Spork or Foon?

Tuesdays with Top Chef with Teanna... er... Season 6? Duo of Mushrooms, Smoked Kale, Candied Garlic and Turnip Purée

 

Please excuse my while I try to unfry my brain.  I have to switch up TWD and Top Chef with Teanna this week, as I didn't realize how time consuming this dish would be.  So my tart will be posted tomorrow when my pastry cream is all nice and chilled.

This Top Chef recipe one was quite a doozy.

Yes. I said doozy. I can't think of any other words.

Not only was it is a doozy, but it is among my Top 5 Favorite Top Chef Recipes to date.  Ah, Kevin Gillespie, you and your pig tattoo get me every time.

I have fallen back a bit on my Top Chef blogging, so please, let me give a short description about the episode.  Natalie Portman, the vegetarian and totally adorable actress, was the guest judge.  The episode was full of laughs and very uncomfortable innuendos about pricks and mouths and honestly, I had to leave the room because I was so uncomfortable... and I was watching this alone.

The chef's were cooking at Tom Colicchio's Craft Steakhouse.  But here is the twist: Natalie is a vegetarian.

Dum, dum, duuuuuum.

Many chefs are known for their vigorous dislike of vegetarians.  Don't even get them started on vegans. Anthony Bourdain once called vegans the "Hezbollah-like splinter factions of vegetarians" and said that vegetarians are "the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food."

He is never one to mince words, is he?

But I digress. On to the dish.  This dish is composed of six components (is that redundant?) - braised mushrooms, sauteed mushrooms, roasted turnips, turnip puree, garlic syrup, a pistou, and sauteed kale. I am a bit worn out from lack of sleep these past few weeks, so I'm going to break it down for you the best I can.

I could not find hen of the woods or morels, so instead, I bought a dried pack of wild mushrooms. I know. I'm awful. But you know what, when seasoned and sauteed properly, you may probably never know the difference.  At least I couldn't.  I was pressed for time, and frankly, good produce is hard to come by in NYC so I take what I can get.  These mushrooms were delicious. I didn't follow the recipe to the letter. I just threw them in a pan with the emulsified butter and oil, tossed them with some diced celery, seasoned well and added a bit of lemon and heavy cream.  Heaven on a plate.

I was never one for liking turnips, but this is the second dish in which Kevin has proved me wrong on that point. The turnip puree was buttery, rich, and provided a wonderful textural contrast to the dish. The smells that wafted through the air while the sliced turnips were cooking butter while quartered turnips were roasting in butter was pure heaven. It could just be the butter, though.

The pistou was good, but be sure to season it well (as you should will all components of this dish.  Use your judgement.).  I could have done without it on the dish, but if you love the flavors of tarragon and parsley (which I do), it adds a nice lightness to an otherwise heavy dish.

The garlic syrup was fantastic.  I have tried a different recipe for garlic syrup before this and it is nice to see the different ways in which you can make this fabulous accoutrement which adds so much flavor to any dish.  One note: never stick your nose over a pot of boiling vinegar. You'll regret it.

The kale.  Oooooh, the kale. I could eat this component of the dish for days and days.  I am probably like most people who believe that kale can suck when it is not cooked properly.  I know you are intimidated by my mature use of language, right there.  It can be bitter and chewy and no one likes bitter and chewy. But this kale was the most amazing preparation of kale I have ever tried.  I used liquid smoke (again, right up there with dried mushrooms. I apologize) and sauteed it in water with diced onion, garlic, I then added 1/2 teaspoon sugar and salt each to season it. Pure perfection.  Again, I could not stop eating this.

Together, everything was outstanding. I can completely see why the judges not only picked this as the winner, but stated that they didn't even miss having a protein on the plate. This is a dish that would make me go veg in no time.

ToSorry, Anthony Bourdain.

Click here for the recipe.  But again, this one is time consuming. It took me about 3 hours to make... but it was well worth the effort.

 

Thanksgiving Central

 

Oftentimes, I go onto websites such as Epicurious.com or MyRecipes.com around the holidays and am bombarded by huge, flashing letters stating (Insert Holiday Here) Central.

Who made them Thanksgiving Central?  Christmas Central?  Presidents Day Central?

It's a little presumptuous, no?

Well, I am declaring Spork or Foon this year's Thanksgiving Central.  I may not have many Thanksgiving recipes in my archive, but if you are looking to have a Thanksgiving dinner comprised of 1 side dish, some rolls, and two pies, then this is the place to be, people. 

We all know my love for the Chocolate Pumpkin Pie (photo above).

But did you see the mess that was my Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Chocolate Almond Bark and Toffee Sauce from last year?

 

Please hold your laughter, because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  And I was using flash under yellow lighting with my point and shoot before I knew how to take photos.  

Or how about my butterhorn rolls.  These were pretty as a peach. They didn't taste like anything, because I forgot to put salt in the dough. But I gave Pillsbury a run for his roly-poly money right here. 

I remember being very happy with this photo last year. But then Tastespotting and Foodgawker both rejected it and rained on my Thanksgiving Day Parade.

 

And finally, the most amazing Thanksgiving side that ever existed in the history of man. This sweet potato casserole.  Words cannot express the wonder that is this casserole. I am making two this year because one is not enough.  

May I present to you the Sweet Potato Casserole with a Cinnamon Cashew Streusel. Heaven in a casserole Dish. This was finished in about 5 minutes at my house last year. 

Again, don't judge my poor photography skills from 2008.

 

So there you have it, folks!  Happy Thanksgiving and you're welcome! 

 

Top Chef with Teanna: Season 1, Episode 7 - Restaurant Wars - I'm Not Your B-, B-!

Yes, my friends, it is here. My favorite Top Chef Theme and yours: Restaurant Wars.

In Season 1, Tiffani, Dave, and Harold teamed up with an American Workshop Concept, serving classic American Food such as Tuna Tartare (don't ask, it's not classic American, but they did it as sort of an homage to a dish Harold created in Episode 5), Roasted Chicken, and a Fruit Crisp. It doesn't sound too impressive, but one thing we have learned over the years in Top Chef is that sometimes simple is better. Let's see if it worked.

They were against Leanne, Stephen, and Miguel's Spanish restaurant, Sabor. Their menu included a tapas trio, red snapper with crispy risotto cakes, and olive oil ice cream. 

It turned out that the American Workshop won, due in no small part to Dave's friendly demeanor at the front of the house, which won over diners and judges alike. 

Let's get down to what was really important in this episode. If you thought it was the food, you are strongly mistaken. No, no. It was the line that was heard round the world.  A little ditty that goes a little something like this:

I'm not your bitch, bitch!

Ah, yes. Sweet, often nervous and fidgety, Dave, put the evil Tiffani in her place once and for all. And not only did he put Tiffani in his place, he started what is now the Bravo TV phenomenon of creating T-Shirts for their reality TV programming.  You, too, can now thank Dave for your Housewives of Orange County T-Shirt with two orange slices going across your boobs.  It is capitalism at its finest. Click here for your very own I'm Not Your Bitch, Bitch T-Shirt.

This was a great week for me for several reasons - All of the dishes were relatively simple, there were no recipes with hundreds of ingredients (there were no recipes at all, being that these were pretty straightforward), and I would have carte blance to prepare what I like. 

I could not find sashimi grade tuna, so I skipped the Tartare Course and went straight to the main.  I was rifiling through my first EVER (seriously, I remember it like it was yesterday) Food and Wine Magazine, with a section from Thomas Keller and his pastry chef for a delicious summer meal with Roasted Chicken. He served the chicken with wilted arugula heirloom tomatoes with a summer succotash and pickled pearl onions.  

Score. 

I only followed the recipe for the pickled onions, but used the rest as a guide.  I've linked to Thomas Keller's Roasted Chicken Recipe, which is the most beautiful recipe ever. Dry Chicken. Salt Chicken. Put Chicken in oven. Leave it alone for an hour. Eat it the way I tell you (yes, he tells you how to eat it).

I then made a Banana Flambe Crisp with a Hot Butter Rum Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream. Yes, it sounds as good as it was.  I will post about it tomorrow. 

Thomas Keller's Roasted Chicken 

Thomas Keller's Quick Pickled Pearl Onions

Vine Ripened Tomatoes Stuffed with Summer Succotash adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

¾ cup green peas

½ cup corn kernels

¼ cup yellow onion, diced large

8 firm, ripe heirloom tomatoes (about 5 ounces each)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 tablespoons snipped chives

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425°. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and corn and boil until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the beans and corn, transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Slice off the bottom of each tomato so it sits flat. Using a knife, cut around the center of each tomato to form a cone that can easily be removed once the tomato is baked. Brush the tomatoes with olive oil and set them in a large pie plate, stem side up. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper and roast just until tender, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then spoon out and discard the centers to make room for the succotash.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoons of the butter in the 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Cook the onion until very soft and translucent, about 7 minutes.  Add the green beans and corn and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and the chives and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the succotash into the tomatoes and serve warm or at room temperature.

Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

I have always wanted to try my hand at zucchini blossoms and finally had my shot this Sunday.  A certain stand at the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market in DC was brimming with the delicate flowers.

But what do with them?  I had never even tasted a zucchini blossom, let alone knew how they were prepared.

I stood in my apartment and scanned the room, hoping to find some inspiration.  But all I saw was an autographed photo of Mark Twain, an autographed photo of three Dallas Cowboys phenoms (Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Emmit Smith) and a photo of Jack and his sister with Bill Clinton - no autograph.

Now, I could go there and make a joke about rolling the zucchini blossoms into cigars, but that would be so 1996.  And I don't think any of us want to go back there.

But lo!  What's this? The July Issue of La Cucina Italiana sitting on my printer with none other than zucchini blossoms on the cover?  What are the odds? I squeal in excitement as I flip through the magazine to find not one, not two, but, like, 5 or 6 (I didn't count) recipes all featuring zucchini blossoms!  

Cue angels singing.

I learned that zucchini blossoms are often served stuffed, and sometimes fried. The options were endless:  zucchini and mushroom omeletes with zucchini blossoms, asparagus soup with zucchini blossoms, shrimp stuffed fried zucchini blossoms... I could go on.  I went with Zucchini Blossoms with Vegetables, because, with some tweaks, I had everything I needed to make the recipe.

These were the perfect summer appetizer. As you bite into the blossom, your mouth is filled with a combination of light and creamy cheeses, sweet, crunchy leeks, and the pop of succulent peas.  Don't miss out on the magic of the zucchini. 

Zucchini Blossoms with Vegetables adapted from La Cucina Italiana

Ingredients

1 leek, white and pale green parts only

Coarse sea salt

3 medium tomatoes

Extra-virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup shelled fresh peas (1 to 1 1/2 pounds in pods) or frozen peas

1 large carrot, finely chopped

7 ounces ricotta salata cheese, softened at room temperature, crumbled

4 ounces mascarpone cheese (1/2 cup), at room temperature

12 large zucchini blossoms, stems and pistils removed

Good quality balsamic vinegar

Special Equipment: a 10-inch disposable pastry bag or sealable plastic bag 
 

Instructions

Cut leek in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces and wash. 

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to boil. Drop tomatoes into water and boil 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes. Peel, seed, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Transfer to a bowl.

Cook fava beans in the same pot of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a colander. Run under cold water for 1 minute to stop cooking, then pat dry with paper towels and add to bowl with tomatoes. Drizzle with oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Cook leeks, peas and carrot in the same pot of boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water for 1 minute to stop cooking. Transfer to a large bowl.

Add robiola, mascarpone and generous pinch salt and pepper to leek mixture; stir together to combine. Transfer cheese mixture to pastry bag. Snip a 1/3-inch opening and pipe filling into blossoms. Using your fingers, gently press petals around filling. Chill stuffed flowers until filling is just set, about 15 minutes.

Divide tomato mixture among 4 serving plates. Arrange blossoms on top. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

Golden Beet Salad

Beets. 

For so many years, I feared beets.

I only knew beets as those circular red things swimming in liquid at salad bars.  You know the ones. With the sneeze guards?

Appetizing.

To me, those beets looked like the cranberries from a can that you eat on Thanksgiving. And I am not ashamed to admit, I would have those cranberries on Thanksgiving no other way.  Cranberries from a can and stuffing from a box.

But I digress.

I first tried my hands at beets sometime last year.  I stared at the root vegetable, trying to figure out its secret. Questions streamed through my head.  Do I leave on the greens? Do I eat the skin? How do I cook these things?

So I turned to my trusty friend, Google.  I learned that the most foolproof method to cooking beets was to roast them in the oven for 45 minutes or so, let them cool, pull off the greens, then peel off the skin. Oh, and some even suggested wearing gloves, as beets will dye fingers.  

And so the attack of the red beets began.

I forged ahead, sans gloves, and suffered the fate of the red beet.  And frankly, after my meal, I still wasn't too crazy about the beet.  So now I was unsatisfied, hungry, and sporting a pair of red hands.

Fast forward to yesterday, Dupont Circle Farmers Market, Washington, DC.  I went with the intention to buy some fruits, but walked out with zucchini blossoms, golden beets, and buffalo meat and... well, no fruits.

I decided to try my (un-dyed) hand at beets yet again.  I wanted a simple dinner with fresh ingredients, and found a fantastic shallot vinaigrette recipe that looked like it would go perfectly with the golden beets.  And it did.  The softer flavored golden beet was complimented by a sweet shallot vinaigrette and a crumble of mild and nutty ricotta salata.  And the best part?

NO RED HANDS.

Golden Beet Salad (Adapted from Epicurious)

• 2 1/2 lb medium golden beets (with greens)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
  
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 oz. ricotta salata, crumbled
•   

• Put oven racks in lower third and middle of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

  Trim beet greens, leaving 1 inch of stems attached. Tightly wrap beets together in double layers of foil to make packages (2 or 3 per package) and roast in middle of oven until tender, 40 to 45 minutes. Unwrap beets and cool slightly.

  Whisk together shallot, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, then add oil in a stream, whisking.
  

  When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off and discard skins. Cut beets lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices and gently toss with 3 tablespoons vinaigrette in a bowl.

  Arrange beets on 6 salad plates and top with ricotta salata.

Latin American Barbeque

Every so often, I will dedicate a weekend to Jack as a way to show him how much I appreciate and love him.  I know it may seem cheesy, but he really is the best boyfriend in the world, and although I thank him everyday, it's nice to have a few days to do things that make him so happy!  

This weekend, we had a "Jack Weekend" to celebrate his recent graduation from his MBA program at GW University and his 3.87 GPA!  Friday night, we started out with some Jazz in the Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art.  Sadly, it downpoured from the start to the end of the Jazz show, so that didn't go so smoothly.  We ended up heading over to one of our favorite restaurants in DC, called Matchbox, where we ate and drank and he somehow convinced me to get another dog, a German Shepherd this time, and name him Gryffindor. 

I don't know how it happened.

On Saturday, we took our dog, Remy, over to the National Mall and walked around to all of the various monuments and war memorials.  On that walk, we plotted what we wanted for dinner.  We were both itching for something fun and summery and I remembered that my most recent Gourmet Magazine featured recipes from a Latin American Barbeque.  

Perfection. 

We decided to make a menu of Tortillas with Mexican Style Salted Beef, Grilled Pork in Guajillo Adobo, homemade refried black beans, guacamole, Oxacana cheese, Peruvian Red Cabbage Slaw and Rancho Chile Verde Salsa with a side of grilled onions and cactus paddles and Red Chile Shrimp with a Peruvian Miso Sauce.

Sounds like a mouthful? It was. 

My favorite parts of this dinner were the Peruvian Miso Dipping Sauce, which was a sweet, creamy dipping sauce with hints of cumin that paired perfectly with the succulent pan-roasted shrimp, the sweet and crunchy Peruvian Red Cabbage slaw that was the perfect addition to the tacos, and the deliciously creamy and spicy refried black beans.  These additions topped succulent pork and deliciously salted beef. 

This is a meal that deserves to be enjoyed by a lot of friends and family and filled with great laughter.  But for Saturday, I had myself one happy boyfriend whose smile stretched from DC to LA.

Beef and Pork Taquitos

Mexican Style Salted Beef

Miso Dressing

Grilled Pork in Guajillo Adobe

Guatemalan Red Cabbage Relish

Refried Black Beans

Maricel's Guacamole

Jalapeno and Onion Saute

Rancho Chile Verde Salsa

Oven Baked Rosemary and Thyme French Fries

I love French Fries.

There, I said it.

French fries were sent to this world by evil chefs who whose soul purpose is to dangle sticks of fried goodness in my face, knowing that if I indulge, I'll blow up faster than Violet in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

To combat this, I will sometimes try to make oven-baked french fries.  I carefully chop a large Russet potato into perfect, uniform sticks, salt them generously, and send them off into the oven, imagining perfectly golden, crispy, lower fat french fries.

WRONG! 

Somehow, I always end up with soggy, limp, white french fries.  What is it that I am doing wrong?

Well, whatever I was doing wrong doesn't matter anymore because I found out how to do them right.

Toss these perfect matchsticks with a little rosemary, a little thyme, some kosher salt, extra virgin olive oil and toss it in an oven at 400 F for 25 - 30 minutes and you've got fries... frenchified.

Crispy. Golden. Salty. And enhanced with a touch of woodsy herbs. 

Damn those evil chefs, I'll take my healthier fries any day.

Oven Baked Rosemary and Thyme French Fries

3 Russet Potatoes

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons rosemary, minced

2 teaspoons thyme, minced

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Grease a baking sheet with 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil and set aside. Make sure you spread the oil around the whole pan (taking a paper town to spread the oil works well).

Skin and chop potatoes into 1/3" sticks.  Toss with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and place in a single layer on baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes, turning fries every so often, until the potatoes are uniformly golden brown.

Remove from the oven and immediately add salt, rosemary, and thyme.  Serve immediately.

Braised Chicken Leg and White Beans with Rosemary and Garlic

I must say that I am a very lucky girl. That beautiful dish you see above is courtesy of my boyfriend, Jack.  He is, by all accounts, a fantastic cook.  I almost can attribute my love of cooking to him – but I won’t because he’ll gloat and rub it in.  But frankly, before I met Jack, my idea of a good meal was one piece of turkey and one piece of American cheese on dry whole wheat bread… with relish.  I never knew the wonders of simple flavors, like salt or lemon zest, that heighten the flavor of a dish, or the earthy taste of rosemary, the “foresty” (Jack’s adjective) scent of thyme, the wonders of roasted garlic, or the sweetness of sautéed onions.

I just finished reading Molly Wizenberg’s (Orangette) book, A Homemade Life (buy it -  seriously).  In the book, she mentions that her boyfriend at the time (now her husband), Brandon, is the more experimental cook of the two.  Where Molly is “hunched over a cookbook, hanging on every word, he’s at the stove with his fingers in the pot.”  If I weren’t paying attention, I would have thought Molly was talking about Jack and me. There were many times I would read this book and smile, thinking of Jack. I must admit, I sometimes envy his ability to pick up a few ingredients and create something without relying on a recipe, but at the same time, it inspires me to think off the page and trust my instincts.

Sometimes, he’ll work with a recipe to learn about the flavors and then the next time, he’ll wing it, eyeing measurements and adding his own spices and touches.  His mind is always churning.  We both absolutely love Alice Water’s the Art of Simple Food, because her recipes are a canvas to make it your own. If my boyfriend does work with a recipe, it is from her book.  Her recipes are like color by numbers – there is a guideline, but no one is forcing you to color within the lines.

Just so he doesn’t get a big ego, I tell him the food sucks, because I’m a big baby.  He often knows I’m lying from the smile that I try desperately to hide, the sighs that leave my lips, and the clean plate that sits in front of me.

The fact of the matter is I’m a better cook.  So there.

EDITOR'S NOTE:  After writing this post, I asked my boyfriend to read it, thinking that he’d appreciate my acknowledgement of his talents in the kitchen.  He instead edited my post as if he were Editor-in-Chief of Random House and then proceeded to tell me I know nothing about ingredients. 

This is why I have to tell him his food sucks.  

BLECH! Don’t make this recipe! (Ok, ok make it.)

Braised Chicken Leg and White Beans with Rosemary and Garlic adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

4 chicken legs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 onions, sliced thick

5 garlic cloves, sliced thin

2 bay leaves

2 rosemary sprigs

4 tomatoes, diced large

1.5 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons dry white wine

 

1 cup dried white beans

Salt

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons coarsely chopped rosemary leaves

For the Chicken:

Season the chicken a few hours before with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Heat a heavy bottom pan over medium heat.  Add olive oil and place the chicken legs into the pan skin side down and cook until crisp and brown, about 12 minutes.  Turn and cook for another 4 minutes.  Remove the chicken an add onions.  Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, rosemary, and bay leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  Add tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Arrange the chicken in the pan, skin side up, and pour in any juices that have collected.  Pour in chicken broth.  The liquid should reach halfway up the chicken; add more if needed. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer.  Cover and cook at a bare simmer or in a 325 degree F oven for 45 minutes.  When done, pour the braising liquid into a bowl and skim the fat.  Discard the bay leaves and rosemary stems.  Taste for salt and adjust as needed.

For the Beans:  Soak beans overnight in 4 cups of water.  Drain and transfer to a heavy pot.  Add water to cover by 2 inches.  Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and skim off any foam.  Simmer gently for 2 hours or so, until the beans are tender.  Add more water if necessary during the cooking.  Season to taste with salt.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan or skillet, warm olive oil over low heat.  Add garlic and cook just until the garlic is soft, about 2 minutes.  Stir into the beans, taste for salt and adjust as needed.  Let the dish sit for a few minutes before serving to allow the flavors to marry.

 

 

 

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

This is my go-to winter soup.  My boyfriend, Jack, makes a mean winter minestrone soup. Well, I make a mean winter squash soup.  We're going to have a soup-off one day. I'm totally going to win.

I love butternut squash.  Despite what you see posted here on this blog, I often try to eat very healthy.  My favorite snack is a roasted butternut squash drizzled with a touch of olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and cinnamon.  It is filling and actually satisfies my sweet tooth!  

I love to curl up on the couch with a bowl of this soup and savor its rich, silky texture.  The best part is, it is very healthy, as butternut squash is high in fiber, vitamin A, beta carotine and Vitamin C. And there is absolutely NO cream in this soup. Just butternut squash, garlic, onions, sage, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

I bathe in butternut squash soup.

Winter Squash Soup (adapted from Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients

2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2" chunks

2 medium Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped

1 yellow onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

4 sage leaves

2 stems rosemary

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large suacepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and onion and saute until onion is transparent, about five minutes.  Add butternut squash, potato, chicken stock and water. Tie together sage, rosemary, and bay leaf with kitchen twine and add to pot.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until squash and potato are tender.

Remove from heat and process in batches in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4.

Broccoli and Arugula Soup

I love this soup. I often make it when I am feeling lazy and just want to throw something together quickly.  It is filling (thanks fiber-rich broccoli) and healthy, and I first discovered it when doing the GOOP detox.  I know that this detox, the newsletter, and Gwenyth Paltrow as a human being, has been the subject of much ire on the interweb, but I don't really care, because I actually loved this detox.  I didn't starve, I was often very satisfied, and I really liked the recipes that were provided. And frankly, I was able to do this after gaining seven pounds over the holidays and not only lose that weight, but lost 3 more pounds, and have kept it off ever since, despite baking and tasting constantly. I basically have introduced many more foods back into my diet, but still try to maintain the all natural, no-proccessed food way of life. Alice Waters would be proud. 

Now please excuse my while I find a way down from my soapbox. 

Bring on the baked goods!

Oh, and I sometimes like to top this soup with some cornmeal crusted shrimp (SEE!).  But don't include them if you want this to be vegan/vegetarian (obviously!)

Cornmeal Crusted Shrimp (adapted from Epicurious)

• 12 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined  
• 1 3/4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled, smashed

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place shrimp, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and 3 smashed garlic cloves in large resealable plastic bag; turn to coat. Chill 2 to 3 hours, turning bag occasionally.

Stir cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in medium bowl. Add shrimp; toss. Arrange in single layer on large plate.

Meanwhile, add enough vegetable oil to heavy large skillet to reach depth of 1/4 inch. Heat oil over high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shrimp until golden brown and cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper-towel-lined baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm.

Broccoli and Arugula Soup (adapted from Her GOOPiness)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion, roughly diced
1 head broccoli, cut into small florets (about 2/3 pound)
2 cups water
1 tablespoon (or more, depending on your tastes) coarse salt 
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup arugula (watercress would be good, too)
2 tsp onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 lemon (optional)
1 tsp curry powder (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a medium nonstick saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for just a minute or until fragrant. Add the broccoli and cook for four minutes or until bright green. Add the water, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Cook for eight minutes or until the broccoli is just tender. Pour the soup into a blender and puree with the arugula until quite smooth. Be very careful when blending hot liquids; start slowly and work in batches if necessary. Serve the soup with a bit of fresh lemon.