Light and springy

The single best meal of my life was a dinner my dad won in a silent auction. He bid on the "chef's table" at a restaurant called Jackson's, and the chef in question happened to be our next door neighbor when I was a kid. (In the interest of full disclosure, he was my boyfriend for two days in the fourth grade and then later in high school we used to hang around the same troublemakers. Yes, b&b, I'm referring to you.) But back to the dinner. First there was ceviche as an amuse bouche. Then fresh pea soup with a little island of crab, then tuna carpaccio, beef tartar, tenderloin slow boiled in olive oil, and a banana upside down thing for dessert (it was starting to be a haze at that point). It was chock full of fresh, seasonal delicacies. No one could move at the end of the night, but if you are going to be a glutton, do it right. With all those amazing foods, though, my favorite was the pea soup. It was fresh, light, sweet and herbaceous. Thank you, Rick, for the amazing pea soup memories. 

While flipping through some magazines and deciding what to make for Easter dinner, I came upon a pea soup recipe. This one is pretty good (nowhere near Rick's, but I am a mere mortal) and really easy - which is what I like in first courses! I wouldn't recommend it as a dinner entree, it's better as a starter or a side. And if you can garnish it with a little crostini - all the better.

Spring pea soup (not as good as Rick's), loosely adapted from Bon Appetit, April 2010
Serves 4

1 tablepoon olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
about 2 cups frozen peas (from a new bag, not one that has been sitting in your freezer, opened, for 2 years)
2 cups low-sodium chicken or veggie broth
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup fresh mint, plus a little for garnish if you're feeling fancy.
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and cook until they are soft and tender, turning the heat down if they start to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the peas, then the broth and bring to a simmer. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes or until the peas are nice and tender. Let it cool a little, then pour into a blender, add the dairy and mint, and puree until very smooth. (This took about 2 minutes of blender time, for me.) Taste it, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving cold. Garnish with mint, if you want.

Who rigs every Oscar night? We do!

I love it when dishes have secret ingredients. It makes me feel like part of a secret foodie club, kind of like an epicurean version of the Stone Cutters. And the only way to learn about the secret ingredient is to get the secret password from someone who's tried it, vouched for it, and passed it along. So consider this blog entry a secret handshake that opens the door to the best beef (or buffalo) stew you've ever had.

And what exactly is the secret ingredient? The brined green peppercorn. I know! I had never heard of it either! But in the pack of my mind, I knew I had seen it at my tiny little neighborhood grocery store near the capers and other various pickled things. If you can't find them in the store, there is always the interwebs.

Porter beef (or buffalo) stew, adapted from Gourmet, October 2004
Serves 3

1 lb. beef or buffalo stew meat, cut into small (1-inch or smaller) bites (I used buffalo)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

3 tablespoons water

1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup beef broth

1 cup Guinness or other Irish stout

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped

2 fresh thyme sprigs

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beef-and-Guinness-Pie-230754#ixzz0grtZ57Kx

1 tablespoon flour
salt and papper
vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. shitake or crimini mushrooms, stems discarded and the heads chopped
3 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
1 cup beef broth
1 cup porter beer (I used Rogues Mocha Porter)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons drained brined green peppercorns, coarsely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, or a teaspoon or dried

1/3 sheet puff pastry, taken out of the freezer when you put the stew in the oven (even when its frozen, you can break off one of the folds, which is 1/3 sheet)
1/2 tablespoon melted butter
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat the meat dry, season with salt and pepper, and dust with flour. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil over medium high heat in a heavy ovenproof pot, and brown the meat on all sides. You may have to do this in a couple of batches, depending on the size of your pot and how much meat you are using. Don't crowd the pot. Remove the browned meat to a bowl.

Add the onion, garlic, mushrooms and water to the pot, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the onions and mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and mustard, stirring for another minute. Add the meat with any accumulated juices, broth, beer, Worcestershire, peppercorns (yes, the secret ingredient!!) and thyme. Let it come to a bubble, then transfer to the oven to cook for about 75-90 minutes, until the sauce is nice and thick and the meat is very tender. This is a good time to drink the rest of the beer that didn't make it into the stew.

Right before you take the stew out of the oven, roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured board, until its about half as thin. Cut it into however many pieces you need (I just did two, but you could easily get three pieces per 1/3 sheet.) Brush both sides of the pastry with butter, and place on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. When you take the stew out of the oven, raise the heat to 400 degrees, then put the puff pastry in the oven for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Ladle the stew into bowls, then top with a puff pastry "cracker."

A big pile of New England

Ok, so sometimes things taste WAY more delicious than they look. Hmm, can I think of an example? Finger tapping against pursed lips... Oh, yes - how about the photo at our left? I mean, this dish is AH-mazing, really one of my favorites, but it kind of looks like a third grader threw up on a piece of bread. Just to deconstruct it a little for you - we've got a thick slice of bread, topped with a piece of pan-seared cod, and then smothered with a chunky clam-chowder broth. And yes, those are pieces of bacon. Which my pescetarian brethren could leave out. In addition to the delish factor, this plate also has freez-a-bility going for it. When my husband and I make it, we make the entire clam chowder portion, but only cook two pieces of cod. Pop the leftover chowder in the freezer, and then you can just thaw it, sear up a couple more pieces of cod - and you've got a REALLY great, warming dinner in like 15 minutes.

Just a brief parenthetical word on bacon: I urge you to try the black forest bacon from the meat case at Whole Foods. Delicious.

Seared Cod and Clam Chowder on Bread, adapted from The Mist Grill: Rustic Cooking from Vermont*
Serves 4   

6 pieces of bacon, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
3 small red-skinned potatoes, well-scrubbed and diced (keep the skin on)
1 quart clam juice (I've also used fish stock with good success)
2 cups milk
2 small cans of chopped clams (you'll use the whole thing, so don't drain them)
salt

pepper

butter

4 cod fillets (whatever portion size works for you)

4 thick slices of bread

In a heavy dutch oven or soup pot, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until brown and crispy. Remove the bacon and drain on paper towels. Keep about a tablespoon or two of the bacon drippings in the pot. Cook the celery, carrot, onion, red pepper and potato until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Pour in the clam juice and simmer for 20 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary. Stir in the clams (with their juice) and milk and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Put the bacon back in the pot, and season to taste with salt and pepper. The cookbook notes: the chowder is not meant to be thick, but rather more brothlike. Sage advice - thanks cookbook!

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once you've stirred in the clams and milk in the broth construction above, you are about ready to start these steps. In a heavy, ovenproof pan (have I mentioned my love of cast iron recently?), melt a tablespoon or so of butter over medium-high heat. Season the cod with salt and pepper. Once the butter stops foaming, but before it burns, add the cod fillets. Sear until the first side is golden brown. Turn them over, and then pop the skillet in the oven, cooking until the fish flakes easily with a fork - about 6 minutes.

To serve, put a piece of bread in each of four bowls. Top with a cod fillet, and then ladle the chowder broth on top. Note: The bread will soak up lots of the broth and get soft. This is supposed to happen.

*Apparently, the restaurant closed five years ago, and the cookbook is out of print. Ha! (I mean, I'm sad for them and all, but it's funny-ironic a little, right?)

Snoop

Have you ever watched any cooking shows on public television? I contend they are far superior to anything on the Food Network. Public tv shows seem more authentic and have a genuine desire to teach you something, while Food TV is more in the mood to entertain you. Which is why I am so disappointed never to have seen a Rick Bayless public tv show. He is like the American godfather of authentic Mexican cooking. I have two of his cookbooks (thanks Mom!) and they are awesome. Everything I've made of his is hot-damn delicious. Apparently he used to have a show, but now he doesn't. How about some reruns, PBS? I've seen some old Baking With Julia's that are about a century old. Give me some Rick Bayless!

I've written about my love of the poblano pepper before. This is the first time I've made a soup with that dark green delicacy, and I can see it happening again every poblano season.

Roasted poblano soup, adapted from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen
Serves 4-6

6 medium-large poblanos (I only had 5, and the world is still turning)
1 onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small bunch chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 3-inch ribbons
4 1/2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch or instant thickener* OR 1/4 cup masa harina
1 teaspoon salt

Possible toppings
crushed tortilla chips
feta cheese
cheese quesadillas, for dippin'

Roast the poblanos under a broiler or on a grill until the skin is blackened in spots. Put them in a bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Peel the skin off (no sweat if some stays on), and remove the stem, seeds and ribs. (The seeds and ribs is where the heat lives. After roasting, the ribs will look small and innocent, but cut them out if you are heat sensitive.) Cut the poblanos into strips. (You can do the roasting a couple of days ahead and put the strips in the fridge.)

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and let them get a little brown, about five minutes. Stir in the minced garlic and dried herbs,** about 1 minute. Add the roasted poblanos and chard. You might need to add a little water if your veggies are sticking to the bottom. Cover the pot and let the chard cook, about 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat, and in two batches, puree the chard/poblano mixture in a blender. Be careful, it's hot. Technically, Rick Bayless will have you the press this mixture through a sieve. I did this, and frankly, I don't know that it made that much of a difference. I'd skip it next time. But if you're feeling sieve-y, go for it.

Put the poblano puree back in the pot and put the heat on medium. Stir in 4 cups of the chicken stock, cream and salt. Put the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock in a small bowl and stir in the magical thickener, cornstarch, or masa. Add the thickened stock to the soup pot. Let the soup cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until thickened and hot.

*Instant thickener is made by King Arthur Flour and is part magic.
**I like to put dried herbs in my palm and rub my hands together to release some of the scent from the herbs.

No chewing required

Oddly, several people I know rather well have been put on non-chewing or liquid diets (myself included) for long periods of time. One of these people was my mom, who got run over by our dog. It totally wasn't funny at the time, but in retrospect, come on. I mean, she got RUNOVER by a DOG. (Hi Mom! I love you!) She absorbed most of the impact right in the kisser, so she made the dog make her soup for weeks until she was better.

So, if anyone you love gets runover by a dog, or a reindeer, you now have a great recipe to make for them. If you're serving it to people who can chew, it is also really good with sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwiches.

I adapted this recipe from a Bon Appetit recipe for Southwestern Pumpkin Soup.

Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 4

1 butternut squash

3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 cup milk (whatever fat level you have)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder*

a couple of grates (about 1/8 teaspoon) fresh nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

fresh black pepper

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Pierce the squash all over with a knife. Put in a microwave save dish, and cook for 5 minutes. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place the halves face-down, and microwave for 5-8 more minutes, or until tender. Once it is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh.

Heat the stock and milk in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the squash, sugar, cumin, chili powder, and nutmeg. Let it come to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Once the soup is heated through, turn off the heat and puree with an immersion blender. If you don't have an immersion blender (they are awesome, consider getting one) carefully pour the soup into a blender, in batches if necessary, to puree. Season with salt and pepper. Top individual portions with cilantro and cheese. (If you're making grilled cheese alongside, skip the cheese on the soup.)

*I used Chili 3000 from Penzey's Spices. It is supposed to be the chili powder of now. (Chili 9000 is the chili powder of the future.)