leek and potato soup (vichyssoise)

A chill in the air the last few days:  the inevitable march toward autumn and winter.  My friend Joe and I took what might be our last walk halfway around Como Lake .  A beautiful sunny day, and a parade of almost every dog you can imagine.  The food vendors were gone and the windows shuttered, but the fall wildflowers were blooming everywhere , and just enough briskness to the air to be thankful for that pot of vichyssoise in the fridge.  Served not cold, but carefully warmed up (never bring to a boil once the cream is added!) and served with some very good cheese and steamed kale.  

Leek and potato soup (vichyssoise)

2 cups yellow or red potatoes, cut in large dice

2 cups sliced white of leek (you can include a little of the pale green)

2 tablespoons sliced white of scallions

Half chicken stock, half water to cover the potatoes and leeks

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh dill

3/4 cup medium cream

salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes, scallions and leeks in large pot or saucepan.

Cover with half water/half chicken stock.

Add the thyme and dill.

Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft.

Remove from heat.  

Scoop out a cup of the broth and reserve.

Puree the soup, then add the cream.  Add reserved broth if needed.

Add salt and pepper to taste before serving.

                      

                                           Happy Autumn!

                        

vichyssoise with fresh chives and thyme

What a wonderful way to celebrate my blog getting fixed (thank you, Kelci) - four distressing days I never want to go through again, when my account was suspended due to a questionable email I had gotten.  I was out for a walk two days ago, worrying and hyperventilating, when I saw my neighbor's two enormous chive plants and admired them.  She handed me some scissors and a plastic bag and told me to help myself, which I did -  then promptly celebrated with a pot of delicious vichyssoise.

This is the classic vichyssoise that you can also find in Julia's books:  when it's cold, it's vichyssoise, when it's served warm, it's potage parmentier - a smooth, creamy soup (though it only has 3 tablespoons of cream) that I sprinkle with fresh chives and thyme leaves - thyme being my favorite herb of all.  Served with a fresh green salad, it's a fine welcome to Spring.


To make:

3 cups sliced leeks (white only)
3 cups diced potatoes (I used small yellow potatoes)
3 cups light chicken broth
1 teaspoon or more kosher salt
a few thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons heavy cream


Simmer the leeks, potatoes, broth, salt and thyme sprigs in a large pot for 30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.
Remove thyme twigs from pot and toss.
Puree soup in blender or Cuisinart and return to cooking pot.
Swirl in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 4 tablespoons heavy cream and stir well.
Serve cold in mugs or bowls, sprinkled with minced chives and a few thyme leaves picked from their stems.

Happy Spring to you all!

sticky lemon cake for Julia

Yesterday was Julia Child's 100th birthday, had she lived to share the day.  Because she meant so much to me, I wanted to make her a cake.  I settled not on a recipe from her many and wonderful, read-in-the-middle-of-the-night cookbooks, but from a recipe I adored and had made many times.  Sticky lemon cake is perky with lemon juice and zest, and just dandy any time of the day.  Divine with sliced strawberries or blueberries, raspberries sprinkled on top;  instead, I added a branch of rosemary ( for remembrance) and a tiny viola flower, in love and thanks.  I chopped up a handful of pistachio nuts, just for the color and crunch but you can use berries instead.  Happy Birthday, dearest Julia!

To make:

I used two small, 6 inch heavy wedding cake pans, greased with vegetable shortening (Crisco)

Preheat oven to 330F.

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

zest of a lemon 

2 extra large eggs

2 1/4 cups King Arthur flour, all purpose

1/2 t. baking soda

kosher salt or Vege-sal

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 T. chopped pistachios for garnish - or fresh berries

Cream the butter and sugar well, along with the lemon zest.  Add the eggs and mix well, then add the flour, baking soda, salt,nutmeg, buttermilk, and fresh lemon juice.

Scrape into the cake pans, dividing equally, and smooth the tops.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until tops spring back gently when softly pressed with your fingertip.

Remove cake pans to cooling rack.

The lemon glaze:

While the cakes are cooling, make a lemon glaze:

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Place in a small saucepan and stir, then heat until hot, and until sugar has melted.  Remove from heat.

Run a dull knife around the sides of the cakes, then remove, top side up, to cooling rack.  Brush with the glaze several times, then sprinkle with nuts or garnish with berries.  Let set for at least 1/2 hour before cutting.  This cake freezes well, so feel free to freeze one of the cakes for later. Just wrap firmly in double plastic wrap before setting in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Julia's birthday cake: biscuit au beurre (butter spongecake)

Happy Birthday, Julia! In honor of her birthday, I decided to make a cake I'd never tried before, her "biscuit au beurre" spongecake. What a pretty cake, brushed with apricot jam and a rim of toasted, ground almonds. But, it's a little bland to my tastebuds, although Julia suggests it for tea served with berries or other fruits. It was wonderful with mango sorbet, but next time I make it I think I'll split it and fill the middle with creme patissiere for a little more interest. Still, it's a pretty foolproof cake - I usually make a genoise, which can be tricky.

from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. I

to make:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter and flour an 8x2 inch cake pan.

~

4 T. unsalted butter

2/3 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

2 t. vanilla

kosher salt, pinch of

2 T. sugar ( for the whites)

1 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted

about a cup of apricot jam, warmed with a few squeezes of fresh lemon juice (the glaze)

about 3/4 cup toasted almonds, finely chopped in a food processor ( for the rim)

~

Melt the butter until it's golden brown. Take off heat, set aside.

Beat the egg whites and salt together in mixer bowl until soft peaks are formed.

Sprinkle in the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Scrape onto a plate while you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

In the same mixer bowl ( no washing!) mix the egg yolks. Gradually add the 2/3rds cup of sugar and the vanilla, and beat with whisk attachment until batter is pale yellow and thick.

Scoop 1/4 of the egg whites and 1/4 of the flour onto the egg yolk mixture and fold gently in. Add half the melted butter. When incorporated, add the next 1/4th, fold, and so on, and the rest of the butter, until all are blended in.

Scrape into prepared cake pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.

The top should be golden and firm to a tender touch in the middle. Remove to cooling rack for five minutes, then remove the cake to another rack to cool.

While still warm, brush the top and sides of the cake with the warmed apricot jam.

Holding the cake on a "table " of your five fingers, take a scoop of the almond meal and press all along the sides of the cake until covered.

If you want to add a filling, obviously you would split it and fill the middle before brushing with the jam and pressing in the almond meal. The recipe for the creme patissiere is here.

So enjoy - and raise a glass of bubbly to our favorite effervescent cook in the world!

courgettes rapees, sautees: grated, sauteed zucchini

What I love about August: ZUCCHINI! For the third year in a row, my zuc plants have failed to produce anything beyond flowers. I have found this is not a problem, however, thanks to friends with bountiful zucchini plants: I am overjoyed when they shove a bulging brown bag of squash into my arms.

One of my favorite ways to eat zucchini is to grate it, drain it, and quickly saute it in a frothy foam of butter and a little olive oil. Every forkful is buttery and smooth - a delicious side dish with chicken, or fish, beef or pork. But it can also stand alone with a little fluffy rice on the side, or nestled up to an omelet. Or IN an omelet. Don't skip the draining! Getting rid of some of the excess zucchini water is what makes this so good.

To make:

One medium zucchini makes two servings .

Trim the washed zucchini at both ends and, using a box grater, grate the zucchini into a colander. If you are using large zucchinis, grate around the seedy core, and toss the core. Sprinkle a half teaspoon of salt over the grated zucchini, place over a plate or bowl, and let drain for five or ten minutes. You can see above the amount of zucchini juice that drained out in that brief amount of time. When ready to cook, scoop up handfuls of the grated zucchini and squeeze until fairly dry.

*

grated, drained, squeezed zucchini ( one zuc drained made about a cup)

2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. olive oil

1-2 T. minced shallots or scallions (optional)

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a skillet, then add the shallots or scallions if using. Stir for a minute or two , or until the butter foams up. Add the zucchini and stir. After a minute or so, cover the pan and lower heat to medium low. Keep cover on for about five minutes, then remove from heat.

Before serving, taste for seasoning and add a tiny bit more butter, gently swirling it into the zucchini.

Although I learned this technique in the restaurant I worked in, you can also find it in Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. II, by Julia Child. ( page 369)

julia's leek and potato soup: potage parmentier

I was thumbing through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 this morning and got the surprise of my life. The Potage Parmentier I've been making all along, thinking it was still Julia's recipe, has undergone some fairly radical changes over the years.

First of all, she adds no extra herbs to the basic leek and potato soup base - and no stock, either. So all this time, I've been loading the potage with the potent aroma of my favorite herb, thyme. And enriching it with chicken stock AND butter.

No matter: both are wonderful soups! There may be times when you want your Leek and Potato with few seasonings, and others when you prefer a richer bowl .

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

1 lb ( 3-4 cups) peeled and diced or sliced boiling potatoes

1 lb (3 cups) washed and sliced leek whites, with a little of the tender green

(by the way, leeks lately have been sandy, so slice the leeks down the middle, fan them out, and rinse well under running water)

2 quarts of water

1 T. salt

Simmer the vegetables in the water and salt for about 40 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and soft. Mash with a fork or pass the soup through a food mill. Just before serving add:

4-6 T. whipping cream or 2-3 T. soft butter

2-3 T. minced parsley or chives

My version:

1 1/2 cups peeled, sliced white potatoes

1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, well washed, whites only

2 cups light vegetable or chicken stock

2 cups water

1 1/2 t. thyme

Simmer vegetables in the light stock and thyme until soft.

Using an immersion blender stick, puree the soup until smooth.

Add:

about 1/3 cup light cream

1 T. unsalted butter

salt and pepper to taste

Serve with a sprinkle of chives, finely sliced scallions ( green onions), or a stick of trimmed scallions, or some chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Featured on TasteSpotting!

not Julia's ratatouille

Summer is coming to a close - time to stack the wood , make peach preserves, and count the days until the Honey Crisp apple season opens. It's also time to celebrate ratatouille season, that delicious mixture of zucchini, garlic and eggplant, tomatoes and peppers, heavenly basil.

When my stepmother made ratatouille, it was similar to Julia's recipe; a tedious, oil soaked casserole of the same ingredients that truly repelled me. It was only when the "nouvelle" craze hit that I discovered a way to make a fresh, lively, and edible ratatouille.

*A note on eggplant. When I worked in a French restaurant, we routinely sliced the eggplants, salted them heavily in a strainer with kosher salt, and let them sit for 30 minutes, before washing and patting them dry. You can still do that, but I've found if you choose a very fresh, very firm eggplant, you can usually get away with just slicing and dicing it without that step. I admit, once I used an eggplant that turned out to be so bitter, I had to toss the whole batch of ratatouille. It's really your decision.

Rather than the hours the traditional recipe calls for, this recipe is done in about a half an hour.

To make:

3 T. olive oil

1 medium or large chopped onion

3 fat garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1 large green pepper, chopped in a large dice

1 medium, firm, unpeeled eggplant, cut in a large dice

* you may salt and drain it first, see above

1 medium zucchini, cut in a large dice

about 1-2 cups canned plum tomatoes with juice, cut up. ( I also have used canned diced tomatoes with chiles, the 14.5 oz can)

3 T. or so of really good salsa ( I use Green Mountain Gringo from Vermont)

fresh or dried basil, oregano

salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan.

Add the onion and garlic and saute for a few minutes.

Add the peppers, eggplant, and zucchini and cook, covered, over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

Uncover and add the tomatoes, oregano, basil, and salt and pepper.

Turn heat to medium-low and let simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through and tender.

Turn off heat and let the ratatouille sit for 20 minutes before serving.

Your taste buds will thank you!

crepes fines sucrees for Julia's birthday

Today I suddenly started craving crepes. As I whipped up the batter from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I was reminded by the scrawl on my birthday calendar that tomorrow is Julia's birthday, so I hastily raised a fork full of these delicious, apricot-stuffed dessert pancakes to Julia's dear memory.

When I worked in a French restaurant, I was the crepe maker - stacks and stacks of crepes for dessert, and often for a savoury fruits de mer entree. It's hot work, and you have to work fast, but once you get the hang of it, you can whip out a few dozen without any trouble. A crepe pan is a must for me, with a heavy bottom that holds the heat, as well as asbestos fingertips, if you tend to flip them with your fingers, as I do, instead of the more sensible spatula.

Recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

The batter needs to be made a few hours before you intend to use it. You'll need:

A blender

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup water ( today I used 1 cup water to get the right consistency)

3 egg yolks

1 T. sugar

2-3 T. dark rum

1 1/2 cups sifted King Arthur flour

5 T. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking the crepes

Place the ingredients ( in the order listed) into the blender. Puree and add a little more water if the batter is too thick. When you ladle it into the hot pan, you need to swirl it quickly, which won't happen if the batter is too thick.

Let the batter sit for 2 hours in the fridge.

Two hours later.....:

Place a stick of unsalted butter on a plate near your stove.

Heat up the crepe pan ( or omelet pan works, too) and swirl the tip of the stick of butter around the pan. The heat should be at medium.

Using a small ladle, scoop the batter out and , using a swirling motion, drizzle into the hot pan. Immediately grasp the pan's handle, and tip it around and back and forth so the batter covers the bottom of the pan. After a minute, the edges will look bubbly. Another minute and you're ready to flip it quickly, using a spatula. Cook another minute or so, then flip the crepe out onto a platter.

Continue to butter the pan, scoop the batter, and cook until batter is gone - this makes around 10 crepes.

If you're serving them right away, simply flip onto a plate, spoon some chunky apricot preserves around the disc of the crepes, and roll up. Three to a plate is usually plenty per person. Dust a little confectioner's sugar on top and serve. If you're holding them, place squares of waxed paper between the crepes so they don't stick together.

And blessed Happy Birthday, Julia! Where would we be without you?

concombres a la creme

While browsing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 , I came across this long forgotten recipe for baked cucumbers in cream. I have no idea how long it's been since I made this dish, but I DO remember loving it. It's a wonderful warm side to fish, especially, and the delicate taste of cucumber really shines through, in a very subtle way. It would go just as well with a nice roasted chicken.

To make enough for 4 servings:

2 large cucumbers

1 T. white or cider vinegar

pinch salt

pinch sugar

Peel cucumbers and using a spoon or melon baller, scoop out the seeds.

Cut into 1/2 inch or so semi circles, or if you prefer, you can slice the cucumbers into two inch pieces, then slice the cucs into sticks.

Place in a ceramic bowl with vinegar, sugar, and salt and let sit 30 minutes.

Drain cucumbers and pat dry.

Baked Cucumbers:

The drained cucumbers

2 T. melted butter

1 t. fresh dill, minced

3 T. sliced scallions, white and green part - about 1-2 scallions

several grindings of pepper

pinch salt

Turn oven to 375F.

In a casserole dish, toss cucumbers with the butter, dill, scallions, pepper, and salt.

Place in oven for 40-50 minutes.

Remove when baked. Make the quick cream sauce:

Quick sauce:

1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream

Simmer cream until reduced by half. Add:

salt and pepper

1 T. minced parsley

Toss with cucumbers and serve warm.

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day, Julia, and strawberry clafouti

On this weekend of Mother's Day, I am sending a wave of joy to the woman who started my journey. Dearest Julia Child, no-nonsense lover of food and life, though never having children of her own, certainly can count millions of passionate fans and followers: she was my mentor, and I adored her. I offer this homage of affection with her Clafouti - silky, aromatic, comforting.

I met Julia once, whe I was cheffing at le Bocage in Cambridge. She appeared suddenly, all 6 foot something of her to my 5 foot 5. She was all laughter and jollies; I suddenly wobbled and came very close to fainting, as she spread smiles and gushed in her usual Julia way about our food. She was on her second wave of popularity, and thought nothing of sitting briefly on the trash barrel in the kitchen as she spoke to each of us. Bless her heart.

Her original recipe called for fresh cherries, but, as I think she would understand, I substituted fresh, fragrant California strawberries.

Julia Child's Clafouti

1 1/4 cups milk ( or half light cream, half milk)

1 T. vanilla extract ( make sure it's a good one!)

1/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/4 t. salt

A few scrapings of nutmeg ( my addition)

1/2 cup flour

2-3 cups quartered fresh strawberries

1/3 cup sugar, divided between ramekins, or, if in a casserole dish, sprinkled on top.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Butter several ramekins or one large casserole dish.

In a blender, combine milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour. Whiz.

Pour a 1/4-1/2 inch layer of batter into each dish, or the large casserole dish.

(I usually skip this and just place fruit on the bottom and cover with batter)

Place in oven and bake until a film of batter sets in the dishes or casserole dish.

Remove from heat and spread the strawberries over the batter - I used 1/2 cup per ramekin.

Sprinkle on the sugar, dividing between ramekins.

Pour on the rest of the batter, dividing between the dishes, or the one casserole dish.

Place back in oven and bake until the clafouti is puffed and golden and set( about 40 minutes).

Serve lukewarm.

And, yes, those are my now grown babies above!

Featured in Photograzing!

classic french beef bourguignon: chasing away the chill

I knew I was coming down with something last night - was it the faintness after shopping, the chill in the air, the brooding grey sky, the frozen toes? As soon as I woke up, I craved chile peppers in soup. I managed to pull together a hasty red pepper and udon noodle soup for breakfast, but I knew what I really needed - this classic French red wine and beef stew, fragrant with bacon, thyme, merlot, and beef, balanced with a touch of garlic and salsa.

Although I normally eat almost vegetarian, there are times when the deep flavors of meat and wine with herbs can resurrect me like nothing else. Forget the pre-Thanksgiving jitters, the memories of my father on Thanksgiving, the silent phone, the bleached grasses just before the snow, the tension that November brings. The hours of the wine blending with the beef make for an extraordinary experience. This is, indeed, Slow Food at its best. This is the one stew I don't add carrots and onions to, because it's perfect, just as it is. There is a deep robustness to this stew, that is unlike any other I've made.

So throw a log on the fire as the pot bubbles, and take joy in this day.

To make:

a pound of stewing beef

4 strips of bacon ( I use thick cut), sliced into slivers

3 cups merlot, or other robust red wine

olive oil and unsalted butter for the saute ( about 2 T. each) butter is optional.

2 cups beef bouillion

2 T. good salsa (I use Green Mountain Gringo, from Vermont)

3 cloves mashed garlic

1 t. thyme

bay leaf

salt and pepper

Place beef on paper towels and blot until dry.

Put bacon in a skillet and cook until brown. Remove to paper towels.

Add olive oil and butter to the skillet and brown, about five pieces at a time, the beef chunks. Remove beef when browned, reserve, and continue to brown beef until all the chunks are done.

Place browned beef in an oven-proof dish or pot.

Drain the fat from the skillet, then add the merlot and beef bouillon, and the thyme, garlic, salt and pepper, and the salsa. Simmer for a few minutes, scraping up the browned bits.

Pour over the beef, then add the bacon bits.

Cover and place in a 325F oven for two hours.

Taste the stew and adjust seasonings, then serve with good bread and butter, or buttered noodles.

Enjoy!