A very dear,dear friend passed away yesterday. He was part of a deep and lasting friendship we have had with his wife and another couple for maybe 40 years. That friendship began with an eating group we formed, affectionately called the Foodies. I have posted before about the group so I won’t repeat that here but at the end will give you a few links to some previous posts. We started with food around our own tables and Kenn, being a hunter, liked to serve us venison if he had been lucky that year. He also knew his way around the kitchen so I know that he and Pam shared in the preparation of their dinners, mostly. Right, Pam?
Dinners were lively, with discussions ranging from religion to hunting, from nature to politics,(a topic Kenn loved to talk about.) We discussed books, philosophy, art (So ,Curt, you’re an artist, explain …) and food. We would go on for hours. I miss this good talk. There was also a lot of laughter, a lot of eating and a lot of good wine.
As the years went by we added travel to our dining. It could just be a good restaurant here in Wisconsin. Or maybe in Bellingham, WA, where Kenn & Pam moved. Or on Orcas Island, or Whidbey Island or Lummi Island or at Friday Harbor on San Jose Island, when we gathered in Washington State.
Or in Berlin. Kenn and Curt were great for trying almost anything. Curt was a good one for finding something unusual on the menu and Kenn, inevitably would go along with him. I remember him frequently asking Curt what he was going to order. In Berlin, in an outdoor Vietnamese eatery, the two of them decided to order duck tongues and chicken feet. The rest of us just looked on.
We will remember and look back fondly at all those good times to with Kenn. His crazy sense of humor, how he loved people. By the time we all left a restaurant, he would have chatted up the waitress, the bartender and sometimes the cook. He knew their life story by the end of the evening. He was a hugger too. He loved the outdoors and though we teased him about spending a weekend in the woods “killing things”, he was a responsible hunter and respectful of nature. And always on the lookout for the next adventure.
So, goodbye big guy, it was a privilege to know and love you.
“Though, February is short, it is filled with lots of love and sweet surprises” ― Charmaine J Forde
My custard filled Paczki and a cup of Apricot tea
Before I give you our books I wanted to address the odd conflicts this week. Fat Tuesday was this week. If you are a Christian you know that Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. On Fat Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday, you are supposed to prepare yourself for the 40 days of fasting before Easter. People would go to church to confess their sins and clean their soul. In other words, they would be ‘shriven. Fat Tuesday also goes by the name Mardi Gras, which is a day of party and excess and dancing and eating. So before you give up things like chocolate or alcohol or whatever is a sacrifice for you, you party hardy. I live in Northeast Wisconsin where there are a lot of Belgian, German and Polish traditions. We don’t have a lavish parade, instead the bakeries around here produce a delicious Polish pastry known as Paczki. These fried and filled pastries, pronounced “puhnch-kee,” date back to the 1700s, when people would traditionally use up “luxurious” foods like lard and sugar to ensure they wouldn’t be wasted during Lent. To me they are similar to a Bismark but when I researched this I discovered that that though they sort of look the same the dough is different. Ours had a custard filling but there are prune and raspberry fillings as well.
Ok, that was Tuesday. The next day was Ash Wednesday and by coincidence it was also Valentine’s Day. The beginning of Lent, fasting, repentance, contemplation vs love, roses, candy, dinner out where one will be indulging in those “luxurious” foods. I am sure there are some who were having a hard time deciding what to do and which way to go. For me it was easy. We flipped a coin but there were hearts on both sides. Curt made a tenderloin steak, a huge salad with roasted caulifower tossed in and for dessert, Tiramasu. So, whatever your tradition, be kind, be good and find yourself a good book to read for the rest of the month.
Pigs in Heavenby Barbara Kingsolver (1993) 343p. This book continues the story of Taylor and her adopted daughter, Turtle. The Cherokee Nation learns of this not-so-legal adoption and requests she be returned to the tribe. Bean Trees is the prequel.
Hello, Beautifulby Ann Napolitano (2023) 400p. This novel is an emotional, heart wrenching family drama. It centers around the Padavano family of four sisters and the broken young man who marries into the family. Hello Beautiful!, is the greeting Charlie Padavano gives each of his daughters. With a nod to Louisa Mae Alcott’s Little Women, the author has given the four girls the characteristics of Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth.
Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival and My Journey from Homeless to Harvardby Liz Murray (2011) 334p. A memoir of a young woman, born to drug-addicted parents, who, at fifteen goes from living on the streets, to eventually graduating from Harvard.
Into the Storm: Two Ships, a Deadly Hurricane and an Epic Battle for Survivalby Tristram Korten (2018) 288p. The true story of two doomed ships and a daring search-and-rescue operation that shines a light on the elite Coast Guard swimmers trained for the most dangerous ocean missions.
North Woodsby Daniel Mason (2023) 372p. The author chronicles life on a single plot of land in northern Massachusetts over the course of American history. We meet the inhabitants of this land, both human and non-human, both living and dead. It is told in twelve interlinked stories corresponding with the seasons and months of the year.
Dream Town (Archer series #3) by David Baldacci (2022) 432p. It is 1953 and Aloysius Archer is in Los Angeles to visit friend and actress Liberty Callahan. Through her he meets script writer, Eleanor Lamb, who hires him to investigate who is threatening her life. But before he gets started, Eleanor disappears.
Ghosts of Honolulu: A Japanese Spy, A Japanese-American Spy Hunter and the Untold Story of Pearl Harborby Mark Harmon, Leon Carroll (2023) 272p. From extensive research into almost forgotten historical documents, NCIS star Mark Harmon and co-author Leon Carroll, a former NCIS Special Agent, have collaborated on the true story of what happened before, during and after Pearl Harbor.
The Edge (6:20 Man #2) by David Baldacci (2023) 416p. Travis Devine is back, dropped by his handlers into a small coastal town in Maine to solve the murder of a CIA agent whose missing laptop and phone were full of state secrets that, in the wrong hands, will endanger the lives of countless operatives.
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascismby Rachel Maddow (2023) 416p. In light of election-denialism and the rise of fascist tendencies in the US today, Maddow takes a look at how history repeats itself in the pro-fascist, pro-Hitler, anti-semitic movements in the US that were widespread in the forties, in part fueled by Germany’s media-bombing of the US with millions of leaflets and letters. Conspiracy theories about the Jews, intermarriage, blood-spoiling white purity, all in the guise of America First and nationalism and populism. Sound familiar?
Slow Horses (Slough House #1) by Mick Herron (2010) 320p. Slough House is where the MI5 spies, who have messed up or disgraced themselves in some way, are sent to while away what’s left of their failed careers. Jackson Lamb is the head of this band of misfits, nicknamed the Slow Horses. But Jackson has been around the spy game a long time and knows where “the bodies are buried” and is privy to a lot of MI5 secrets. So when a suspicious kidnapping of a Pakistani man is reported with no demands for a ransom forthcoming, Lamb suspects shadiness at MI5.
On to the next part of the Banh Mi ingredients, the baguette. Technically this was started the night before but all of the additional prep and rising and forming took place the day it was served. So if you are going to attempt your own baguettes, and I encourage you to do so, they were marvelous, begin a day ahead.
Classic Baguette (a la King Arthur Flour) makes 3 baguettes or 6 mini baguettes
Ingredients: Starter (Poolish) 1/2 C water, cool 1/16 (a pinch) of active dry yeast 1 C flour
Dough I C + 2 Tbls lukewarm water All of the Starter 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast 3 1/2 C flour 2 tsp salt
Step 1: To make the Starter ( night before ) Mix everything together to make a soft dough. Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 14 hours; overnight works well. The starter should have expanded and become bubbly.
Step 2: The next day add to the starter all the dough ingredients. Mix and knead everything together to make a soft, somewhat smooth dough; it should be cohesive, but the surface may still be a bit rough. Nathan did this with a wooden spoon and his hands since we do not have a stand mixer but if you have one, knead for about 4 minutes on medium-low speed; the finished dough should stick a bit at the bottom of the bowl.
Step 3: Place the dough in a lightly greased medium-sized bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rest and rise for 45 minutes. Gently deflate the dough and fold its edges into the center, then turn it over in the bowl before letting it rise for an additional 45 minutes, until it’s noticeably puffy.
Starting top left: 1. Starter 2. Dough ingredients added to starter 3. After the mix, a knead. 4. In bowl for !st rise. 5. Noticeable increase in size after 1st rise.
Step 4: Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Gently deflate it, and divide it into three or in our case for mini baguettes, six equal pieces.
Round each piece of dough into a rough ball by pulling the edges into the center. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes; or for up to 1 hour. (picture of balls below, before and after rise.)
Step 5: Here comes the tricky part. Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough slightly then fold it nearly, but not quite, in half. sealing the edges with the heel of your hand.
Turn the dough around 180° and repeat: fold, then flatten. Repeat this whole process again; the dough should have started to elongate itself.
With the seam side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 16″ or 8″ log. Taper each end of the log slightly to create the baguette’s typical “pointy” end.
Step 6: Place the logs seam-side down into the folds of a heavily floured cotton dish towel (or couche). Cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the loaves to rise until they’re slightly puffy. This should take about 45 minutes to an hour at room temperature (about 68°F). At this point I think you can figure out why you need to start early and why people who work at bakeries get up in the middle of the night.
Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450°F. Start to heat 1 1/2 cups of water to boiling. Under the rack you will be baking on insert a cast iron pan or a large 9 x 12 roasting pan to hold the water.
Step 7: Cover your baking sheet with parchment paper and gently transfer your baguettes. Slash diagonal cuts on the top of each with a sharp knife or razor blade.
Finally! Step 8:
Load the baguettes into the oven. Carefully pour the boiling water into the lower pan, and quickly shut the oven door. The billowing steam created by the boiling water will help the baguettes rise, and give them a lovely, shiny crust.
Bake the baguettes for 24 to 28 minutes, or until they’re a very deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a rack. Or, for the very crispiest baguettes, turn off the oven, crack it open about 2″, and allow the baguettes to cool completely in the oven, until both baguettes and oven are at room temperature. our baguettes came right out and the last two went in, because my oven wasn’t big enough for six at one time.
Ta-Da!!!!! If all went well, your baguettes should look like Nathan’s.
These mini baguettes measured about 6 inches each. To make the Banh Mi, Nathan cut them in half lengthwise. On one side he spread the liver mousse, on the other side he spread a sauce he made from Sriracha sauce and Kewpie mayo (Japanese mayo, which is more eggy). For ours he added a lettuce leaf, deli ham and pickled vegetables. This was a quick pickle that he made with daikon radish and carrot. The pickle, pate and mayo are pretty standard. You can do different deli meat or tofu or even a chicken cutlet.
Our Banh Mi was a perfect dinner. It went well with wine or beer. No sides were necessary. It was a wonderful Christmas gift. If you aren’t as ambitious as our son you can try your own with a store bought baguette and deli liver sausage or braunsweiger. Have fun with it.
First, check the freezer. Small leftover piece of pork loin.
Second, check the fridge. Hmm, a small bit of leftover chili.
Third, check the vegetables in the walk-in freezer/cold storage. (That’s our back entry area), sweet potatoes.
In Curt’s mind, this is all one needs to make dinner. Once the pork is thawed he is ready to go. The sweet potatoes go into the microwave. He has found this is the most efficient way to do these potatoes. Meanwhile the pork loin butt gets sliced, peppered and put into a frying pan with a glug of olive oil. Once the potatoes are done, the chili gets heated in the microwave as well.
Okay, ready to plate. Cut potatoes in half and put on plates. Cut some slits into the potatoes and add butter.
Add chili, a dollop of sour cream and the fried pieces of pork on the side. And…you have dinner.
Chili and sweet potatoes are surprisingly good. And how can you go wrong with a bit of pork loin. I never think like this but this is how Curt creates dinner most days. He just looks at what is available and puts it together. Nine times out of ten, it works great. And number ten is usually ok.
What kind of concoctions have you created from leftovers?
We have been eating a lot of wonderful vegetables all week that we bought at our local Farmer’s Market. One of those vegetables was a beautiful striped eggplant or in French, aubergine, which I find much more appealing. The recipe today is an original from Curt so when I was getting ready to write it up I asked him what he wanted to call it. He said,”Stuffed Eggplant.” Boring. Afterall, the other sort of homegrown recipe we make a lot is called New Franken Sunset. So, off the top of his head he said, “The Sultan’s Slippers”, probably because the sliced eggplant shells look like slippers? I liked it but felt we needed a subtitle so stuffed aubergine was added. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
The Sultan’s Slipper’s (Stuffed Aubergine) serves 2-4
Ingredients
1 large aubergine (eggplant), striped or solid, makes little difference 1/2 lb ground lamb 1/4 of a large onion (chopped) I clove garlic, minced 2 Tbs pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan over medium/low heat 1 medium tomato, chopped 1 Tbs tomato paste 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 2 tsp honey I tsp Zatar 1-1/2 Tbs olive oil 1/2 C Panko bread crumbs
Step 1
Halve the aubergine, score the exposed flesh, brush with olive oil and put cut side down on a pan with parchment paper or foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven till soft but not completely collapsed. About 30 minutes depending on the size of your aubergine.
Step 2
While your aubergine is baking, chop your onion and put it in a frying pan with the ground lamb and the minced garlic. Cook till the lamb is browned and cooked through and the onions are soft. Remove from heat.
Step 3
Once your aubergine is cool to the touch, scoop out the flesh into a large bowl, being careful not to damage the skins.
Step 4
To the mashed aubergine, add the lamb, onion, garlic mixture, the pine nuts, tomato, tomato paste, honey, Zatar and balsamic vinegar. Combine well.
Step 5
Stuff the shells with the mixture. Stir the olive oil into the bread crumbs and spread them over the mixture. Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Just until the bread crumbs have browned on top. Don’t they look like a pair of slippers?
Once the bread crumbs have browned, remove from oven. Serve with a dollop or two of plain Greek yogurt. Now this served two but we did not have any side dishes. It probably could serve four if you accompanied it with a green salad. Our eggplant skin was firm but soft enough to cut and it is edible so we ate ours. It was really good and a nice way to use this vegetable.
Curt was browsing the New York Times recipes again. I usually find the latest one sitting in the tray on the printer. The other day it was Cauliflower Adobo. I am familiar with Chicken Adobo, a Filipino dish that features chicken simmered in a sauce of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, and creamy coconut milk. Vinegar being the key ingredient. But this was a vegetarian version and since we had a small cauliflower that was ready to use, he decided to give this recipe a go. Now since our cauliflower was small and there are only two of us he cut this recipe in half. I will post the full size recipe in case you are feeding more people or want bigger portions.
Cauliflower Adobo
(Full recipe, serves 4) Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower Kosher salt 2 tsp black pepper 3 Tbls canola oil 1/2 C rice wine vinegar 5 Tbls soy sauce 2 tsp light brown sugar 6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled 3 bay leaves 1 Thai chili, halved lengthwise or 1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes 3 scallions, thinly sliced
Step 1:
Trim leaves and woody stalk from cauliflower, then cut through the root into 8 wedges. Season both sides of each wedge with salt and pepper.
Step 2:
In a large skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Place one layer of wedges in the skillet cut-side down and cook without moving them until well-browned on one side, 3 – 4 minutes. If you have more wedges, remove these and place the remaining wedges in pan and cook. Once all are done return them to the pan, uncooked side down.
Step 3:
Add 1/4 C water, 2 tsp black pepper, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, bay leaves and chili or pepper flakes. Cover and let simmer over medium heat until the cauliflower is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Step 4:
Uncover, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, basting the cauliflower occasionally with the sauce, until it is tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced to about 1/4 C, 8-10 minutes.
Step 5:
Serve the cauliflower with plenty of sauce and a sprinkle of scallions.
Plate the rice on a bed of rice and something green on the side. We made a light green salad because this dish really is just beige and looks rather boring. Also more vinegary that traditional Adobo since ther is no coconut milk in this version. We found it to be a tasty vegetarian dinner.
Our son has been unemployed for at least two years. Blame the pandemic, blame the crazy job market, whatever. It doesn’t really matter. But because of this he does not have a lot of cash to spend on gifts. And he never knows what to get us anyway. So this year, he brought us a couple of bottles of wine and said that one night, while he was here, he would cook dinner for us.
Cooking has been his passion since he has been out of work. The last 10 months he has been streaming his cooking adventures on Twitch, an interactive livestreaming service. He enjoys browsing his local groceries for interesting fruits, vegetables, meats and seafood and then creating interesting dishes from his finds. Lately he has been excited about breadfruit which he happened to find at a grocery in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Breadfruit really is a fruit. It is most often eaten as a starch, like potatoes or rice. It grows throughout the tropics, including Hawaii, Samoa and the Caribbean. The best-known types are about the size of melons, with spiky or pebbly skins that range from brownish to greenish yellow. When baked or roasted, breadfruit gives off the wonderful aroma of warm, freshly baked bread—hence the name.
Nathan has tried it in pancakes and Haitian breadfruit fritters but for us he was going to make a curry. I am really surprised how versatile this fruit is. And it has an amazing smell which is hard to describe, sort of sweet but when it is roasting it does smell like bread.
Here is our gift of food:
‘Ulu/Tofu Curry ( serves4 -5) ‘Ulu is the Hawaiian name for breadfruit
Ingredients:
1 small breadfruit 1 block extra firm tofu (14 oz) 1 medium onion, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped ¾ C frozen peas 2 green onions, sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbls grapeseed or other neutral oil plus enough to coat breadfruit 3 ½ Tbls curry powder 1 14oz can of coconut milk 1 ½ C vegetable stock freshly ground pepper dash of cayenne pepper salt to taste
Directions:
Squeeze most of moisture from tofu by putting it under a weight
Cut the breadfruit into quarters and remove core. Coat lightly with oil and roast on a baking sheet, skin side down, for 30 min at 350 degrees (convection)
3. Remove breadfruit from oven and when cool enough to handle, trim off skin with a knife. (It is much too tough for a potato peeler.) Cut into 1” cubes.
4.Cut tofu into 1” cubes and fry in a pan with 2 Tbls oil, until lightly brown. Remove from pan.
5. In the same pan add the carrots and onions (not green onions) and sauté until the onions are soft and somewhat translucent. 6. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until the garlic is fragrant. 7. Add the vegetable stock and the coconut milk, stir. Simmer about 5 minutes. 8. Add the breadfruit, curry powder, black pepper, and cayenne. Stir. Simmer until broth starts to thicken, about 15 minutes.
9. Add tofu, peas and green onions. Cook until peas are tender.
Serve. Enjoy. Merry Christmas.
A side note: If you wish to checkout the cooking stream on Twitch, it can be found at JovialJovian. He is live usually on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Past streams are archived on Youtube at JovialJovian.
We find a lot of our new recipes online. Mostly through the New York Times because we subscribe to the paper and we get notifications from the Cooking section. We do own a lot of cookbooks as well but we use those when we are planning a dinner and have certain ingredients or dishes in mind. And the Joy of Cooking is always a great reference for something tried and true that you may need a refresher in.
But the ones we find in the Times just strike our fancy, or we may to just so happen to have the ingredients handy. This was true of a recipe we made about two weeks ago. It is called Butternut Squash Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan. Sounded good, looked easy and though we didn’t have a butternut squash we had a Jarrahdale squash. This is a large blue-gray squash which is a cross between a blue hubbard and a cinderella pumpkin. I didn’t know that when I bought it because I was just looking for decorations for Fall and found this on a big flatbed cart for sale with a load of other interesting pumpkins. I researched it later and Curt said, “why waste it, let’s cook it.”
The recipe turned out so well we dubbed it “a keeper” and it has gone into our recipe file. So here is:
Butternut Squash (or Jarrahdale Squash) Pasta with Bacon and Parmesan (4-6 servings)
INGREDIENTS: 2 lbs butternut or any nice winter squash like Jarrahdale, peeled and cut into 3/4″ pieces, about 4 cups 3 Tbls Olive Oil Pinch of Red pepper Flakes Kosher salt and Black Pepper 1 medium Red Onion, cut into inch dice 5 slices Thick-cut Bacon 12 ounces twisty pasts like Campanelle or Cavatappi 3/4 C finely grated Parmesan (about 1.5 oz) 2 Tbls chopped fresh chives (we used green onions) 2 Tbls chopped fresh parsley
RECIPE: Set a rack in center of oven and heat to 375 degrees Step 1: Add the squash to a large baking sheet. Drizzle 2 Tbls olive oil over the top and season with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then spread the squash into an even layer and bake for 45 min. or until cooked through.
Step 2: While the squash bakes fry the bacon till crispy. Remove, drain the bacon fat and add the red onion and 1 Tbls of olive oil and cook till soft. Meanwhile crumble the bacon.
Step 3: Just before the squash is done, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking remove the squash from the oven. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain the pasta and return it to the pot to keep warm.
Step 4: Add the squash, onions and 1/2 the bacon to the pasta. Add about 1/2 of the Parmesan and 1/2 C pasta water and stir everything to well combined. You want the squash to break down a bit and coat the pasta. Add more pasta water as necessary.
Season with salt and pepper to taste. Put into a serving bowl and top with chives, parsley and remaining bacon. Serve immediately.
Put remaining Parmesan on table for people to add to their servings.
On two previous occasions I have regaled you with the charity dinner we, and three other pairs, have bid on for Unity Hospice. This hospice has provided end of life care in Northeast Wisconsin for over 40 years and it is a great cause to support. So once again two of the couples did the bidding, and with the help of a friend who didn’t wish to attend the dinner, but contributed anyway…we won. Last Thursday we gathered at the house of our hostess, a former restaurant owner and certified foodie. There is always a theme to these dinners and this time she based our meal on a restaurant she recently visited called The Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia, about 90 minutes outside of Washington, DC. In 2019, it became the first and only 3 Star Michelin restaurant in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Using the Inn’s published cookbook, our hostess treated us to some unique dishes.
We began with a simple appetizer, it was our introduction to Virginia. Tiny bisquits with Virginia ham and Virginia peanuts (large and very crunchy). Also on the plate, a spicy grainy mustard and strawberry preserve.
We enjoyed this with a drink of our choice. I went with a Sauvignon Blanc, Curt had a Campari and soda. Very soon we were called to the table which had a pomegranate theme.
For the First Course we thoroughly enjoyed the Celery Soup. A nice pastry “crouton” came with the soup. It was garnished with tiny pieces of celery, pickle, sausage and flowers. It was a very good and the diners were asking for the recipe.
Second Course was a Beet salad with three kinds of beets, red, golden and striped. On the side was a Balsamic caviar (no fish were involved but what fun). An orange viniagrette and creme fraiche “snow” topped it off. The menu says there should also have been Vodka Aspic. Stay tuned.
Third Course was small but hearty. One Shrimp sat atop a delicious Corn Risotto with bits of Andouille Sausage. Cajun dust was sprinkled on the dish and small pepper slices and a bit of cilantro served as garnish. We have had a beet salad at each of our dinners and they are always different.
The Fourth Course was tasty but not very attractive. I think my photo made it look better than what I saw. The base was two Cauliflower Purees, a white and a purple on a red wine reduction. On top is a truffle dusted scallop and a tiny little potato crisp.
At this point a wee little bowl with tiny yellow cubes was served. This was our palate cleanser before the final 3 courses and the dessert was served. Even though it was a perfect break, it wasn’t originally planned. This is the Vodka Aspic from the 2nd course.
Onward to the Fifth Course. I have to admit I was getting quite full but I could not imagine not eating, or at least trying, the remaining dishes. Number five was a Pastry “purse” enclosing a warm chicken jus preparation. Crispy carrots, pesto and a mushroom cap completed the plate. I really enjoyed this dish.
Next up was the Sixth Course, and one of my favorites. Beef Carpaccio with a Caesar salad ice cream. A romaine leaf, toasts and a tomato reduction finished it. If it wasn’t impolite I would have asked for seconds and skipped the last course.
The Seventh Course was very good but I could not do it justice. I knew dessert was on the way and I really was done. This was a Pork Roulade with wild rice surrounded by a sweet potato puree, topped with a Pomegranate Parsley slaw. Those are brussel sprout leaves on the plate.
The finale, the Dessert, was Amaro Affogato with Amaretti biscotti and sugared Macadamia nuts. I ate the affogato because it was refreshing and went down easy but I asked if I could take the biscotti with me. This wasn’t a problem and it made a fine breakfast the next day. If you aren’t familiar with affogato, it is ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over it.
Once again the food was very excellent. The conversation and the laughter never stopped. Our hostess and her efficient kitchen/wait staff were wonderful. What a marvelous way to give to charity.
I got the urge to make soup a couple of weeks ago. But I am not like my husband who can look into the refrigerator and the pantry, grab a couple of items from each and throw together a great soup. No, I am a recipe person. I can make adjustments along the way to make it mine or make substitutions if necessary but I have to have a blueprint to begin. Also a cookbook with great pictures is a big motivator. So I decided to go to one of my favorite resources, the library.
There I checked out a couple of promising titles, Homemade Soup Recipes: 103 Easy Recipes for Soup, Stews, Chilis and Chowders Everyone Will Loveby Addie Gundry and Bowl: Vegetarian Recipes for Ramen, Pho, Bibimbap, Dumplngs and Other One Dish Mealsby Lukas Volger. The former had what I was looking for and I copied out six recipes.
Last weekend was a cold one and the Green Bay Packers were playing like a really bad high school team. What to do? Turn the channel and make soup!
One of the recipes I had chosen was called, Old World Peasant Soup and, with a few substitutions, I had all of the ingredients on hand. There are only two of us and this recipe makes enough for six but I decided to make the full recipe and then have enough to freeze for an another day. It turned out great and on a cold evening in October it was a perfect supper with a few pieces of crusty bread on the side. So here is the recipe with my changes in blue.
Old World Peasant Soup
Ingredients:
1 Tbls olive oil 1 pound Italian sausage, (I used two mild and two hot sausages, Johnsonville) 1 onion, finely chopped 1 large carrot, thinly sliced (or two small ones) 1 celery stalk, sliced 3 garlic cloves, minced 4 cups chicken broth 2 (15 oz) cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 (14 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning (Well, that is pretty vague, I ended up using a spice blend I got from Penzeys called Tuscan Sunset. It consists of sweet basil, Turkish oregano, red bell pepper, garlic, thyme, fennel, black pepper and anise seed.) 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper 3 cups fresh spinach (I used Swiss Chard which I par-boiled and then squeezed out the excess moisture) Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish
Directions:
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook until it is no longer pink. The original recipe has you take the sausage out of the casings and then slice which to me was weird. I squeezed little balls of sausage out of the casings directly into the pan.
2. Add the onions, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until tender, 6 – 8 minutes.
3. Add the broth, the beans, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the spinach or Swiss Chard and cook for 3-4 minutes more.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan.
And there you have it. We had one supper and one lunch for two. And tucked into our freezer is a container for another fine supper when the snow flies.
Another Stir of the Spoon 