Showing posts with label Soup. Show all posts

2.26.2017

Ina's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup

This is without a doubt the best mushroom soup I've ever tasted....anywhere. Of course, it's Ina's recipe...how could it be otherwise?

Ina's Cream of Wild Mushroom Soup
From Barefoot Contessa at Home, 2006

Ingredients:

5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms

5 ounces fresh portobello mushrooms

5 ounces fresh cremini (or porcini) mushrooms

1 tablespoon good olive oil

1/4 pound (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 carrot, chopped

1 sprig fresh thyme plus 1 teaspoon minced thyme leaves, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method:

Clean the mushrooms by wiping them with a dry paper towel.

Separate the stems, trim and coarsely chop the stems.

Slice the mushroom caps 1/4-inch thick and, if they are large, cut them into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

To make the stock, heat the olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large pot. Add the chopped mushroom stems, the onion, carrot, the sprig of thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving the liquid. You should have about 4 1/2 cups of stock. If not, add some water.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown. Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are browned and tender. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the white wine and stir for another minute, scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the mushroom stock, minced thyme leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the half-and-half, cream, and parsley, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and heat through but do not boil. Serve hot.

3.25.2015

Parmesan Dumplings in Capon Broth

Is there anything more boring than a post (and a photo) about chicken broth? But you never know when flu or a cold will attack .....or just a rainy, gloomy day.....and nothing is more comforting than chicken soup.

My mother taught me to make chicken broth with chicken feet. They give me the creeps, but they produce an amazing broth, lovely in color, rich in nutrients not found in broth made just from a chicken and it gels just as a good broth should. When she'd serve it, she'd either swish in a beaten egg or make dumplings with an egg and some flour.

Hence, my interest in this recipe from Gabrielle's Prune cookbook.
I always have chicken broth at the ready in my freezer. You should too.
I'm not going post the recipe for my broth because I already blogged about it HERE.
(Not capon broth however. Do you know the difference between chicken and capon? D'Artagnan has a great explanation...look HERE.)

So. I made a couple changes in Gabrielle's recipe. As I already mentioned, I used the homemade chicken broth I had in the freezer rather than capon broth AND, no matter what Gabrielle says, it's nearly impossible to get these dumplings to hold together without a bit of flour, so I added just a tad, enough to keep them together. You can try a couple without and see if you have better luck. I tried four or five and while they did result in dumplings of a sort, they practically disintegrated while cooking, even at a very slow simmer. My eggs were extra large, so perhaps that was too much moisture; next time I'll use smaller eggs and see if it works better. Or perhaps it was my bread crumbs. Not enough?

What I liked was the addition of Parmesan in these dumplings and that touch of nutmeg. Just those flavor additions made them way different than my mother's. The dumplings were lovely and light, no doubt because of the tiny amount of flour. With no flour, they'd practically melt in your mouth. (Well, mine did melt in the saucepan!) I added a couple pieces of chicken to my broth, whereas Gabrielle served some on the side.

It was all I could do NOT to add a bit of parsley or something for color in the photo, but decided to hang in there with simplicity, because that's what this soup is all about.

Parmesan Dumplings in ~~Capon~~ Chicken Broth
From Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Parmesan
1/2 cup dried coarse bread crumbs, not panko
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 cups homemade capon broth

Method:
Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and pour the beaten eggs in. Knead everything together.
Form into 1/2 inch balls. It's messy. Dip your hand repeatedly in ice water and spray your hand with cooking spray. (I used a small ice cream scoop)
Bring broth to a boil. Drop in dumplings and simmer for a few minutes until dumpling almost double their size. Don't boil too hard or they will split.

Retrieve dumplings with slotted spoon and place them in a shallow bowl. Pour in broth about 2/3 the way up. You can heat up a slice of chicken in some leftover broth and serve it on the side.This recipe makes about 12 smallish dumplings.

Here's the recipe straight from the cookbook.

1.21.2015

Morrison Wood's Chili

Do you have any of Morrison Wood's cookbooks? With a Jug of Wine was his first and my favorite. (You can still buy it used.) It's a gem of a cookbook and I have lots of favorite recipes in it, but was surprised I've never posted his chili recipe. I know, you all have your favorite chili, but this is the one I use. I confess, I don't even bother trying anyone else's....very unlike me. It's a very thick chili so you can add more canned tomatoes if you wish.
This time, I made Pastry Affair's Beer Bread to go with it....I posted the recipe last week. They are marvelous together, perfect for football watching. I mean, let's face it. Chili-soaked beer bread? OMG.

Morrison Wood's Chili
From With a Jug of Wine

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground round
1 pound ground fresh pork
3 tablespoons bacon fat
3 medium sized onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic
6 tablespoons chili powder (Use less or more, to taste)
1 tablespoon flour
1 large can tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 pint pitted ripe olives
1 large can kidney beans
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lime juice

Method:
In a soup pot, brown the onions and garlic in the bacon fat. Remove onions and garlic. To the remaining bacon fat add the chili powder mixed with the flour. Stir until smooth and then add the beef and pork. Breaking it up wait until it's brown, then add the tomatoes and onions and cook gently for 20 minutes.
Next add 3 bay leaves *!(I'm always careful with bay leaves. At a dinner party years ago, my SIL choked on one in the spaghetti sauce and it was a close call; she choked and couldn't breathe. Lesson learned. I now break each one into very small pieces.), salt, oregano, red wine vinegar and brown sugar. Cover and cook slowly for 2 hours.
Last of all, add the pint of ripe olives, sliced, and cook for another hour.
Finally, add the lemon and lime juice and the kidney beans right before serving. It's a thick chili; add a small can of tomatoes if you prefer it thinner.
Sprinkle a little cheese on top.

Serves 10-12

With beer bread croutons:

With beer bread toast on the side:

1.09.2015

Ina's Beef Barley Soup

My mother made barley soup for as long as I can remember and when she was no longer able to do much cooking, it was my turn to keep my parents supplied with their favorite soup. I confess, I got mighty sick of barley soup as I made it for them for many years. My sister makes a great barley soup too (she's the world's best soup maker, as you've read here many times) and while I thought I'd never, ever! make barley soup again, after reading Ina's recipe, I gave in and decided to give it one more try. So glad I did. It's an amazing recipe, better than mother's, full of flavor and freezes a dream.

Please notice the bread on the side; I wrote about them last post HERE. Yes, it really is yeast bread from scratch, but baked in the little ramekins.
Enjoy!

Ina's Beef Barley Soup
2010, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
2 pounds beef oxtails
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
2 cups (1/2-inch) diced carrots (4 carrots)
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup (1/2-inch) diced celery (2 stalks)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves
3 bay leaves
10 cups canned beef broth
1 cup pearled barley

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the oxtails, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes until browned all over. Remove the oxtails with a slotted spoon and reserve.

Add the leeks, carrots, onion, celery, and garlic to the fat in the pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until the vegetables start to brown. Tie the thyme sprigs together with kitchen string and add to the pot along with the bay leaves.

Return the oxtails to the pot and add the broth, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Discard the thyme bundle and the bay leaves, and skim off the fat.

Meanwhile, bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the barley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, drain, and set aside.

When the soup is ready, add the barley and cook the soup for another 15 or 20 minutes, until the barley is tender. Depending on the saltiness of the stock, the soup might need another teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Serve hot, with or without the oxtails. (I removed the oxtails and cut off the meat, returning it to the soup.)

2.03.2014

Cathy's Sausage Tortellini Soup

This recipe has made the rounds recently and I've been saving the recipe for some cold weather. And yes, we've had some down here, but while things have warmed up nicely in S. Florida, my kids in Michigan are having the coldest, snowiest winter in years.
I was born and raised there and in those days of yore, winters were always cold and loaded with snow and ice; what's changed is the Weather Channel (they weren't around then so I guess it didn't count) is now naming the storms, in the manner of hurricanes. We used to call them cold snaps and blizzards. LOL.
Anyway....good stuff in this soup...hearty, warming and filling. Cathy said she preferred that particular brand sausage and fortunately, I had half a package in my freezer. I substituted kale for spinach but it's up to you..in fact, with soups like this, you can add and substitute, depending on what you want to use up. Best with homemade stock, of course.

Sausage Tortellini Soup
Adapted from Cathy at Noble Pig

Ingredients:

1 (16 oz) Jimmy Dean All Natural Regular Pork Sausage
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, pressed
4 cups (32 oz) chicken stock (not broth, homemade if possible)
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (5 oz) can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 Tablespoon dried basil leaves
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried red chili peppers
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
10 oz cheese tortellini
3 oz fresh baby spinach leaves (I used kale)

Method:
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Make little balls of sausage by rolling them between your hands and then drop them into a hot pan. Brown all sides and completely cook them through. Remove onto a paper-towel lined plate.
Saute onions in the fat leftover from the pork until soft; about 8 minutes. Add pressed garlic and saute for 30 seconds more.
In a soup pot, mix chicken stock, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, basil, sugar, chili peppers, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil. Add onion-garlic mixture and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
Add tortellini and cook according to package directions, usually about 7-9 minutes. Add in cooked sausage and stir in kale or spinach until just wilted.
Serve immediately.

1.27.2014

Shrimp Noodle Soup

Such great flavors in this delicious soup! It really hits the spot on a cold night. Yes, we've been having some cold nights in South Florida too and while you're snickering over that comment, keep in mind it's all relative. :)
I don't make a lot of soups, unlike my sister, who is the worlds greatest soup maker in my opinion. But this one appealed to me...I loved the colors and it's a hearty, warming soup even though it's light in calories.

Shrimp Noodle Soup
From Style At Home

Ingredients:
4 baby bok choy
12 sugar snap peas
12 shrimp, peeled
1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger
1 tablespoon of peanut (or canola) oil
A pinch of dried chilies
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoon of light soy sauce
2 spring onions, sliced
4 cups of chicken stock (homemade, hopefully)
Toasted sesame seeds for garnishing
300 grams of dried udon noodles

Method:
Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Run them under cold water once cooked, and reserve.

In the meantime, add the bok choy (cut in half lengthwise) and the sugar snap peas to a pot of boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes. Shock the vegetables by placing them in ice cold water. Once the vegetables are cold, drain and remove excess water with paper towels.

Heat your wok to medium low heat. Add the peanut oil, ginger, garlic and dried chili. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the peeled shrimp. Once the shrimp starts to turn pink, add the vegetables, stirring constantly. Add the noodles and then the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
Once the broth has come to a boil, add the soy sauce, sesame oil and spring onions and cook for another minute.
Serve topped with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4.

1.08.2014

Gwen's Original Corn Chowder

I guess we're all a little soup crazy right now, what with the freezing weather. This certainly isn't a low-calorie recipe, but it sure is filling and delicious. You don't need to wait until the Super Bowl to serve this soup either, although that's how it came to be posted. A few years ago, Cathy at Noble Pig had a Sam's Club Super Bowl recipe contest. The photos of the winning recipes were amazing and I saved this particular soup recipe as it looked delicious. It was entered by Gwen from Good To Be Me. And yes, it really is fantastic. I mean...bacon, corn, cheese, potatoes, onion....Wow! And so thick your spoon will stand up in it. A hearty meal to be sure.

Gwen's Original Corn Chowder
From Gwen at Good To Be Me

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 large potatoes, cooked, peeled and cubed
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 large package frozen corn, thawed
4-1/2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream

Method:
In a soup pot melt butter and add the onion and garlic; sauté onion until it is clear. Whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Whisk for a while until smooth and then, while stirring, gradually add milk and chicken broth. Add in potatoes, bacon, corn and parsley flakes.
Continue to heat over medium to low heat, stirring frequently until chowder has thickened, about 20 minutes. Then cover and cook over a low heat for an additional 10 or 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked. Stir frequently so the bottom doesn't burn. Remove from heat. Whisk in grated cheese and sour cream, stir until cheese has melted. Serve in hollowed out bread bowls.

7.14.2013

Chilled Fennel and Cucumber Soup

I've always loved cold soups in warm weather and have posted several in the past. The thing about this one is the fennel. Are you a fan? As far as I'm concerned, roasted, I love it. Raw, served in a salad, not so much. But this fennel is steamed and puréed along with some raw cucumbers so how cool is that? It's a lovely soup, with some texture (can't help but remind you of a vichyssoise) and quite mild in flavor. The tarragon is a nice touch; it's an herb we don't use nearly enough.

Chilled Fennel and Cucumber Soup
From Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July Issue

Ingredients:

3 pounds fennel bulbs (about 2 large or 3 medium)

1 1/4 pounds seedless cucumbers

1 Tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup heavy cream

Method:

Trim, quarter and core the fennel bulbs and cut into 1 inch pieces...about 6 cups. Save some of the frond for garnishing.

Steam the fennel until very tender, about 8 minutes.

Peel the cucumbers, quarter lengthwise and cut into 1 inch chunks.

In a blender, puree until smooth half the cooked fennel with half the cucumber along with salt, pepper and tarragon. Strain over a bowl, forcing the puree with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining fennel and cucumber.

Add the cream and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 2 days. Just before serving, correct the seasoning, add one teaspoon finely chopped tarragon, and garnish with a fennel frond.

1.18.2013

Fresh Tomato Soup

Do you remember my mentioning my sister is the soup-maker of the family? She still is (as was my mother), but once in a while, I do make some myself. Not often, though. It really surprised me to see 13 soups listed in my blog recipes. While so many people love a cup of soup for lunch....my sister has one every day....it never seems to satisfy me. Perhaps if someone else was making it for me? :) Perhaps I find it bothersome making a pot just for one? Although most soups do freeze beautifully. But even years ago, in Michigan, I didn't make all that many soups for my family; the kids ate lunch at school and everyone wanted something more substantial for dinner.

Tomato soup was a favorite of my father's but it's one soup I never remember my mother making from scratch; it was always a can of Campbell's tomato. (He also loved Mulligatawny.... one of the original 31 Campbell soups. It was discontinued in the 30's, but I remember him talking about it. Perhaps he thought the name was fun, he was like that....or perhaps he actually liked it so much my mother made it from scratch after it was discontinued. I just don't recall. And Pepper Pot was high on his soup list too, which is more difficult to find these days, but Campbells's does still make it.)

Anyway, I had a craving for tomato soup recently. There are endless recipes to choose from but I turned first to Ina Garten. Ina has several versions but I liked the sound of this particular one and it turned out to be a good choice. It was satisfying, flavorful and not one of those soups that takes 5 hours of simmering.
(I'm sure you'll notice the cheesy bacon bread sticking out of it....I'll have the recipe for that coming up soon.)

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup
From Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics"

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons good olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)

2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish

3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup heavy cream

Croutons, for garnish

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that's left. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with basil leaves and/or croutons.

12.05.2012

Kurt's Chestnut Soup

OK, I know. I cheated. But I have a great excuse: unpacking from the move. Still, I wanted to share this with you before Christmas. A brief respite, if you will, from my cookie recipes.

When my daughter gave me Kurt Gutenbrunner's cookbook last year, I immediately wanted to make his apple strudel.

She said oh no, make his chestnut soup first, it's ambrosial. I meant to make it for you this December, I really did, but while I was in NYC recently, we went to Wallsé for dinner and I ordered it. And took a (not very good) photo with my cell phone. It was the easy way out when I'm so busy.
Of course, Tracy was right, the soup was divine. She and Kurt have been friends for quite a while and Tracy's held several gallery opening night dinners at his restaurant.

Kurt has several restaurants, one right across the street from where she lives, Blaue Gans, on Duane Street in TriBeCa. She eats there regularly and I've been there too, but this trip, she treated me to a meal at Wallsé. Double yum. As I have the cookbook, I'll share the recipe and the photo I took of the soup and hope you'll forgive me for bending the foodie rules by not actually making it myself. Next year, I swear I'll make it at home and let you know if mine turned out as well. (I very much doubt it.)

Chestnut-Soup Viennese Melange With Black Truffles
Courtesy of Kurt Gutenbrunner

Ingredients:
3/4 cup armagnac or cognac
8 whole pitted prunes

12 ounces button mushrooms, washed
2 dried porcini mushrooms or other flavorful dried mushrooms
1 pound fresh peeled chestnuts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium-size celery root, peeled, dark spots removed, and diced
Salt and white pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups skim milk, hot
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Garnish
1 fresh black truffle (optional)
8 parsley leaves

Method:

Early in the day or the night before, put the armagnac, prunes, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan, and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and allow the prunes to steep for 6 hours or overnight. (The prunes can be refrigerated in an airtight jar for a week.)
Put the button mushrooms in a saucepan, cover with water, and simmer for 1 hour. Remove and discard the mushrooms (there should be at least 1 cup of juice). Pulverize the dried porcini mushrooms in a coffee grinder.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With a sharp paring knife, cut an X into the flat side of each chestnut. Place the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roast in the middle of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until the shell curls. Remove from oven, and allow to cool. Peel and discard the shells, reserving the chestnuts.
Melt the butter over low heat in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the celery root, and cook gently for 5 minutes without browning. Add the peeled chestnuts, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the sugar, increase the heat, and cook for a few minutes, until the mixture caramelizes. Add the remaining armagnac and cook for a minute. Pour in the reserved mushroom juice and the chicken stock, reduce the heat, and cook slowly for 15 minutes. Add the cream, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer soup to a blender in batches, and purée thoroughly for several minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Strain purée through a fine sieve, and reheat. (Can be made up to this point a day in advance and refrigerated.)Place 1 room-temperature drained prune in each of 8 soup bowls. Put the milk in a tall, slender container, and add ı teaspoon of the porcini powder and the nutmeg. Using a nozzle on an espresso machine or a separate foaming device, foam the hot milk. Divide the soup among the soup bowls, and top with a scoop of the foam, a shaving of black truffle, if desired, and a parsley leaf. Serve immediately.

2.10.2012

Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers in Food: # 34, Ella Brennan

This was such a fun post to write. I LOVE New Orleans and have literally eaten my way through the city. This Game Changer is the undisputed queen of NOLA and my post could have gone on and on as the Brennan family is fascinating.

Ella Brennan is the daughter of Nellie Brennan and Owen Edward Brennan Sr., who had a job in the New Orleans shipyards. She grew up in the Irish Channel section of New Orleans and instead of joining the debutante set, she spent her time at Cafe Lafitte, learning about life from the Cafe Lafitte regulars like Lucius Beebe, the famous bon vivant, and Max Kriendler, who owned the "21" Club in New York. Nothing dull about Ella's teenage years!
"Before the jet plane, there was no jet set, darlin' -- there was Cafe Lafitte," she said. "Everybody was there. "And there I was, this little girl off a bayou, big eyes, big ears and a big mouth in the making."

Ella's oldest brother Owen was good-looking, gregarious and quite the bon vivant around town. He became one of the French Quarter's favorite gadabouts. He earned his reputation as proprietor of the Old Absinthe House and later the Vieux Carre, a restaurant he bought in the French Quarter. Ella idolized him. She griped about the poor quality of food served there so Owen offered her a job.

She was still a girl when Owen first put her on an airplane and sent her around the world to eat in the finest restaurants and see what she could learn. "My mother cooked everything you could think of better than anyone on earth," Brennan says. Brennan was definitely not a cook (“Who the hell wants to cook?”), but she developed an educated palate through her travels, which she trained by “restaurant chasing,” as she called her passion of energetically sampling the offerings of restaurants wherever she went. Something she's continued throughout her life.

"I read all the books ever written on Creole cooking and then all the French ones that were translated, " she says. "I still say the first 137 pages of the Escoffier cookbook -- if you don't know that, you don't know anything about cooking," she says.

Miss Ella, as she is called, married briefly but wasn't much of a stay-at-home mom. Although unconventional, Brennan endowed her children with something her daughter says she values even more: interesting lives.

While Vieux Carre ultimately grew into a consequential establishment, Owen was determined to create something sensational. Brennan's, he would call it. Unfortunately, he died in 1955 but together, the family managed to regroup and get on with the project."Everybody mortgaged their houses, " Brennan says. "And everybody who had an in-law got a loan."

"We did everything wrong we could possibly do wrong but we made a lot of friends along the way," is how she explains the family's success. Brennan's was a hit. "A lot of business got done at Brennan's. Some people did more business at the restaurant than in their offices."

The family packaged the Creole mystique and pushed it into the American mainstream. "Bananas Foster" was invented during Miss Ella's reign at Brennan's; so was "Breakfast at Brennan's," the prototypical American brunch. In the process, they developed social, financial and political bonds far beyond New Orleans. The Brennans are the Kennedys of the Big Easy.

In 1969, the Brennans bought Emile Commander's restaurant. The culinary world was being shaken by a controversial new approach to food -- nouvelle cuisine, and Brennan wanted to marry it somehow to traditional New Orleans fare. She invented "haute creole". (Interesting since the Brennans were Irish.) The restaurant was not an immediate hit.

"Let me tell you, it was dicey in the early days, " says Brennan's son Alex. For five years, Brennan struggled with the restaurant, but experience won out.
The family survived deaths and a rift in 1974, when a family feud split the business. Owen's children -- Pip, Jimmy and Ted -- have run the family's original restaurant, Brennan's, on Royal Street. At the same time, Ella, Dick, Adelaide, Dottie and John took over Commander's Palace in the Garden District and built it into one of the 10 top grossing restaurants in the United States.

When the world started to change, Miss Ella pushed her brother Dick to computerize the business. When the national diet began to change, she pushed her chef, Emeril Lagasse, to lighten Creole dishes. Creating restaurants that can thrive in a tight economy, herding her family through a change of guard -- these are the sort of things Miss Ella can handle.

Many chefs got their start here: Paul Prudhomme, Emeril Lagasse and Frank Brigsten, who says: "Can you cook in that environment?" he asks. "Do you have the moves? Can you do the dance? That's what you learn in a place like Commander's Palace: Do you have it or not?" "You can be the greatest chef in the world, " says Brigtsen, "but if you can't serve your food at a profit, you won't be the greatest chef in the world for very long."

Here's my AJLI ladies' group at the Commander's Palace Jazz Brunch

The reason for Ella Brennan's success? She's never content; she does her homework and reads voraciously; she learned the business from the bottom up; she knows how to combine a spirit of fun with a grand restaurant; and finally, she knows service is king.

In 1996, Commander's Palace was honored with the Lifetime Outstanding Restaurant Award from the James Beard Foundation. It has also been awarded the Lifetime Service Award.
In 2002 the Lifetime Achievement Award Winner from SFA was given to Ella Brennan.

***********************************************

There are many famous Brennan restaurant recipes we've read about, but I decided on this wonderful, unusual soup. Of course, you have to love eggplant, which I do. This is supposedly a favorite of Ella's and is thicker than most soups, almost a purée. I made a few changes to the recipe. I puréed the soup in my food processor and I used fresh herbs.

Cream of Eggplant Soup
From The Commander's Palace New Orleans Cookbook

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups minced onions
1 1/2 cups minced celery

1 1/2 cups peeled and finely diced potatoes
2 large eggplants, peeled at least 1/4 inch from the skin (to prevent bitterness), finely diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon sweet basil
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Melt butter in a large saucepan and sauté the onions, celery, potatoes and eggplant until soft, about 25 minutes. Add curry powder, thyme and basil. Cook until ingredients begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add chicken stock and cook until soup begins to thicken, about 30 to 45 minutes. Remove from heat, purée in a food processor and then add cream and salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Join Mary from One Perfect Bite and all the other participants in this fun series.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Viola - The Lif e is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Kathleen Van Bruinisse - Bake Away with Me
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Amy - Beloved Green
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things

Claudia - Journey of An Italian Cook
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades

6.29.2011

Chilled Wild Blueberry Soup

When I was younger, we used to pick wild huckleberries while anchored in the Georgian Bay area of Canada. We'd all return with purple mouths, hands and tongues, but with enough berries left in our containers so my mother could make the world's most heavenly huckleberry pie.

I've heard many an argument about wild blueberries versus wild huckleberries. Do you know the difference?

They come from the same family but are a very different berry. Wild Huckleberries only grow in the wild but wild blueberries often are harvested commercially on farms. (You can even buy them frozen in your market.) The wild blueberry is smaller than a regular blueberry and has many soft, tiny almost unnoticeable seeds, while the huckleberry has larger seeds so they are slightly grittier when eaten. Blueberries are also more blue, while huckleberries are blackish blue or reddish black. Huckleberries have a much more vibrant and robust flavor than blueberries. They're sweeter too. Also, wild blueberries are have a slightly more earthy taste than you might expect.

Now that I live in Florida, my days of fresh-picked huckleberries are just a memory. But because of those memories, I should have guessed how much I'd like this nearly savory soup made from wild blueberries. It's a thicker fruit soup than I'm used to, but you could add more cream to thin it out if you prefer. A beautiful summery first course, you could also pass it around in little glass mugs.

Chilled Wild Blueberry Soup
By Rowan Jacobsen from Fine Cooking Magazine

Ingredients:
8 cups frozen wild blueberries (from one 3-lb. bag), or fresh if available
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves; more for garnish
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest (from 1/2 medium lemon)
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
Kosher salt
Sour cream or crème fraîche

Method:
Heat the blueberries and wine in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the blueberries are thawed, about 5 minutes (if using fresh blueberries, bring the mixture to a simmer). Stir in the heavy cream, mint, lemon zest, cardamom, and 3/4 tsp. salt.
Working in batches, purée the blueberry mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth. Strain through a medium-mesh sieve into a storage container. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, about 4 hours.

To serve, whisk vigorously to loosen the soup (chilling thickens it and you can add more cream at this point if you wish.). Season to taste with more salt. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with a dollop of sour cream or crème fraîche and a single mint leaf. Makes about 5 cups.

*********************************

After glancing through my drafts folder, I noticed lots of odds and ends I've never gotten around to posting. Rather than deleting them I thought I'd start a little side blog and get them posted as there are several good ideas and recipes among the discarded drafts. You'll notice some wooden cooking utensils on the sidebar. That's the new blog, if you have time to take a look.

**************************

Have a wonderful 4th of July!
Happy Birthday, America!

6.10.2011

Cold Sorrel Soup

I love cold soups in the summer, don't you? So refreshing. What could be easier for a picnic? Just pour it into a thermos to keep it chilled and take it along. You can dress cold soups up or down.....it all depends on how you serve them. I posted a wonderful strawberry soup a while back; I've served it at a luncheon, at a casual cook-out and it was even served at an engagement party I attended, passed around in small glass cups on a silver tray during cocktail hour. And I've got another cold soup coming your way for the 4th of July.

But today, it's all about chilled sorrel soup. Is sorrel available in your area? Or perhaps you're growing it in your garden? If so, you've got to try this lovely soup. Sorrel is a member of the buckwheat family and you'll find it most frequently used in soups and sauces. You can use sorrel in salads too, but I'd stick with the small tender leaves that are less acidic. Cooked in a cream soup like this one, you'll find sorrel tangy with a slight lemony flavor.

It's an easy green to clean. Wash to remove grit, fold the leaf in half lengthwise, grab the stem/vein and pull to remove any woody strings. Sorrel practically falls apart and melts when it hits anything hot. Fresh, as you can see, it's a lovely green color. Unfortunately, when cooked it turns a drab green, but its fresh tangy taste survives to make a delicious soup.

I've saved a couple recipes. Gabrielle Hamilton from Prune likes to serve her sorrel soup hot over some diced cooked potatoes rather than puréeing the potatoes along with the sorrel. I think I'd like to try that texture in a sorrel soup and I'd like to try it hot too. But because it's summer, I'm sticking with this recipe which calls for chilling and you can serve it in paper soup cups if you want.

Cold Sorrel, Leek and Potato Soup
Adapted from HERE.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium leek (white and light-green parts only), thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
Kosher salt
2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small dice (about 2 cups)
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
4 oz. sorrel leaves, ribs removed; more for garnish
1/2 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Melt the butter in a 4-quart pot over medium-low heat. Add the leek and a pinch of salt and cook until tender but not brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and then add 4 cups of chicken stock and 1 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, cover partially, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add the sorrel and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Purée the soup in a blender until smooth. Pour the soup into a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate until completely chilled, about 4 hours. Whisk the cream into the soup and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with thinly sliced sorrel leaves and even a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Makes about 4 cups.