Posts Tagged ‘soup’
french onion soup
For Christmas eve we always try to take things a little easy in my family. Simple dinner, simple fun. Hopefully no tantrums (from the adults, not the kids) and just sitting around enjoying each others presence. Dinner is also a more simple affair, in preparation for the feast that will ensue the next day.
French onion soup is one of those deceptive dishes. It sounds so simple and light – just onions and broth, right? Ohhhh nooo it has to be smothered in bread and cheese and toasted to bubbly, ooey-gooey awesome richness. Served with a nice salad and crusty bread, this is the perfect meal to get you ready for a Christmas day feast.
vichyssoise
The first time I heard of vichyssoise was in 1992. I was 7 years old and watching “Batman Returns” (which I saw in theatres, which I now realize was probably totally inappropriate for my age). Bruce Wayne is sitting in the Batcave poring over information regarding The Penguin when Alfred brings him some supper. Upon eating a spoonful of soup he chokes, “Alfred, it’s cold!” Alfred gives him a dead stare. “It’s a vichyssoise, sir. It’s supposed to be cold.”
At the time I thought Alfred had said fishyssoise and the soup was a cold fish soup (blech!). It wasn’t until many years later I learned it was just cold potato-leek soup pureed into perfect smoothness. And now that knowledge has come in handy.
I’m getting the rest of my very impacted wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning and this time it’s on both sides of my mouth and thus a liquid diet is on the horizon for a couple of days. My fridge is stocked with yogurt and the freezer has a pint of Häagen-Dazs, but I wanted one more thing to be able to gum down during my convalescence, so another pureed soup seemed smart. This recipe comes together very easily, has a lot of unattended cooking time, and if you use an immersion blender, is a one-pot-wonder. It’s unbelievably delicious and if you have some equally delicious bread to dip into it while you still can chew, I highly recommend it.
peanut butter chili
This should really be called “Pantry Chili with Peanut Butter” since that’s where it all started. Since payday fell on a Monday this past week and I had already exhausted my food budget, I had to be clever when it came to cooking over the weekend. I opened up my pantry and stood there, for a solid 10 minutes, trying to figure out what I could make. And then it all just came together: lots of half-opened bags of dried beans, canned tomatoes, broth, onion and garlic under the sink, and a jar of peanut butter on my counter (maybe open… with a spoon sticking out of it…).
I’ve heard of people using peanut butter in their chili before to give it a special aromatic, underlying flavor and I was always intrigued since peanut butter is my personal drug of choice. So I found a peanut butter chili recipe and converted it to be slow-cooker friendly and changed things up to use dried beans and work around the types of tomatoes and other ingredients I had on hand. I specifically added the peanut butter at the very end so the flavor would really pop and man does it ever. It’s reminiscent of African peanut stew almost. This is a really hearty chili, perfect for a Superbowl party since it fills you up but is also vegetarian-friendly (and vegan friendly if you don’t use the dairy and consider PB vegan) so you can feed the whole crowd with no worries.
kale and chickpea stew
As my friend H and I were sipping cocktails and noshing on fried goods during New Year’s Eve I brought up the subject of resolutions and how I didn’t have any. The classic “eat healthier” idea came up but we both agreed it’s hard to control that when you work in a test kitchen. I mentioned the idea of eating raw or doing a ‘detox day’ once a week and that’s where the motivation to cook this dish came from. It’s a detox dinner – packed full of vegetables, nutrients, lean protein, sits easy on the stomach and comes together quickly.
Kale and dark greens are always at the top of health food lists since they’re packed full of vitamins and nutrients and get an extra bonus for being dirt cheap so they’re also great for eating on a budget. This whole dish has a very light, yet earthy feel to it. The bacon gives it this wonderful reminiscent aroma of pork and greens but saves you the calories and heavy food guilt. Now let’s just hope I can keep this up the rest of the year…
slow cooker cassoulet
I’m tempted to create a tag which reads “Slow Cooker Sunday” since that’s all I seem to be doing lately, but it’s just so perfect for my life (and food cravings) right now, y’all just have to roll with me for awhile.
I know this is far from what a real cassoulet is (mmm pork fat) but let’s just call this a lightened, long-cooked homage to the French classic. You still get the meaty, rich white beans and aromatics with vegetables, but just a whole lot less pork and fat. I’m just on a mad hunt for any slow cooker stews that are figure-friendly but also very filling, and let me tell you, it’s harder than it seems, so this recipe was a delightful surprise.
Be sure to leave your vegetables very chunky and thickly cut for this recipe. If you slice them too thin or small they’ll disintegrate over the long cooking period (same with the sausage, which I just add at the end). If you’re vegetarian, feel free to use meatless Italian sausage or just add more beans to make this a little heartier.
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