Provencal-Style Artichoke Soup

This soup was the perfect end to a fantastic week. This week, I had the pleasure of having 3 fabulous visitors all in town - Dunya, Michelle, and Bethany! Dunya got to Seattle on Tuesday, and we have been spending every evening hanging out and eating great food in Seattle. Michelle and Bethany arrive on Friday, and we have been whooping it up in Seattle and on Bainbridge island all weekend.

Everyone left this morning, and Seamus and I thought we should eat some soup this week to keep it light in response to all of the food and drinks over the weekend. Ed and Jamila came over and we played Scrabble, and we cooked up this delicious soup. This soup is both light and flavorful at the same time, and was unlike any other soup I have had before. We substituted the heavy cream for skim milk, and used basil instead of tarragon, but otherwise followed the recipe closely. A great Sunday evening meal!

Provencal-Style Artichoke Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoon oilve oil
18 ounces frozen artichokes, thawed and patted dry
12 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced 1/3 inch thick and washed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 anchoy fillets, rinsed and minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh thym
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups vegetable broth
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup heavy cream (I used skim milk)
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon or basil (I used basil)

Directions
1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add artichokes and cook until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a plate. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and head over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms, cover and cook until mushrooms have release liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover, cook until mushrooms are dry and browned, about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in leek and butter and cook until leek is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, anchovies, and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute.

3. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and vegetable broth, smoothing out any lumps. Stir in parsnips, bay leaves, and half of artichokes and bring to boil.

4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until parsnips are tender, 30-40 minutes.

5. Off heat, discard bay leaves. Stir in cream , tarragon, and remaining artichokes and let stand until srtichokes are heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Mushroom Frankies with Cilantro Chutney

It's a Sunday night, and I am "taking back Sunday!". What I mean by that, mostly, is that I am getting back into a hobby that I love - cooking!

Seamus found this recipe earlier in the week, and we kept not making it. I am not exactly sure why, but probably because it was a new recipe for a food we had never had before, and the situation with the tortillas/eggs seemed like a lot of work. But it is Sunday night, we bought a nice bottle of wine, and we have some time to cook and catch up with family and friends.

And we made the frankies! The first time around, I served Seamus a frankie without the cilantro chutney. I had made the filling, and friend the tortilla, and forgotten to make the chutney and it seemed like too much work. The frankie was delish as-is, but Shea asked about the chutney, so I made another round of frankies, this time with the chutney.

It's worth making the chutney! While the frankies are good on their own, the chutney takes them to the next level!

And sorry about the weird picture; we had already eaten all of the frankies by the time I remembered that I wanted to blog abouth

Mushroom Frankies 
with Cilantro Chutney


Courtesy of Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

CHUTNEY


• 1 cup full-fat yogurt

• 1/2 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

• 1 serrano chile—stemmed, seeded and chopped

• 2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 2 cups chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems

• Kosher salt


FRANKIES


• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 
1/2-inch dice

• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil or ghee
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 pound mixed mushrooms, sliced 1/4 inch thick

• 1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus small sprigs for assembling

• Kosher salt
• Pepper

• 3 large eggs

• Six 8-inch roti or flour tortillas

• 2 cups finely shredded green cabbage


HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1. Make the chutney In a blender, puree the yogurt with the apple, peanuts, serrano and lemon juice until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse until just combined; season with salt. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Make the frankies In a medium saucepan of salted boiling water, cook the sweet potato until tender, about 
10 minutes. Drain well and pat dry with paper towels.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil. Add the cumin and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the sweet potato, ginger, garam masala, chili powder and turmeric. Add the coconut milk and cook until hot, 2 to 
3 minutes. Stir in the chopped cilantro and season with salt. Scrape the mushroom filling into a large bowl and keep warm. Clean the skillet.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and season with salt and pepper. In the skillet, heat 
1/2 teaspoon of the oil. Arrange 
1 roti in the skillet and drizzle one-sixth of the beaten egg (about 2 tablespoons) over it. Flip and cook the roti over moderate heat until the egg sets, 
1 minute. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil. Repeat with the remaining oil, roti and eggs.

5. Arrange each roti egg side up on a platter or plates and top with some of the mushroom filling. Drizzle with some of the chutney and finish with the shredded cabbage and cilantro sprigs. Roll up the roti and serve, passing more chutney on the side.

6. 
   

Cream of Celery Soup

It has been TOO LONG since I have posted! I am glad to say that I am back to blogging in the year 2017, and couldn't be more pleased to share this recipe for cream of celery soup!

Celery isn't always the most stand-out vegetable in a dish; in fact, Seamus called it "the velvet moth" of vegetables (sorry for the inside joke). But there's a reason celery is the base of so many other great foods - because it tastes good!

And this soup tastes good! There are layers of rich-homey flavors of celery which come from using the root, stem, and leaves of the plant. I'm going to have another bowl! :)

Cream of Celery Soup
Recipe courtesy of Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

• Three 1/2-inch-thick slices of sourdough bread, crusts removed, bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons melted
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Kosher salt
• Pepper
• 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 1/4 pounds celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 bunch of celery, stalks thinly sliced (6 cups), leaves reserved (1 1/2 cups) 
• 1/2 cup parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup baby spinach
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream

HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. In a large bowl, toss the bread cubes with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 1/8 teaspoon of the nutmeg and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a wire rack.
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over moderate heat. Add the onions, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the celery root, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft, about 8 minutes. Add the sliced celery, cover and cook until just starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley, spinach and 3/4 cup of the celery leaves and cook for 1 minute, until wilted. Add the cream and simmer over moderately low heat for 10 minutes, until heated through. Season the soup with salt, pepper and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg.
3. Working in batches, puree the soup in a blender until very smooth. Pour the soup into a clean saucepan and rewarm over low heat, if necessary. Mince the remaining 3/4 cup of celery leaves. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the minced celery leaves and the croutons and serve.

Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Seamus and I have had a BUSY couple of weeks. Two weekends ago, we took a trip to Shi Shi beach with our friends, and Seamus proposed to me! Of course, I said yes, and we have been celebrating ever since!

Because Seamus is so thoughtful, he planned his proposal the week before a planned trip to see both of our families. We spent 5 days in Chicago/Wisconsin celebrating with Seamus's family and then headed off to South Dakota to celebrate with mine. We ate fantastic food along the way, including an incredible dinner at Ruxpin Chicago and my mom's ancho-chile pork ribs in Yankton.

And in the midst of all of our celebrating, my dad's US Senate race is heating up! Most recently we hosted a Rally to Restore Sanity in South Dakota where the Yankton County Democrats came together for hot dogs and potluck with speeches and singing together.

It's our first night back after our vacation, and it is our first time cooking together in a long time,  so I thought I would bring out my favorite cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen, and find a recipe that we haven't tried yet. Flipping through the book, I saw this recipe for stuffed peppers. I always think of Seamus when I see stuffed peppers because that was the first successful meal he ever cooked for me (and the first time I ever had a stuffed pepper was that time!), so this recipe was the perfect capstone to a celebration of our upcoming nuptials!

P.S. -  Happy Fourth of July!

Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Courtesy of The Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perlman

Ingredients:
8 large fresh poblano peppers
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup Mexican beer
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 2 cobs), or 1 1/2 cups frozen and defrosted corn kernels
3/4 cup monterey jack cheese (I used well over a cup, oops!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon milk (I used lime juice)
Fresh cilantro, chopped, for garnish

Prepare Peppers: 
Place chiles directly onto gas burners and turn flame to high. Using tongs, rotate chiles frequently until their skins are blistered on all sides, about 4-6 minutes each. If you don’t have a gas stovetop, you can roast the chiles under the broiler (also turning frequently). Put blackened chiles in a bowl and cover tightly with saran wrap. NOTE: Deb says you can skip this step entirely if the skins don’t bother you.

Make Risotto: 
In a medium saucepan, heat your stock to a low simmer. On a separate burner, heat a larger saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil and heat through. Add onion to hot oil and sauté until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Add the rice to the pot and stir for a minute or two, until it becomes lightly toasted. Pour in the beer, scraping up any stuck bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the beer simmer for a minute or so, until it’s almost disappeared. Ladle one cup of warm stock into rice mixture and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, allowing stock to absorb before adding more, and stirring often. Along with the final addition of stock, add the corn. Total cooking time for the rice is about 30 minutes, after which it should be creamy and tender. Once all the stock and corn are added and stock is absorbed, stir in the monterey jack cheese and salt and pepper to taste (I found I needed a fair amount of salt and pepper, perhaps due to my low sodium chicken stock). Remove risotto from heat.

Assemble and Bake: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chiles from bowl and gently rub off the skins, which should remove easily. Cut a slit lengthwise in each chile and remove the seeds and membranes as best you can. Leave the stems on – they’re cute. Fill each chile with risotto and arrange stuffed chiles in a baking dish. Sprinkle with the queso fresco. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until top begins to brown.

To Serve: 
In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream and milk (or lime juice) with a pinch of salt. Drizzle the mixture over the hot chiles. Garnish with cilantro.

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

A funny thing about Shea's brother and sister-in-law (Brian and Hally), is that every once in a while, they will give us an anonymous gift. Last year, they sent us a gift card with no name attached, and this year, they sent us a gorgeous America's Test Kitchen  cookbook. It is always fun to receive a gift in the mail, but it is even more fun when you get to do some detective work around where it came from!

Shea has been doing most of the cooking at our house lately; I have been tied up in work, and Shea has been taking the opportunity to cook some amazing meals for me. I am one lucky gal!

Tonight, Shea made this amazing recipe with all of my favorite ingredients - Parmesan, arugula, cherry tomatoes, and farro. It is even more delicious than it sounds. I HIGHLY recommend!

Farro Risotto with Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Lemon

Courtesy of The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
salt and pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/s teaspoon minced fresh thyme or 1/8 teaspoon dried
3/4 cup farro
1 and 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 ounces (2 cups) baby arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice

Directions
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and pinch salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in farro and cook until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth and water and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until farro is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

3. Stir in tomatoes and arugula and cook until vegetables are softened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in Parmesan, butter, and lemon zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Carolina Gold Rice Risotto

Seamus and I started watching a new cooking show last year called "Mind of a Chef" on PBS. One of the seasons focused on chef Sean Brock, a master chef who cooks amazing Southern food with only the best ingredients. One of the ingredients that he talks about regularly on the show is Carolina Gold Rice.

Carolina Gold Rice was nearly impossible to find for many years, but the Anson Mills company has made it their mission to produce and share this product with people all over the world. Seamus and I had to try it ourselves to believe it, so we thought we would make the Anon Mills recipe for risotto in order to truly enjoy the delicate rice that we had been looking forward to trying for so long.


Carolina Gold Rise Risotto
Courtesy of Anson Mills

EQUIPMENT MISE EN PLACE

For this recipe, you will need a small heavy-bottomed saucepan for the broth, a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan for the rice, a wooden spoon, and a 6- or 8-ounce ladle.

• • 3½
    cups Rich Homemade Chicken Stock or, if you must, one 32-ounce carton low-sodium chicken broth

  • 2
    tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3
    shallots, minced (about ⅓ cup)

  • 7
    ounces (1 cup) Anson Mills Carolina Gold Rice

  • ½
    cup dry white wine or vermouth

  • 1
    tablespoon minced fresh thyme

  • 1
    Turkish bay leaf

  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2
    ounces (½ cup) finely grated Parmesan Reggiano

1.   
   Heat the chicken stock in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan until it simmers. Pull the saucepan to the outer periphery of the burner, or, if your range is electric, lower the heat setting and keep the stock just below a simmer throughout cooking.
2.   
   Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan over low heat until it foams. Add the shallots and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the shallots are translucent and have nearly melted into the butter, about 5 minutes. Add the rice, increase the heat to medium, and sauté, stirring, until the grains are coated with butter and have turned opaque, about 2 minutes.
3.   
   Add the wine, stir, and reduce to a glaze over medium-low heat. Ladle in 1 cup of hot stock and add the thyme, bay leaf, ½ teaspoon salt, and½ teaspoon pepper; stir once to make sure the grains are just covered with liquid. Cook the rice, uncovered, at the barest simmer, until the liquid has nearly evaporated and the rice begins to look dry. Add another ladle of hot stock. Continue to cook the risotto in this fashion, adding stock as needed, until the rice grains have expanded and no longer have a hard starch center, about 20 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan. The risotto should look creamy but not wet. Taste for seasoning and serve immediately.
4. 
   
   

Poppy's Seafood Gumbo

It's Superbowl Sunday and we had a party! The Seahawks weren't in the superbowl this year, but we still thought it would be fun to bring everyone together to day drink and eat tons of food.  Shea and I have both been hankering to use our new cookbook that our great friend Dorothy gave to us when she was staying with us a couple of months ago, and the superbowl was the perfect occasion!

We had a party at our apartment in West Seattle with a bunch of our good friends; our apartment is small, so we had to get cozy to watch as the Broncos beat the Panthers. The gumbo was a big hit; nobody left our house hungry, that's for sure!

Poppy's Seafood Gumbo

Courtesy of Louisiana Eats!: The people, the food, and Their Stories by Poppy Tooker

Ingredients
2 lbs shrimp, shells and heads on
1 onion, chopped, peel reserved
3 stalks celery, copped, tops and bottoms reserved
6-8 green onions, thinly sliced, parings reserved
1 pint oysters
2 lbs okra sliced into 1/4 rounds
1/s cup oil, plus additional for frying
1 cup flour
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 lb gumbo crabs
2 tbsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Directions
Peel shrimp, reserving heads and shells. Make a stock by combining shrimp heads and peels, onion skins, celery bottoms and tops, and green onion parings in a stock pot. Cover with water in excess of 2 inches over discards and boil for 15 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid.

Drain oysters and reserve oyster liquor; set aside.

Fry okra in very hot oil until lightly browned.

Make a dark roux with the flour and 1/2 cup oil, cooking to the color of milk chocolate. Add copped onions, stirring until the roux darkens to a bittersweet chocolate brown. Add celery and bell pepper. Saute for 5 minutes then add the gumbo crabs, tomatoes, okra, thyme, bay leaf, shrimp stock, and oyster liquor. Add garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 45 minutes or longer.

Ten minutes before serving, add shrimp and green onions. Add hot sauce and salt as needed. Serve on top of cooked rice.