Hearty Winter Potato Leek Pottage

This is a winter favorite based on the potato leek soup in Twelve Moths of Monastery Soups by Brother victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette. It is extremely simple to make. There area many versions of this. The one below makes about 8 good servings.

INGREDIENTS

>butter, 1 stick
>sliced leeks, about 6 cups. About 1/4 in. slices.
This was two very large leeks and one smaller one. Be sure to wash them carefully between the layers as there's often dirt in there.
The following are peeled and chopped into small wedges--about 1-2 in--about 12 cups.
>potaotes, about 12 cups. This was around 20 smallish potatoes.
>turnips, 2 medium
>rutabega, 1 large

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large heavy pot, melt the butter, add the chopped leeks and saute until very soft. Turn down and continue to saute on low while you prep potatoes and other roots. (10 min. or so)
2. Add the chopped roots.
3. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer, and simmer until potatoes are soft.
4. With a masher, mash the potatoes. Add a bit of water.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to simmer, then mash some more until even consistency--but not smooth. Chunky is the idea here.

Serve topped with grated cheddar or other mild cheese. I think Tobasco is a nice addition as well.

Another great version when leeks aren't available is to substitue about 4-5 cups of chopped onions for the leeks and to saute them in about 1/2 lb. of chopped, cooked bacon. Cook the bacon first, then cook the onions with it (Yes, in the fat--it's awesome, and if you use good local bacon, it's not too fatty.)

New Year's Chicken Fricassee

This was a delicious way to bring in the New Year. It's adapted from the chicken fricasee recipe contributed by Mrs. J.C. Dupont in _De Bonnes Choses a Monager_ from Houma, Louisiana.

INGREDIENTS
chicken pieces--large boneless breast and two leg and thight pieces. Cut up in chunks about 3 in. long. (Chicken was local.)
2 large onions, chopped very small
3T butterr
3T olive oil
1/4/ c flour
Cajun Mix seasoning blend
Cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter and oil in heavy soup pot. Add chicken pieces and brown on hight heat for five to ten minutes. Remove the chicken with tongs.
Add flower slowly while stirring. On low heat, make a light brown roux. Constantly scrape the bottom of the pan with a metal spatula.
Add the onions and cook on high heat, stirring constantly, until opaque.
Turn heat down under the onions and let simmer, for a LONG time--about 30 minutes or more is good. You have to give them an occasional stir.

Easy Tomatoe Sherry Sauce with Mahi Mahi

This was a quick way to prepare Mahi Mahi that was a very good price at the market today. I wasn't sure I liked the flavor of this fish too much but the fillets looked good and it was under $7 per pound so I created a strong sauce for it. Turns out the fish was great and the sauce a very good complement.

Ingredients
3 cloves garlic (I used fresh garden garlic from a friend. Probably better to use 4 cloves if not so fresh.)
3 T olive oil
1/2 t dry basil

3 olive oil
1/2 L onion, chopped
4 cl. garlic (regular)
1/2 each of dry basil, oregano, thyme
15 oz. canned diced tomatoes
1/4 c. dry sherry
(1 t sugar)
s and p

2.0 lb. Mahi Mahi fillets
1/4 c. safflower oil

Directions

1. Finely mince 3 cl. garlic and add to 3 T olive oil in small bowl. Add 1/2 t. dried basil. Set aside. (Good to do this ahead 20 min. to let oil steep more.)
2. Put 3T olive oil in med. skillet on high heat. Add chopped onions and saute for a few minutes until beginning to brown. Turn heat to low. Add 4 cl. garlic and heat through for a minute. Add diced tomatoes. Heat through. Add sherry. Stir. (If you can cook it on low, adding liquid if needed, skip the sugar. If you're in a rush as I was, add it. You should still simmer sauce for at least 10 min. while you prep and cook the fish.)
3. Preheat oven to Broil.
4. Salt and pepper fish. Heat safflower to almost smoking hot in large skillet. Add fish and sear on one side. Turn and turn down the heat. (Good to use two spatulas for this.)
5. Spoon the garlic oil over the top. Place pan in broiled for two minutes. (I'm not sure how much difference this really made. You can probably skip it.)
6. Pour all tomato sauce over fish. Place pan in oven and turn heat to 350. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove and serve over pasta.

I served this over angel hair pasta and it went very well. Just spread the pasta thinly across part of the plate, cut a rectangle of sauce covered fish, place it in in the center of the pasta, and spoon some of the sauce from the pan over the pasta.

NOCCA Red Beans and Rice!

This is the red beans and rice recipe I developed for our yearly fund-raising party to benefit the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. It's produced more than $5,000 of funding so far! Those are some great beans.
(Where-to-get directions are for Center City Philadelphia.)

Ingredients:

red beans (kidney beans)
dry: 1 lb.; canned: 6 cups drained beans.(Liquid in canned beans varies. For the ones I used (organic 25 oz. cans from Fresh Fields) it was 100 oz. beans—4 cans.)
onion, 1 large, chopped
green bell pepper, 1 medium, chopped
celery, 4 stalks, chopped
garlic, 5 cloves, minced
ham hock, 1 (This is important. You can get it from most butchers.)
olive oil, 3 Tbsp.
andoullie sausage, ¾ lb., cut into small slices(It’s about three large links. You can get it at Reading Terminal or Fresh Fields (Whole Foods).)
dried thyme, 1 tsp.
bay leaf, 2
Tobasco, 1 tsp.
Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tbsp.
Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, 1 tsp. (I’ll give you this. It really is used in New Orleans. It’s not hard to find, thought. I get it at the Spice Corner in Reading Terminal.

Pot suggestions: Use a Dutch oven or other thick metal pot that distributes heat well. (I love my 14” diameter All-Clad for this.) This is especially important because you have to cook it for 2 hrs. or more, and you don’t want it to have to keep stirring to keep it from burning on the bottom or getting sticky.

Directions

1. Prepare the beans. For canned, drain, rinse, and measure. For dried, soak over night; boil, then simmer for 40 min. or until very tender.


2. In your large pot, add the oil, then the sausage over medium or high heat. Brown the sausage. Pour off excess fat if there is any.


3. Add the vegetables except the garlic. Sauté until onions are translucent and very soft. Add garlic and sauté another minute or two.


4. Add beans, heat through, then add the ham hock, and seasonings.


5. Add water to cover (about 5 or 6 cups), bring to a boil and then simmer.


6. Cook for at least two hours. This time is THE critical ingredient. Stir occasionally. Beans should be starting to fall apart or split.


7. Adjust salt to taste.

You can store the beans in the fridge for easily up to four days. They also freeze well. Serve over white rice.

Basil & Lime Grilled Summer Salmon

This is a great way to prepare salmon in hot weather when basil is in season.

Serves 3

Ingredients:
3 salmon steaks, about an inch thick

2 cups basil leaves, loosely packed
1 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
1/4 - 1/2/ t red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare hot charcoal grill. Low flames or just after flames.

Finely chop basil and set aside. Combine lime juice, olive oil, and red pepper flakes, s & p. Let stand for at least 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly oil and salt and pepper steaks. Place on grill for 4 minutes each side. Cover grill for second side. While second side is cooking, combine chopped basil with vinaigrette. Remove steaks, plate, and top with basil-lime sauce.

Savory Stuffed Shad

Shad's not in season now, but I cam across this recipe from a while back. It includes strong flavors in the sauce as well as the stuffing, but the robust flavor of shad stands up well with them.

serves 2

Ingredients:
2 shad fillets
2 small portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 scallions, cut into strips lengthwise
sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 T banana chutney
1/4 t curry powder
1 t rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine the sauce ingredients. Lightly oil a baking pan and lay out the fillets. For each fillet: open the cavity and brush generously with sauce, line with mushrooms and top with scallion strips. Close fish and brush outside lightly with sauce.

Bake in oven for 5 min., then move to broiler for 3 minutes or just browned.

Best Chocolate Souffle So Far . . .

I have made about 5 chocolate souffles in the past two months, changing the recipe each time. This was was by far the best--great combination of rise, intense center, and balance of chocolate. It was made during Passover so has an accommodation for what would be flour, but it turned out so well, I'd do it again this way. It's a significant adaptation of a recipe from Reluctant Gourmet web site.

Serves 6 or more

Ingredients:

3 T salted butter
3 T matzo meal
2 3.5 oz. dark chocolate bars, 70% cocoa
1 3.5 oz. milk chocolate bar
about 1 1/4 c. whole milk (I used raw.)
1 t vanilla extract
1/2 + c. sugar
5 egg yolks
7 egg whites

Preheat oven to 375

Butter and sugar a 2 quart souffle dish. Refrigerate.

In a saucepan, melt butter. Add matzo meal and toast over low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add 1 c milk, a little at a time. When heated through, turn off heat. Add crumbled chocolate and stir in to let it melt in the pan. Add 1/4 c. sugar and combine. Add more milk--about 1/4 c. to thin. Add vanilla and combine. Add egg yolks a bit at a time and stir constantly to combine well.

In a med. bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1/4 c. sugar and continue beating to stiff peaks.

Transfer chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add beaten whites and fold in quickly. Quickly transfer into prepared souffle dish and put in oven. Cook for 35 min. or until well risen--1.5-2 in. above top of dish. It was almost blackened on top when I took it out, but that was perfect. Remove and serve immediately.