Fennel and Carrot Soup

Posted on December 7, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was in the soup mood last night and remember tearing a new recipe out of the recent issue of Bon Appetit. Was the perfect time to make it — Fennel and Carrot Soup. I love fennel and enjoy carrots when they are cooked (or covered in hummus). For some reason I just cannot acquire a taste for them when they are just plain and simple, perfectly orange and raw. We all have our things.

Anyway, when I saw the recipe I knew I’d have to make a couple changes/eliminations, which is common in my world since I’m the lactard, but it would be simple.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (I used some olive oil here because of my dairy issue)
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (I used one+)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
1 small Yukon Gold potato, peeled, halved (I used a Russet)
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (Trader Joe’s boxes are perfect for this)
¼ cup coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts from a jar (I skipped these because I couldn’t find them anywhere)
¼ cup crème fraîche (skipped this step)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (ditto on the above)

Directions:

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter (or some oil) in a large heavy pot over medium. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if needed, until vegetables are soft but not browned and have released their moisture, 45–60 minutes (this will give them deep flavor). ***Right here I was staring at these delicious looking veggies and questioned sanity — WHY was there no garlic in here?!?! I quickly added some.

Add broth, bring to a boil, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until potato is falling apart, 8–10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove herbs.

Working in batches, purée in a blender until smooth. (Blender??? Immersion blender!!) Strain into a clean pot; season with salt and pepper.

(Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring often, until butter is browned and chestnuts are toasted, about 4 minutes.

Mix crème fraîche and maple syrup in a small bowl. Serve soup topped with maple crème fraîche and chestnuts.

Do Ahead: Soup can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

I can’t speak for the last few steps but I’m sure they add quite a bit. But even without them, this soup is AMAZING! Flavor, flavor, flavor! Easy to make, great on its own or with some seafood or meat. I enjoyed it with some chicken. I would highly recommend it. Can likely be frozen, as well.

Sushi’s a Wrap

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

The final night in NOLA some of us decided to head to a sushi place – Sake Café Uptown.

Huge menu. After reading and reading, I noticed some grilled squid. I love it when I can find that, because I don’t enjoy the (fried) calamari. So I opted for it. Ok, that could be a meal. It came out on a fajita-like platter and it was amazing. It might have been the simplest thing but I could eat that stuff all the time. I need to figure out where I can get that stuff in DC.

Then at the table next to us, I ask this woman what she ordered because I was just trying to get one other thing (this was before the squid came out). She told us about this edamame that’s not on the menu – garlic edamame. They do the ‘normal’ edamame then do something with some form or garlic – I don’t know if it’s roasted or something else but this stuff just makes you melt. This is another one that I need to find out who in the DC area has. Way too good.

So glad we checked this place out and it’s another place to check out if you’re in New Orleans.

Oh My Oyster

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

I kept hearing about grilled oysters in New Orleans. I might have grilled oysters once a year at Christmas when half my family eats raw oysters and then my brother is kind enough to threw a few on the BBQ for the rest of us who aren’t quite that intrigued by those raw guys. I normally put some lemon juice and Tabasco on my grilled one and it’s great. So, being in NOLA, with all this hype, I had to give them a try. I received several restaurant recommendations and ended up at a super local place – Felix’s in the French Quarter.

The guy behind the bar/counter, Magic, was awesome because I asked how they grilled them and I also asked if there was butter (mentioned I was lactose intolerant). In the funniest way, he said ‘these are the biggest waste of your time, you are not going to get the taste you need, it will be like water!’ They put parmesan cheese, sometimes butter and all sorts of other stuff on them. It was HILARIOUS what he was telling me. They pretty much refused to serve me any oyster (unless I was to go raw) because of my lactose issue. Props to them. They had fun, debating for several minutes, what I could eat at their super local place. They came up with some phenomenal grilled shrimp and their ‘amazing’ sweet potato fries.

While I was waiting for this to come out, I was intrigued watching the guys shuck the oysters. I even got an (oyster) pearl. Is this my good luck charm from NOLA? (Yes, this pic almost looks like a macadamia nut).

Then my dinner came out. WOW! I still vividly remember it. The shrimp were so juicy and I don’t really like fries that much and these things were to die for. I would totally recommend this diner-like place, beyond local, over the big names. Go Felix’s. Thanks for a great dinner!

Gator

Posted on November 20, 2014 by melsmosaic

Found out last minute last week that I got to go to New Orleans on a business trip. What did that mean – I get to visit NOLA – FINALLY! There is a first time for everything, right? I knew this meant culture, scenery, music and some great food. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

When I arrived I had time to grab a quick bit to eat before heading into meetings. I was directed to good local place right near where I needed to go, Mulate’s the Original Cajun Restaurant.

So many choices on the menu of course. I wanted local fare and after what felt like a novel of reading I had to go with the alligator. It was available grilled or fried. I opted for the former and it was coined as ‘tender pieces of Louisiana farm raised alligator cooked to your liking.’ I think I’d had this stuff years ago in FL.

Though they claimed it was grilled, it was quite oily. And, as I expected, I was just like super chewy chicken. But, was fun to try it and it was checked off my list.

Step away from the…amazing seasonal Pita Crisps

Posted on October 23, 2014 by melsmosaic

I finally broke down and picked up one of Trader Joe’s seasonal items. Their Pita Crisps with Cranberries & Pumpkin Seeds. Good/bad idea. Addictive! They are nice and crunchy and have something like cinnamon sugar on the outside. I have tried to put them out of my direct line of sight so I don’t finish the whole bag immediately. I recommend giving them a try before they are off the shelves.

Strawberry Hullin’

Posted on September 29, 2014 by melsmosaic

Kitchen gadgets can be so much fun! I went to a business lunch and there were door prizes. I never win anything. Most of the giveaways were gift cards, anyway, and as nice as essential cash is (they were Visa cards), I knew I wouldn’t win. Well, suddenly I heard my name. But, I didn’t get a GC. The stars aligned and I won the kitchen gift bag. The rep giving this one away had been to Sur La Table and had a field day. WOW! I was in luck. So, I got all sorts of new toys that I would totally never go buy for myself but loved getting.

The one I’ve played with the most is the Berry Pincher (that’s the formal name I give it). The manufacturer, Chef’n, calls it the StemGem. You can remove the leaves from strawberries and clean all sort of other things.

You just plunge the sharp teeth of this thing right in the top of the berry.

You give it a little twist.

And yank it out. The motion makes the picture a bit fuzzy! Sorry. The website has better pics.

The other great toys I got in my bag were:

A Kuhn Rikon Pepper Mill with Ratchet Handle — so cool with the handle!

A Joseph Joseph Rocker Garlic Masher — SMASH! Great fun, you can also use it to get rid of the odor in your hands.

And the last toy, by the same producer as the strawberry toy, I got the Zipstrip Herb Stripper. I haven’t actually gotten around to using this yet. I needed it the other day and of course was cooking in somebody else’s kitchen when I was looking for it!!

So if you want so new additions to your kitchen, consider checking these out.

New Gazpacho

Posted on August 25, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was looking for something new to make last weekend and had been eyeing this gazpacho recipe for awhile so finally got around to giving it a try. It was Fresh Pea and Garlic Gazpacho from Cooking Light. Pretty simple, as with most gazpacho.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups shelled fresh English peas*
2 1/4 cups ice water
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled English cucumber
1 cup (1/2-inch) French bread cubes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar**what would we do without the ability to research info at our fingertips (see * info below) — I didn’t want to get a bottle of this stuff and found several substitutes, and the one I knew I had was white vinegar (I almost used rice vinegar, though it was rice wine vinegar that was recommended)
2 garlic cloves — MORE!
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
—–
Fresh pea shoots
1 tablespoon small fresh mint leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Prep:

1) Cook English peas in boiling water 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool. Set aside 1/2 cup peas. *I did some research on English peas while in the store(oh, smart phones, how we love you). Long story short, I deduced that they are the same as frozen green peas. Efficiency! You can eliminate this whole step.

2) Combine remaining peas, ice water, cucumber, French bread cubes, 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, and garlic cloves in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in salt and pepper.

3) Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 6 bowls. Garnish with reserved peas, fresh pea shoots, mint leaves, and 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil.
I opted out of the garnishing for a few reasons — there was no mint at the store, I didn’t use the fresh peas, hence has no shoots and finally, I was eating alone so who did I have to impress with decor? I just put my own good stuff in the gazpacho — tomatoes, olives, manchego and grilled chicken. Very nice, refreshing soup. It did seem to be missing something and I still can’t place it. Might be lemon or a bit more salt. But, still a nice twist from the normal gazpacho.

These Chips are(n’t) BS!

Posted on August 17, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was in Whole Foods the other day roaming through the chip aisle to grab some pita chips (of course, right?). I always have to see what else is on the shelves that I really don’t need. Well, a couple years ago I had some chips after running a race that were so good! They were just so unique and I haven’t been able to find them again. I couldn’t quite remember what they were, unfortunately, so have been on this endless hunt. I see these sweet potato chips and try them and realize they aren’t quite right. Well, finally I have found what I was looking for! Garden of Eatin’ Butternut Squash Chips! They are and aren’t BS! So good! The bag says NEW, no, they were around a couple years ago and now are finally back! The chips are made with corn, butternut squash and some spice. They have a bit of sweetness, they’re crunchy and something unique to them. I don’t even think they need salsa to pair with them. I did put some hummus on them once or twice, though — the pita chips didn’t have to get all of it, right? They are also gluten free and dairy free. Check them out, let me know what you think. And, if you find them at different stores, let me know.

Honey See, Honeydew

Posted on August 10, 2014 by melsmosaic

It’s summer, which means it’s melon time! Bon Appetit came a couple weeks ago and I was flipping through it, of course, and there was a recipe with honeydew. I haven’t seen many recipes with honeydew in them. The most I’ve ever done with it is either (1) cut and eat or (2) the aforementioned topped with prosciutto. So, this recipe was game! This delectable food-bearing treat I keep mentioning is Shaved Honeydew, Fennel, and Olive Salad. The last two key ingredient are some of my favorite foods! It’s a no-cook (in the sense of no heat) recipe which is great this time of year. And, gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 ½ pounds honeydew melon, rind and seeds removed, shaved on a mandoline
½ fennel bulb, shaved on a mandoline, plus 2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped fennel fronds
¼ cup brined green olives,  such as Castelvetrano, pitted,  very coarsely chopped

Directions

Zest the orange (and then make sure you don’t add this to the dressing!!!). I carefully took it out of the bowl after I more carefully read the directions. Why should you read ahead, right?

Whisk orange juice, lemon juice, and  2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Shave the honeydew…hmmm….what’s the best way to take the skin off the melon? Carrot peeler, not that great, knife ended up being the best bet. Then I quartered the melon and it took awhile.

Next, you do the same thing to the fennel. Much easier to prep/cut!

Add melon, shaved fennel,  and olives to vinaigrette and toss to coat. Top salad with orange zest and fennel fronds, drizzle with more oil, and season with salt and pepper.

Final product (VERY green!)

It was very light and refreshing, though it seems like it was missing something and I can’t tell if it was lemon juice or S&P. I did add more S&P at the table so don’t know if it was the lemon. But overall, very nice. Perfect for summer! Was served with scallops and some delicious grains. Would highly recommend it.

Crawfish Boil

Posted on June 14, 2014 by melsmosaic

Today I was able to take advantage of a (fairly) local event and have a non-local treat of crawfish! Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, VA had their 17th Annual Cajun Festival and Crawfish Boil on this perfect day. You get to the check-in and they give you a wine glass and beads. New Orleans?