for guests because you can make the broth ahead, and then throw in the fish for five minutes right before serving. The flavor of the broth is lovely, starting with fennel and leek instead of the usual carrots, onions, and celery. The recipe is mostly from the 1997 Joy of Cooking.

Bouillabaisse

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 leek, cut into 1/2-inch half rounds

1 small fennel bulb, cored and sliced

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

Peel of 1/2 orange

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil and butter and gently saute the above ingredients for 5 to 10 minutes, until tender but not browned. Then add

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Saute a further 2 minutes, then add

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white vermouth

Boil gently for 3 minutes. Stir in

1 one-pound can diced tomatoes

3 cups Fish Broth*

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3/4 teaspoon salt, depending on the saltiness of your broth

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. You can stop at this point if you want.

Just before serving time, stir in 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of mixed fish and shellfish, cut in similar sizes so they will cook in the same amount of time--or else put the larger items in first. Cook up to 5 minutes or until just cooked. For this batch I used:

1/2 pound shrimp (I used the shells in the broth)

1/2 pound cod in 1-inch chunks

3/4 pound bay scallops

2 Australian lobster tails, cut in half lengthwise

1 can chopped clams

*I made this particular fish stock by simmering the shrimp shells, the juice from the can of clams, and a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce with water.

PS: We had the leftover soup for lunch today with Grandma and it was still excellent. Be careful not to reheat too much.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I don't think I've ever made tortilla soup. I looked at some recipes but didn't end up using any except to learn how to handle the tortillas.

The biggest surprise for me was that the tortillas end up being an integral part of the flavor and consistency of the soup. After they've sat in there for a few minutes, they thicken the soup slightly and pull all the flavors together.

Next time I roast a chicken again I will make this with the leftovers again.

Here's how I made it.

• 6 corn tortillas
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4" cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup sherry
• green chiles. I used one can whole, diced up, but fresh would be better
• chicken broth -- I used half homemade and half high-quality carton stock
• hot sauce or other heat adjuster -- I happened to use homemade Tabasco sauce
• fresh lime juice
• salt
• pepper
• a few cups cooked chicken, shredded

Cut corn tortillas into strips and pan-fry them until golden/brown in a little peanut oil. Drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Saute onion lightly in olive oil. Add carrots, then garlic, and saute just until you can smell the garlic. Add sherry and cook it off, then broth and green chiles.

Simmer 15 minutes or so, until flavors blend.

Add salt, pepper, lime juice, and hot sauce to taste.

Add chicken and bring back to a simmer.

Put a handful of fried tortilla strips in each bowl and ladle the soup on top. Let sit for a few minutes. Serve with avocado slices and lime wedges.

Somewhat Chinese Smoked Turkey Noodle Soup

With the leftover Thanksgiving smoked turkey I made some stock and used it to invent a soup.

I simmered together:

• broth from smoked turkey
• onions
• garlic
• ginger
• five spice powder
  
• soy sauce

After a while I added:

• carrots

After ten more minutes I added:

• green onions
• soba noodles, partially precooked
• spinach
• sesame oil

And I served it just like that. Leftover turkey meat would have been good, but we didn't have any.

On Cooking As You Go

Ezra Klein, whom I adore for other reasons*, occasionally posts about cooking and food policy. And today he managed to get at something that's very hard to explain: how one cooks when one cooks often and without recipes. He describes very well the squishy, wide-open recipe templates that we hold in our minds and pantries.

* 1) lucid commentary on complex health care policy issues; 2) progressive politics; 3) hotness. Mom, you mentioned below that you've been reading about politics online lately...I can uncork a whole array of quality political sites should you so desire, beginning with Ezra Klein's blog.

So: Beans and Stuff, as Mr. Klein says. That's what I ended up with tonight, too. We had bread, and I wanted soup, and we had red peppers and collards, so I made a black bean soup with onions, carrots, garlic, red peppers, a few chiltepins, collards, fresh thyme, fresh oregano, bay leaves, and stock. We will eat it with buttered bread and fresh garden chiles.

Vegetable-Herb Soup

Especially with the oven broken, this October is definitely soup season.

I made sweet potato-peanut stew over couscous earlier in the week.

Another night, I stewed some chicken legs with New Mexican red chiles (soaked in water then pureed), tomatoes, beer, cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg; we ate that with homemade flour tortillas.

And recently I made a simple vegetable soup from leeks, potatoes, carrots, garlic, white beans, and a small bit of bacon. Fresh rosemary and thyme and bay leaves made it smell big and herby. And because we had some leftover pesto, I put a small mound of that on the soup to stir in, pistou-style.

The soup was actually a little better the next day, minus the pesto.

I want my oven back. But for tonight we have seeded sourdough bread from Heather's Artisan Bakery, and I will make another soup to go with it. Something containing collard greens, I think.

Bitter and Sweet, All Green

Sauteed red dandelion greens with just a few drops of red wine vinegar:

Unscripted zucchini soup made with garden zucchini, sweet onions, fresh thyme, a touch of rosemary, parsley, garlic, stock from a smoked chicken, buttermilk, and lots of black pepper:

Together they were magical. The dandelions were ultra-bitter, and the soup quite sweet. Very nice.

We also had steamed garden okra (note the purple pods in with the green this year) and homemade biscuits. No meat, no heavy protein anything -- just lots of green food.

Pho

Recently I made pho. It was quite tasty, though far from perfect, and I had to serve it with cilantro and mint instead of Thai basil, as it's too early in the season for garden basil.

I really liked slicing the beef so thin and sparely, though. I loved its texture, barely cooked and so tender. What other dishes call for thinly sliced beef like that?

We're off to the beach tomorrow morning for a week. Packing up the kitchen supplies has, as usual, been the hardest part of getting ready. The house we stay in is well stocked with equipment, but who knows what kind of spices we're going to need? Lawson always brings star anise, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, and cardamom pods, but I just realized today that those are all large-ish things rather than powders or tiny seeds, so maybe he just picked them for portability. They're all hard to find at beach grocery stores, but so is, you know, turmeric. We bring dried chiles and fresh herbs, too, and fish sauce and shoyu and cornstarch. But sometimes we forget them, which is why our cupboard contains four boxes of cornstarch brought home from past beach trips.

More on pho in next Wednesday's Free Times.

Kale, Potato, and White Bean Soup II: An Actual Recipe

I've made this soup several times since I first posted about it, so I thought I'd post the recipe. It's easy, quick for a hearty soup, and healthy (especially if, like me, you think a little bit of pork fat will probably be found someday to have secret health benefits).

Today a friend brought me three bunches of collards from her father's winter garden. The first bunch I cooked quite plainly in olive oil and seasoned with salt, dried red pepper, and vinegar, but perhaps another bunch will make its way into this soup.

In a Dutch oven, cook 4 strips of meaty bacon cut into smaller squares with scissors. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon fat.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Saute 1 or 2 chopped onions until translucent.

Add 1/2 cup white wine or 1/4 cup vermouth, scraping up any browned onion and bacon bits.

Add and bring to simmer:
-2 potatoes, cubed
-1 large can cannellini beans, with goo
-a few big sprigs fresh thyme
-2 bay leaves
-chicken stock to cover (stock from a smoked turkey is also perfect)
-salt and pepper

When soup is simmering, add bit by bit, stirring as it cooks down:
-1 medium bunch kale, collards, or other greens, sliced

Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, until soup is thick and whitened. Stir in 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Add bacon back in and serve.

White Bean, Sausage, and Vegetable Soup

I celebrated the impending expiration of my Cooks Illustrated subscription by actually preparing something from the magazine. Usually I just skim the articles, think "Hmm, if I ever want to make classic American lasagna, I guess I'll read this more carefully," and add the issue to the stack on the back of the toilet. Like any magazine, the first few issues were exciting, after which they quickly got old, because as it turns out I don't really cook things like mashed potatoes and yellow cake.

This recipe was part of an extended discourse on cooking the perfect white beans. I tried their method, which involved soaking the beans in salted water, but detected no difference from my usual bean soaking (or, often, not-soaking) methods. And, needless to say, I changed the soup recipe a bit. You could make a perfectly wonderful version without reading the article, simply by compiling the following into a soup using normal methods of soup compilation: a pound of soaked white beans; a pound of sausage; onions, carrots, turnips, and celery; water; a pound of diced tomatoes; fresh sage, fresh rosemary, bay leaves, and lots of black pepper.

Vietnamese Meatball Soup

This was the easiest soup. I love Mai Pham's Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table, which I bought for Lawson a few years ago. Traditionally Lawson cooks the Asian foods around here and I handle the other continents, but lately I've been moving in on Asia as well (though my wok skills have a long, long way to go).

The book is fun because the recipes are so simple. And this recipe is fun because it's so dorky -- rather than the beautiful thinly sliced rare beef you expect from Vietnamese soup, it contains big dumb American-looking meatballs. Pham says it's like a Chinese version of pho, popular in Saigon's Chinatown. I just loved it. Here is my slight variation.

The meatballs:
- 1 pound or less ground beef, fairly lean
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot or onion
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- And the recipe doesn't call for it, but next time I will add a very small amount of grated ginger, lime zest, and/or chopped cilantro. I thought the meatballs needed a little more seasoning on their own.

Mix, form meatballs, and set aside.

Noodle prep:
Prepare 8 to 12 oz rice noodles (soaking, boiling, both, whatever the package says) and set aside.

The broth:
- 1 quart beef broth. The recipe specifies storebought. I like those Pacific-brand cartons, and they always seem to be on sale at the natural foods store.
- 4 cups water
- 1.5 teaspoons five-spice powder
- a 2" chunk of ginger, peeled
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- fish sauce to taste

Combine and bring to a boil. Add meatballs and simmer about 10 minutes, until cooked through. Remove meatballs.

Final prep:
Place noodles in bowls along with:
- bean sprouts
- carrots, julienned
- romaine lettuce leaves
- chopped cilantro
- chopped green onions

Cover with broth and add meatballs. Serve with lime wedges, fish sauce, and sambal.

If it's not the dead of winter or you live in a magic greenhouse, also serve with Asian basil and chopped fresh Thai chiles.

Turkey Chowder and Dilly Casserole Bread

I find I'm using this blog to record old family favorites more during the winter and holiday season. This soup is the first and best thing we make with leftover turkey and broth. Grandma discovered it and many other great things in Casserole Treasury by Lousene Rousseau Brunner. My copy is dated 1964. I saw one at an used book sale last month.

The bread is a sort of seventies recipe that's very satisfying. The batter bread format is so forgiving. I substitute freely and it's always good--not exactly European-style artisan bread, but it has its place.

Hearty Turkey Chowder

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon curry powder

Melt butter in large saucepan and sauté onion until transparent. Add curry powder and cook 2 minutes longer.

3 cups turkey or chicken broth
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery

Add broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery; bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

1 cup diced cooked turkey
1 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk

Add turkey, oregano, and parsley. Continue to simmer about 10 minutes longer, or until vegetables are just tender.

Stir in evaporated milk and cook until heated through. Do not boil.

Dilly Casserole Bread

1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter

Heat together until butter melts. Place in large mixing bowl.

1 cup flour (I use whole wheat, but any mixture of white or whole wheat is fine)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 teaspoons dill seed
1 teaspoon dried dill weed, or 2 tablespoons fresh
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1 egg

Add next 8 ingredients to mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 3 minutes. (I use a bread machine for all this. After the first rise I put the batter in a greased casserole.)

1-1/2 cups flour

Beat in remaining flour. Cover bowl and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Stir down. Place dough in greased 2-quart casserole and let rise again, covered, for about 30 minutes. Bake at 350º for 30 to 40 minutes.

Green Chile and Potato Soup

We went out for lunch with friends today to a fish taco joint in South Tucson. There are many taco stands with specialties in that part of town--menudo stands, birria places (that's shredded vinegary beef, wonderful stuff), ranging from hot-dog-cart style to sit-down eating. In between is the trailer with an awning alongside for shaded dining. Our place had tacos and burros, and large styrofoam cups of mixed fresh fruit sprinkled with chile pepper and lime (mango, watermelon, pineapple, jicama, and raw strips of coconut).

So when dinnertime came around, soup was enough for us. Here is a very easy and satisfying soup that you and Russell will remember from your childhood. This tasted especially interesting tonight because I used turkey broth from our Portuguese Thanksgiving turkey, and it had definite overtones of vinegar and sausage. Not a bad thing. We had an unorthodox side dish of golden squash with chives, limes, and cayenne.

Green Chile and Potato Soup

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.

4 roasted and peeled green chiles, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, cubed

Add chiles and tomato and simmer a few minutes.

2 or 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth or bouillon
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Add remaining ingredients and cook until potatoes are very tender.

Grated jack cheese

Top each serving with grated cheese.

Supper for Friends

I made a nice cozy supper for three last night:

Minestrone

Homemade Whole Wheat Bread
***

Pan-Seared Tuna with Herbs

Salad of Baby Greens with Feta Cheese

***

Little Bowls of Fresh Raspberries

Easy Almond Tart

Minestrone

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2 cups diced potatoes

2 cups diced zucchini

1 cup sliced green beans

2 cups shredded cabbage

Heat olive oil in large soup kettle over medium-high heat. Sauté onion for three to five minutes, or until slightly browned. Add carrots and brown in the same way, then celery, potatoes, zucchini, green beans, and cabbage, browning and stirring each time a vegetable is added.

6 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable broth

1 one-pound can cut tomatoes

1- 1/2 cups white beans, cooked or canned

Add broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for about three hours or until thick (or simmer in crock-pot all day on high).

Salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon Parmesan Cheese.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Herbs

1/2 cup sliced red onion

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat the oil and gently brown the garlic and red onion. Turn the heat to medium-high and add

12 ounces albacore, red tuna, or swordfish, cut in 1/2-inch by 2-inch slices

(this is one recipe where frozen fish works pretty well. Thaw just before cooking and pat dry with paper towels if necessary)

1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, parsley, oregano, etc.-- a mixture is best)

Salt and pepper

Sear the fish quickly on both sides, sprinkling with herbs, salt, and pepper. Remove the fish to a plate and keep warm. Add to the empty pan:

1 or 2 cups chopped fresh or canned tomatoes

1/2 cups pitted Kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes

Boil up to deglaze pan. After a couple of minutes, add the fish back in and stir for a minute or two. Don't overcook. Stir in more fresh herbs and serve at once. This is also good cold the next day for lunch. I speak from experience.

Flu Shot Soup

Lawson got a flu shot Friday, which always makes him feel crummy and sleepy and flulike a day or two afterward. That's not supposed to happen, according to what I've read, since the virus in the vaccine is dead, but he says it always does, so whatever.

Anyway, yesterday he felt bad and I invented this soup. It's somewhere in between chicken-noodle soup and Nina Simonds' cinnamon beef noodles. And it's so much healthier and more satisfying than regular chicken-noodle soup.

We had a carcass left over from last week, when I roasted a whole chicken. I made a stock using the carcass, an onion, a few carrots, and a number of turnip stalks. I threw in a few bay leaves but otherwise kept it pretty unseasoned because I didn't know at that point what I was going to make.

After the stock had simmered for hours and was good and rich and drained and cooling off in the refrigerator, I sauteed a chopped onion, a big clove of garlic, a few chopped carrots, and a potato. I added a little sherry, then some chopped turnip greens (maybe half of a medium bunch -- not so much that the soup was overwhelmed). I then seasoned the soup with salt, star anise, cinnamon, and coriander and simmered everything for about 35 minutes, until the potato was soft. I took out the star anise and added some shredded chicken left over from the roasting -- about one breast and one leg's worth -- and a cup of pasta stars, and let it simmer for 10 minutes more. All it needed then was black pepper.

Stock is just not very pretty.

Good Things in the Kitchen

I did some good things in the kitchen yesterday. I made a batch of pear chutney. I also browned a small, tough beef round steak along with carrots, onions, and celery, then simmered it all afternoon to make beef stock. I made the meat into dog food, and tonight I'm going to make French Onion Soup with the broth! I feel very self-congratulatory about this planning ahead.

Dad picked some beautiful greens for tonight's salad. Salad and soup will be enough, because we ate an Italian lunch in downtown Tucson while attending the Tucson Art Museum Art Fair. The restaurant was odd: they had a very limited menu, just ravioli, linguini, or rigatoni, but it was excellent, and the delicious wine was served in the most elegant tall glasses. The building was about as old as you'll find in the West, very thick old adobe.