Baked, Roasted, or Fried: What Would Heidi Do?

Baked, Roasted, or Fried: What Would Heidi Do?: August 1 is Swiss National Day; a national holiday in Switzerland. It celebrates the formation of the Swiss Confederation in 1291 with t...

What Would Heidi Do?

August 1 is Swiss National Day; a national holiday in Switzerland. It celebrates the formation of the Swiss Confederation in 1291 with the Pacte du Grütli, when the cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Uterwald swore an oath of allegiance.

We recently visited Switzerland; specifically, Geneva, Zermatt, and Ascona. It gave us a nice view of the cultural diversity that is modern Switzerland. Geneva is French; Zermatt is German; Ascona is Italian. They all speak different languages, but they all consider themselves Swiss.

The Swiss have a reputation for being efficient and fastidious....and boring. While I certainly wouldn't find fault with the first two monikers—their trains run like their famous watches, and one can almost literally eat off their streets—I wouldn't call the Swiss boring, at least not their "cuisine." Switzerland reminds me of America in that, while there is nothing that one could label "Swiss cuisine," with maybe the exception of fondue, it has made the most of cuisines from other parts of the world. 

In Geneva, we had an amazing lunch in a bistro that could have been on the Boulevard St. Germain on Paris's left bank. Laura had gravelax de saumon des Alpes suisses, mesclun, et pommes frites (Swiss alpine salmon, fresh salad, and French fries). I had the filets de perche—Meunière—pommes frites (perch filets in lemon butter sauce and French fries). 

The next stop was Zermatt, the land of Heidi and the Matterhorn. It was here that we had some of the best Wienerschnitzel we've ever had. It was also where I had cheese fondue for the first time. Fondue gets a bit of a bad rap in the U.S. It's a 1970s dish that brings back bad vibes of Lambrusco, bearskin rugs, mustaches, and polyester. But when done right, it's damn good, especially in the crisp mountain air overlooking the Matterhorn. 

Finally, we arrived in Ascona. It's like an Alfa-Romeo with a BMW engine—Italian elegance meets German efficiency. We dined on beef carpaccio and fresh ravioli and more fresh perch. We had an excellent wine from Sicilia: Tenuta delle Nere, Etna Bianco 2017.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Swiss wine. Rarely seen in the United States, it is very good. It is mostly white and rose, but there are some excellent reds. My favorite wine was Dôle, in the Valais region of Switzerland. It is both a white and a red. Red Dôle is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir and Gamay, with an intense garnet red color. It has a crisp, fruity nose with fresh hints of black cherry and blackberry. Ours was la Liaudisaz, 2017. If you can find it, it is delicious and a bargain. 

Well, that's it. Switzerland in one, two, and three. A little bit French, a little bit German, and a little bit Italian. But 100% delicious. 

Happy Swiss National Day!

Vive la République!

"Bâtir salon avant cuisine de la maison c'est la ruine."

    

"To build the living room before the kitchen would be a waste."

                         —French Proverb

Tomorrow is Bastille Day, a high holy day in my world—no secret to my family, to my friends, and to the casual reader of this blog. Simply put, I am a Francophile. I fly the French flag; I watch French film; my phone's ring tone is the French national anthem. And so one day, someone asked the hard question: "why do you love France so much?" I love France, because the French love food.  

But there’s more to French food than rich sauces and great wine. For the French, food is an expression of who they are as a country, as a people. The French are proud and contentious. They will squabble over picayune slights and long-held grievances, but in the end, they come back to the table as friends. Food is their nation's sinew. In our age of celebrity chefs and cooking as sport and dining that is increasingly didactic, I think we have forgotten the simple pleasure of sharing a  homemade meal with someone.

French cooking has a reputation for being difficult, if not pretentious. That's not really fair. Like any great cuisine, French cooking is agrestic—tied closely to the land in which it was born. In the north, there is fresh cream and butter because the land and climate favor dairy cows. In the south, fresh seafood and olive oil reign supreme. And throughout, binding it altogether, is an abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables and wine. Don't forget about the wine! 

How could anyone not love such a cuisine?!

So tomorrow, you will find me in the kitchen making coq au vin and French onion soup, or what the French simply call le soupe à l'oignon. 

Happy Fathers Day

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

Yeah, that's me.

You don't recognize me? 

Yes, it's the last century but not that long ago!

In this photograph, I'm frying up some bacon for my dad. My mom had likely just left for work. 

My dad being an enterprising chap thought it was about time that a five-year old learn to cook breakfast. As you can see, that's a hot stovetop with a cast iron skillet. What you can't see is the hot, sizzling bacon, and that I'm standing on a stepstool. Like so many memories, I'm not sure if I remembered what happened that morning because of the event itself, the photograph itself, or the family conversations this photo inspired. 

At the time, my dad worked from home as a freelance journalist/writer; my mom worked as a high school history teacher. She had to leave pretty early because the high school where she taught was thirty minutes away. My dad's job was to get me to kindergarten. Yeah, you read that right. This was 1975. We were ahead of the curve. 

My dad taught me a lot about cooking. Don't cook things too fast; have the right tools; mistakes happen.

Years after that photograph was taken, I moved beyond bacon in a cast iron skillet. I moved beyond my dad's taste in food—I got snooty and probably hurt his feelings. But I was always proud of making that breakfast for my dad. And as I look at this photograph now I realize that, with my own sons, I have a lot to live forward.

***

Just so you know, my mom wasn't too crazy about this photo. She saw it as maternal failure rather than what it was: paternal success. 

Happy Fathers Day dad!

And So It Begins Anew....

Once that patty of browned beef was laid on a bun for the first time, the hamburger shimmered into existence philosophically.  Because the burger has a kind of inevitability to it; it is a gastronomic endpoint, like sashimi or a baked potato. Its basic design cannot be improved upon.

—Joel Ozersky—


Even though astronomically the first day of summer is several weeks away, it unofficially began on Monday, May 27, 2019. Memorial Day. For most Americans, this means firing up the grill and grilling hamburgers. This year, I traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia, to spend the weekend with Laura, her family, and some dear friends from our college days who now live in the ‘Burg.

This year was a smaller affair than most. I made my usual potato salad and corn, tomato and avocado salad. But alas, no burgers because the gas grill was on the fritz. Besides, my friend Andrew planned on steaming shrimp and crab legs. They were awesome. And with the heat being what it was this past weekend, it was nice to cook inside. 

And though I enjoyed the quiet turn of this year's events, I could help but reminisce about that fateful Memorial Day weekend in 2017 when Andrew made..... Grilled Cabbage. 


As I mentioned earlier, Memorial Day Weekend is when a lot of folks fire up the grill for the first time. Now in May of 2015, we had a charcoal grill in Williamsburg, but the discussion that day quickly moved to whether we needed a new grill—a gas grill. I know there are a lot of purists who will not use anything but charcoal. But you can’t beat the convenience of a gas grill. I’ve had both, and I’ve found that I’ve grilled a lot more with a gas grill than with the charcoal version. Besides, our place in the ‘Burg is a second home, and things should be as convenient as possible. So, after a quick trip to the local Ace Hardware and some haggling, we got a real good deal on a Weber floor model. 

And then it got interesting. Andrew insisted that the lid on the grill stay closed. I was a newbie to the world of grilled cabbage, so I acquiesced to my friend's apparent expertise in this area. We then quickly turned our attention to the mundane events in our lives, when I notice flames licking out from underneath the lid, growing intensity. 

"Andrew, should it be doing that?"

"Oh, it's fine."

And then the grease trap caught fire—a bit too close to the propane tank for my tastes!

And that point we sprung into action and doused the flames and saved the cabbage and whatever else happened to survive the conflagration. 

Afterwards, we had a great laugh. It is still my favorite Memorial Day Weekend memory. 

For the not-so-faint-of-heart, here's the recipe:

©2015 Andrew Langer

Grilled Cabbage

(Courtesy of Andrew Langer)

Ingredients

1 head cabbage (about 2 lbs)
1 package bacon
1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
1/2 stick butter, sliced into six pieces

Preparation

1. Cut bacon crosswise into small pieces. Sauté until cooked, drain, and set aside.

2. Core head of cabbage, leaving the rest of the head intact, so that there is a cavity 3-4 inches across and several inches deep.

3. Take aluminum foil, crumple and make a ring, 3 inches in diameter (see picture).

4. Mix cooked bacon and barbecue sauce together. Lay 3 slices of butter in cavity, add bacon mixture, then lay three more piece of butter on top.

5. Turn grill to high and pre-heat until temperature reaches 300+ degrees. Put aluminum foil ring on grill, put cabbage on ring. Close grill..


6. Cook cabbage for 60-90mins [though I think 45 mins to 60 mins is plenty], rotating cabbage head with tongs every 15 mins. When cabbage is soft all the way through, it's done. Don't worry if exterior leaves start to char—they will fall off when you take the cabbage off the grill.

Peas, Please Me!

Everyone should have a last meal. Mine is my mom's baked chicken, white rice with gravy, and green peas. Back then, peas came in a can—locally sourced vegetables was unheard of in the 1970s. Don't forget that T.V. dinners in aluminum trays with that mystery desert at twelve o’clock were the height of Western civilization.

But my peas didn't come in just any can—mine came from LeSueur, its silver, plain, slightly French label was the height of sophistication to this sever-year old. My mom would not dare buy any other brand. 

To this day, green peas remain my favorite vegetable. However, I didn’t discover fresh green peas until I was an adult. If you have never had fresh peas, then you don’t know what you’ve been missing. But don't feel bad because there is a a good reason if you haven't. 

Peas are in season a short time in early spring and are best eaten shortly after picking. They also don't travel well and spoil easily, which is why most peas are found frozen or canned. In fact, only 5 percent of peas harvested are actually eaten fresh. This scarcity reserved their pleasure to the wealthy and the royalty. They were quite the rage in the Court of Louis XIV of France. Here’s what Madame de Maintenon (second wife of Louis XIV), said about peas in a letter to Cardinal of Noailles in 1696:

The question of peas continues. The anticipation of eating them, the pleasure of having eaten them and the joy of eating them again are the three subjects that our princes have been discussing for four days...It has become a fashion—indeed a passion.

Peas are best eaten simply and require very little effort. They are good raw in a salad or gently simmered and served with butter and mint or other light herbs. 

Here’s a simple recipe for peas called “peas in butter” from Larouse Gastronomique:

Cook the peas in boiling salted water, drain them, and put them back in the saucepan over a brisk heat, adding a pinch of sugar and 3 ½ ounces of fresh butter per 6¾ cups of peas. Serve with chopped fresh mint.

Peas are spring’s reward for our survival of winter. So pick some peas (or more likely grab some frozen in a bag) and enjoy. More peas please!

Lights! Camera! Cocktails!

I am almost as passionate about movies as I am about food. This year, I managed to see 51 of the 52 films nominated for at least one Oscar. Because I've been watching movies almost every night since December, this blog has been neglected. And so when writer’s block set in following my movie-bing hangover, it hit me! Booze! The only thing better than cinema is cocktails and cinema. So, here it is. My top-ten list of the best cocktail-themed movies (and one TV show).

#10 The Big Lebowski (1998); Directors: Joel & Ethan Cohen; Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Julianne Moore.

What it's about according to IMDB: "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Best Line: The Dude: [repeated line by The Dude and others] That rug really tied the room together.

A cult classic film that revived an obscure cocktail: the White Russian, though the Dude refers to as the "Caucasian." 

The White Russian was invented when someone added cream to a Black Russian (vodka and coffee liqueur). The drink really has nothing to do with Russia, other than the fact that it contains vodka. There are variations, of course. Two of my favorites are the Anna Kournikova (made with skim milk) and the White Cuban (made with rum instead of vodka).

I actually went through a White Russian phase back in college, though I'm not sure why. This "dude's" fling with the drink ended abruptly when a Kappa Delta asked, "Isn't that a girl's drink?" I've never had one since! 


#9 Lost In Translation (2003); Director: Sofia Coppola; Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and Giovanni Ribisi. |

What it’s about according to IMDB: “A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.”

Best Line: “Let's never come here again because it would never be as much fun.”

This may come as a surprise to a lot of folks, but the Japanese love scotch. What is more surprising is that they make really good scotch. (Yeah, I know it’s not really “scotch” because it’s not from Scotland, but don’t quibble.) More surprising is that Japan has an excellent home-grown scotch industry, with Suntory being at the top. So, I strongly encourage you try some if you can find it. I had to go to Atlanta to get a bottle of Yamasaki, but it was so worth it!


#8 Some Like it Hot (1959); Director: Billy Wilder; Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis

What it’s about according to IMDB: When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

Best Line: “Sugar: [on marrying well] I don't care how rich he is, as long as he has a yacht, his own private railroad car, and his own toothpaste."

                   —Sugar [Played by Marilyn Monroe]

“Further complications set in…?” That’s an understatement! This is one of the funniest movies ever! Besides, guys dressed in drag is always, always funny! This movie also shows that Monroe was more that some bleached-blond bimbo. She really did have talent. 

Why is this movie on my list? Because the Manhattan is the drink of choice for both the “men” and the women in the movie. The Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails and, if done right, is appealing to both men and women. It is slightly sweet but not overwhelmingly so, which appeals to the ladies; it is made from whiskey, which appeals to the guys; and it has a cool name, which should appeal to everyone. 


#7: Absolutely Fabulous (a/k/a “AbFab”) 

What it’s about according to IMDB: Edina Monsoon and her best friend Patsy drive Eddie's sensible daughter, Saffron, up the wall with their constant drug abuse and outrageous selfishness.

Best Line(s): 

Eddie: All right, time for another little drinkie before we go?

Saffie: Where are you going?

Eddie: New York.

Saffie: I didn't think they let people with convictions in.

Eddie: Darling, its not a conviction.

Patsy: Just a firm belief.

Eddie: Yes.

If you have heard of, or used, the phrase “guilty pleasure” then you may have watched at least one episode of Absolutely Fabulous, known affectionately by its fans as AbFab. This BBC comedy ran, on and off, from 1992 to 2012 and starred Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley as two boozy, drug-addled, fashioned-obsessed single women living in London. 

Eddie and Patsy always seem to have a bottle of Champagne in their hands and it always seems to be Veuve Cliquet, which would seem so appropriate.

Here are some clips from some of the show’s more memorable lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOGeTQvVtA8


#6 Casino Royale (2006); Director: Martin Campbell; Stars: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, and Eve Green

What it’s about according to IMDB: Armed with a license to kill, Secret Agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007 and must defeat a weapons dealer in a high stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, but things are not what they seem.

Best Line(s): 

Vesper Lynd: [introducing herself to Bond] I'm the money. 

James Bond: Every penny of it.

This is the kick-ass reboot of the Bond franchise. The debate still rages on, but Daniel Craig may…just may…surpass Sean Connery as the baddest Bond ever. Because of arcane copyright issues, Ian Fleming’s Bond novel was never made into a serious movie until Craig’s version. And only someone like Bond could create a new cocktail whilst trying to stay alive, win at cards, and get the girl! That takes talent! 

Here’s the recipe from the novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming:

"A dry martini," [Bond] said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"
"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

"Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.

Bond laughed. "When I'm...er...concentrating," he explained, "I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."

—Ian Fleming, Casino Royale, Chapter 7, Rouge et Noir

#5 Silence of the Lambs (1991); Director: Jonathan Demme; Stars: Sir Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster

What It’s About According to IMDB: A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Best Line: A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.

— Hannibal Lechter

This movie scared the crap out of me when it first came out. Anthony Hopkins was perfect in this role. And of course, it was many years before I could even think about having a glass of Chianti at my local Italian restaurant, much less fava beans. And thankfully, I’ve never been much of a fan of liver, except for foie gras. At least, Hannibal didn’t ruin that for me!


#4 Casablanca (1942); Director: Michael Curtiz; Stars: Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman

What it’s about according to IMDB: Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.

Best Line(s): 

Major Strasser: What is your nationality?

Rick: I’m a drunkard.

Renault: And that makes Rick a citizen of the world.

Unlike the other films in this list (with the possible exception of Sideways), this movie does more than simply feature a cocktail. Instead, roughly 80% of the movie takes place in a bar! And one of those drinks consumed in that bar, Rick’s Café Américain, is the French 75, one of my perennial favorites. This is a great cocktail—named after a 75-mm French artillery piece used in World War I—and designed to hit you like a shell from that gun. The original recipe called for cognac, but the English, who abhor all things French, introduced gin into the mix. This drink has made something of a comeback in recent years, as I see it more and more frequently on restaurant menus. 


#3 Groundhog Day (1993); Director: Harold Ramis; Stars: Bill Murray, Andie McDowell, and Chris Elliott

What It’s About According to IMDB: A weatherman finds himself living the same day over and over again.

Best Line(s):

Phil: I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters.

Phil: That was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over, and over, and over...

Bill Murray earned his “stripes” because he made this list twice with two different movies. 

This movie really presents every guy’s dream: fixing that disastrous first date by replaying it over and over until you get it right. In this case, Bill Murray’s obnoxious protagonist discovers that Andie McDowell’s character’s favorite cocktail is sweet vermouth on the rocks and a twist. During the first time they meet at the bar, Murray orders a manly drink—Bourbon on the rocks—McDowell, a sweet vermouth on the rocks with a twist (yuck!). She waxes rhapsodically about how the drink reminds her of Rome.  And guess what Murray orders the next time, and guess what he talks about? Smart use of that power bro! 


#2 Sideways (2004); Director: Alexander Payne; Stars: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, and Virginia Madsen

What It’s About According to IMDB: Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment, embark on a week long road trip through California's wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.

Best Line(s): 

Jack: If they want to drink Merlot, we're drinking Merlot.
Miles Raymond: No, if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am NOT drinking any f**king Merlot!

This is the only movie on the list where a particular drink (wine) and drinking that dirnk are at the heart of the movie. If there was an academy award for “Best Actor in the Role of a Self-Loathing, Yet Lovable, Jerk,” then Paul Giamatti would have won it hands down. The best scene in the movie is not the one we’ve all come to know (and which pretty much killed sales of Merlot), but the one near the end in which Miles is alone in a rundown burger joint sneaking sips of a bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc hidden in a bum’s brown bag. The ultimate irony? Cheval Blanc is made from the two grapes Miles flames in the movie: merlot and cabernet franc.

Of course the real star of the movie is pinot noir, which is the vehicle by which we get to understand Miles and Maya:

Miles:

Uh, I don't know, I don't know. Um, it's a hard grape to grow, as you know. Right? It's uh, it's thin-skinned, temperamental, ripens early. It's, you know, it's not a survivor like Cabernet, which can just grow anywhere and uh, thrive even when it's neglected. No, Pinot needs constant care and attention. You know? And in fact it can only grow in these really specific, little, tucked away corners of the world. And, and only the most patient and nurturing of growers can do it, really. Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot's potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they're just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and... ancient on the planet.

Maya:

How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your '61. And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline.
* * * 
And it tastes so f**king good.


#1 Goldfinger (1964); Director: Guy Hamilton: Stars: Sean Connery, Gert Fröbe, and Honor Blackman

What it's about according to IMDB: Investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.

Best Line(s): 

James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?
Auric Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!

“Shaken, not stirred.” No other phrase is more associated with a movie character or series of movies than this one. Believe it or not, the phrase wasn’t used until the third Bond film, Goldfinger. (While Dr. No uses this phrase when he offers the drink to Bond in Dr. No, Bond himself doesn’t use the phrase until Goldfinger in 1964.) And of course, it became the most well known trademark of the Bond character in subsequent films, with a few notable variations on a theme.  

In You Only Live Twice, the cocktail is offered stirred, not shaken, but Bond graciously accepts it nonetheless. (Smart man! No one never turns down a free drink!) In Casino Royale, after losing millions of dollars in a game of poker, Bond retreats to the bar to lick his wound, and when asked if he wants his martini shaken or stirred, he snarls: "Do I look like I give a damn?” And interestingly, Roger Moore’s Bond never ordered a martini, although he received one in The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, and Octopussy.

More Soup for You!

The rich foods of winter and the holiday season—stews, braises, pies, and soups—warm the belly and feed the soul. Soup in particular pairs well with winter. It is communal food from a single pot simmering on the stove for all to savor its aromas.

Soups are surprisingly easy to make. If one can boil water and chop vegetables, one can surely make soup. This may explain why soup is one of the oldest forms of cookery. At some point, one of our distant ancestors, the proverbial “cave man,” got tired of eating tree bark and sipping water from a stream. He perhaps took that bark, maybe even a few veggies and herbs, and put them together in an earthen pot on that new-fangled invention called “fire” and—voila—soup was born!  M.F.K. Fisher liked soup and devoted a whole chapter to it. Here’s what she had to say:

The natural procession from boiling water to boiling water with something in it can hardly be avoided, and in most cases heartily to be wished for. As a steady diet, plain water is inclined to make thin fare, and even saints, of which there are an unexpected number these days, will gladly agree that a few herbs and perhaps a carrot to two and maybe a meager bone on feast days can mightily improve the somewhat monotonous flavor of the hot liquid.  

      —M.F.K. Fisher, How to Boil Water.

Wise words indeed! (And if she thought there were food “saints” in her day, she’d be downright shocked by today’s gastronomic high priests and priestesses!)

And while making soup is a relatively fuss-free endeavor, there are some basic tips one should keep in mind. Here are some good ones from Harold McGee’s Keys to Good Cooking:

• Rich soups can benefit from a counterpoint of acidity. For example, vegetable purees can benefit from the savoriness of a little bacon or tomato or parmesan cheese, soy sauce, fish sauce, or miso.
• To thicken soups with flour or starch, always pre-disperse the thickener in a roux or slurry to prevent lumpiness.
• Add uncooked ingredients in stages to a simmering soup to avoid over- or under-cooking them. First, add whole grains, firm carrots, or celery, then more tender onions or cauliflower, white rice or pasta; at the last minute, add delicate spinach, fish, or shellfish. 
• Take care not to overheat the soup when adding protein, in order to avoid curdling. You can also use starch or flour to keep proteins from coagulating or curdling.

So one evening, with a brisk winter chill in the air, I put on some music and fired up the fireplace and made soup. (OK, I don’t actually have a fireplace, but I have a great app that plays one on my iPad.) The best part was getting to use the Vitamix to puree the soup—sounds like a jet engine!

Copyright © 2013 Chris Terrell

The Finished Product!

I made roasted cauliflower and carrot soup, a recipe for the most part of my own creation. My recipe uses sumac to add some acidity. Sumac is a shrub originating in Turkey and certain varieties are cultivated in southern Italy and in Sicily. The fleshy petals and small berries are dried and reduced to a powder which has a lemony, acidic flavor and is popular in Middle Eastern cooking. Mixed with water, it can be used in the same way as lemon juice.

Here’s the recipe:

Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Soup with Sumac

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower
2 cloves of garlic
1 small yellow onion
1 1/3 lbs of carrots
1 tablespoon of coriander (ground)
1 tablespoon of sumac
1/2 tablespoon ancho chili powder
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 qt of vegetable stock
1/2 cup of dry white wine
3/4 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Break apart of the cauliflower into florets and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and spread out onto a sheet pan and roast in an oven at 425 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.
While the cauliflower roasts, dice the onion and mince the garlic. In a stock pot, place the butter and a tablespoon of the olive oil, along with some salt and pepper and sauté the onions until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.  

Add the carrots to the stock pot, along with the vegetable stock, wine, and water and bring to a boil. Then add the roasted cauliflower and reduce the heat. Cook on medium for about 35-40 minutes until the carrots and cauliflower are tender.  

Puree the soup with an immersion blender until puréed. (This is fun!) Add coriander, sumac, and ancho chili powder Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve into bowls and add a table spoon of heavy cream to each and mix. Serve immediately.

NOTE: You can also take whole coriander and roast and then grind in a mortal and pestle.