MEAT AND POTATOES AND CREAM

Is there an Uruguayan restaurant of any kind that doesn't serve steak and potatoes?  And I'm talking La Vegetariana.  If you can get a coffee you can get a bife to go with it.
Today was Tuesday, and we both did some work today, but couldn't resist the afternoon sunshine and so took off and rambled all along the Rambla (thus the name) a walkway that actually continues for 20 miles along the shoreline.  Along with a detour through our favorite Pocitos neighborhood, lined with art deco buildings, arching trees, fresh pasta shops, pharmacies, and many, many veterinary emporia. 

So we stopped on the way home to pick up some chops at one of the many, many carnecerías, and just pan-fried them them with sautéed onions and red peppers on the side - along with a version of Julia's Pommes de Terre Dauphinoises (which some of you readers will recall we watched the video of on Block Island, accompanied by loud groaning.)  I had some leftover cream and was just in the mood to use it.  Mainly so I can buy more: the cream is so thick and luscious it doesn't even need to be whipped, and just begs to be consumed.

Pommes de terres avec creme á la uruguaya

2 TB butter
5 potatoes
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup light cream (I mixed heavy cream with whole milk, which may still qualify as heavy cream in Pittsburgh)
1/2 tsp. paprika
salt and pepper
parchment paper or foil

Preheat oven to 425.  Melt the butter in a saucepan, and sauté the onions on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and paprika and sauté just one more minute.  While that's going, peel and slice the potatoes about 1/8" thick.  Generously butter a 12" round casserole or baking pan, and put one layer of potatoes in the bottom, slightly overlapping - sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Scatter 1/2 of the onion mixture over it, and add another layer of potatoes - salt and pepper again.  Scatter the rest of the onion mixture and then the last layer of potatoes.  Salt and pepper, and slowly pour the cream over it - it should come up about 3/4 of the sides.  Put in the over and lightly cover with a piece of parchment paper cut more or less to size (or foil if that's all you have.)  Bake for 15 minutes, take off the paper/foil and bake for about 15 minutes more, or even more if needed, until golden on top and tender throughout. This is not a diet dish.

SAVORY CHAUCHAS

Monday - not too inspirational - actually had to work today, advising the Tepper students in the other hemisphere on their research projects.  And then met up with a librarian friend at a cafe and walked the 20 blocks back along leafy streets with old houses.  No time to shop!
So we had some bacon, green beans, eggs, potatoes, red peppers, onions.  The green beans here - chauchas - are long and flat - and are best cooked until tender.  (Actually I like all green beans cooked that way - the raw taste of crisp-tender beans is a bit harsh and then there is so much chewing! See Michael Pollan's Cooked to learn how humans conquered the world through chewing less.)   Here's a way to make the chauchas so that they taste the way they do down here.

• 1 lb. green beans (flat ones if possible)
• 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
• 1/4 lb. bacon (or cubes of ham, which you just need to crisp up)
• 1 cube or packet of chicken bouillon (Knorr's here, Trader Joe's at home)

Wash and slice off the top of the green beans and then slice into 1" pieces.  Fry the bacon in a saucepan large enough to hold the beans. I brought a porcelain nonstick one in my suitcase - knowing that Uruguayan-issue pots and pans are a thin, sad lot - and so far it's just as good as the cast iron.  When the bacon is crisp, crumble and set aside, and pour out most of the bacon fat.  Now add the garlic, and stir a bit.  Throw on the cut-up beans, pour on water just to cover and bring to a boil.  Add the bouillon cube and stir until dissolved.  Cover and continue to simmer until the beans are almost done, then uncover, stir, and keep simmering until the beans are tender and the liquid is down to about 1/4 cp. (the whole effect needs a bit of sauce.)  Mix in the bacon, and taste before adding salt and pepper - will probably not need much if any salt.

Paired with a tortilla espanola (see recipe in 1/10/13 entry, and please forgive that awful photo,) a salad of course, and for dessert, Grandma Barbsie's cake (1/9/13) - replacing the toasted coconut with a thick smear of dulce de leche over the top.

HABAS (FAVA BEANS) FOUND AT FARMERS MARKET, RECALLING A LOST TIME

And here's another flashback to 1976, when we first had these cooked with garlic, tomatoes and bacon in the old estancia kitchen of Marysa's friend Liliane, who raised cattle in Buenos Aires Province.  We picked them first from her garden.  This sounds just like one of those obnoxious French cooking memoirs - forgive me - but it actually happened and I just have to record it.  Might as well get it all out there: during that stay I also was almost killed trying to ride a horse bareback, and spent afternoons sitting under a tree reading Proust.

So when yesterday at the féria I saw the most beautiful habas - not like the sad-looking bruised ones that turn up at Whole Foods and occasionally PennMac, I had to bring them home.  And today, after spending the day wandering around the the city's weekly enormous 10-block flea market, and the Dia del Patrimonio's open historic sites like the 19th century Club Uruguay (complete with gavotte,) we picked up some bacon at the Disco (Supermarket) and started shucking the beans.  It does take a lot to produce about a cup of those adorable little green kidneys.


Recipe -serves 4:
2 lbs. unshucked fava beans (about 2 cups of beans)
1/2 lb. sliced bacon, cut in 1" pieces.
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cp. tomato puree
2 tomatoes (Roma if possible) chopped
1/2 cp. dry white wine
salt and pepper

Saute the bacon pieces in a largish saucepan until crisp, crumble or chop, and set aside.  Pour out all the bacon fat except for 2 TB., add a few more TB of olive oil, and sauté the onion for 15 minutes over low heat until soft.  Add the garlic, then the tomatoes and tomato puree, and keep simmering for 5 more minutes.  Now add the wine and another 1/2 cup of water, and simmer for another 10 or so minutes, until the tomatoes have broken up and it all takes on a sauce-like consistency.  Add the habas and the bacon - and if the liquid has boiled away, and the habas aren't covered, you should add a little water until they are - and bring to a simmer again, and keep it going for another 10 minutes until the habas are tender.  Season with a good amount of salt and pepper.

To go along, I made a simple onion risotto (a million recipes abound, and I'll put one in later also), because I was in the mood for a somewhat soupy dinner, and that was easy to do on the stove at the same time - sautéing onions and stirring for this too - and the habas are basically Italian anyway.  They go together like the partners above, tastefully.

WE'RE BACK HERE AND ALSO IN MVD - INSPIRED BY EVERYTHING, INCLUDING A CAZUELA DE ABADEJO

I don't want everyone to sigh and go away (especially Eve), so I won't get misty about the joy of having landed again in Montevideo,  but when we walked into the old-fashioned, faded, modest, hearty Danubio Azul my first night (where I first tasted their typical Uruguayan cooking 38 years ago) I didn't cry but I did order the Cazuela de Abadejo.

So completely satisfying, yummy and hearty was it (and so jealous was Reid because he had ordered something else) that I promised to copy it the next night for our Yom Kippur break fast (although admittedly we caved in and had some empanadas at 2.)  So in the late afternoon, we stopped by the nearby neighborhood féria (farmers market) to get absolutely fresh ingredients - and make this very simple, fast, healthy, and really perfect dinner dish, and a typical Uruguayan one.

• 1 lb. fillets of abadejo (Google says it's pollock - really could be any filleted white fish without skin that is about an inch thick, cut in 2" pieces)
• 1 onion, coursely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
• 1 red pepper (morrón), cut into 1" pieces
• 2 boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" squares
• about 10 green beans (the flat kind, called chauchas, though any kind will do) in 1" pieces
• 1 medium carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
• 1/3 cp. tomato puree
• 1/2 cp. white wine
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• chopped parsley - optional

In a large casserole dish, sauté the onion over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add the red pepper for another 5, then the garlic for one more.  Pour over the tomato puree and stir, and add the paprika (or pimentón if you prefer).  Add the white wine and bring to a simmer.  Throw in the potatoes, green beans, and carrot and pour on water to cover - here you can add (optional but it deepens the flavor) a chicken bouillon cube (here they are Knorr) or just salt lightly.  Cover partially and simmer until the potatoes and vegetables are quite tender - about 25 minutes?  Just test them after 20.  If it's still watery, take off the cover and let some liquid boil away.  Taste and correct for salt and pepper.  Now add the fish pieces and simmer just until they are cooked through - usually no more than 5 minutes - you'll see when they start to break up when you touch them with a spoon.  If you want to add the parsley, go ahead.  All done! Served in a bowl with bread along side and a salad (a typical one here just lettuce and watercress dressed with olive oil, vinegar, and salt.) Our bread was the long-remembered chale (challah) from the Panadería Biarritz on the calle 21.  We have maybe 20 more home-cooked dinners here but I don't think I can top this one for sheer simple satisfaction.

IS THIS CHINESE FOOD? WHATEVER, IT'S IDEAL FOR WEEKNIGHTS

I'm calling these Chinese, but how could they be, coming from an American Jewish kitchen in Pittsburgh? But ever since Reid and I became enlightened by the broccoli in oyster sauce at Joyce Chen's restaurant near MIT circa 1977 (everyone was rediscovering Chinese food beyond chow mein then) I have been trying to make something at home that at least tastes similar.  I have these two stir-fry recipes on badly stained cards in my old recipe box - they've been used a lot because they're delicious, fresh, and quick though wildly inauthentic - you'll see that they are basically 2 versions of the same thing, which I'm sure would outrage real Chinese cooks.

Before you start, put a pot of plain white rice on to cook alongside.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN (I have no idea if this is really Kung Pao Chicken, or even where it came from, but it's still yummy) (this is for 2 - double for more)

• 3/4 lb. boneless chicken, cut in 1" chunks
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 tsp. cornstarch
• splash sherry and sesame oil
• 4 dried hot chiles, wiped clean (or 1/4 - could be more if you like - tsp. red pepper flakes)
• 3 green, red or yellow peppers, cut in 1" squares
• 1/4 cp. shelled peanuts
• 5 scallions, trimmed and sliced 
• Sauce - stir together:
• 3 TB soy sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, first mixed with 1 TB water
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 TB sherry
• 1 tsp. sugar

(For all dishes like this, you'll want to have this all cut up or stirred together and at hand before you even turn on the stove.  That's actually what takes the most time - after that it's a whirlwind.)

Combine chicken with the soy sauce, cornstarch, sherry and sesame oil and stir until well mixed.  Heat about an inch of vegetable oil (I use canola) until VERY hot in a wok-shaped pan if you have it (uses less oil) but a regular frying pan is fine.  Throw in the chicken and stir fry pretty continuously for just 5 minutes or until cooked through.  Spoon out the chicken with a slotted spoon onto a plate, and discard all the oil except for a few tablespoons.  (If there is stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan, you will probably want to clean it and add fresh oil.)  

Heat the oil again, and first put in the chiles.  In a minute they will turn black - and you can take them out or leave them (but warn people not to eat them! If you use red pepper flakes, wait only a few seconds.)  Add the peppers, peanuts, and scallions and stir until cooked but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Pour on the sauce and bring to a boil while stirring - it will thicken.  Add cooked chicken and heat throughout.  Serve with the rice.  This actually tastes better when eaten with chopsticks.

CHICKEN WITH CABBAGE IN BEAN SAUCE

• 3/4 lb. boneless chicken, cut in 1" chunks
• 2 TB soy sauce
• 1 TB cornstarch
• splash sherry and sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 3 cps. of thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• Sauce - stir together:
• 3 TB soy sauce
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 TB (or less depending on whether it's hot and how you like it) Chinese bean sauce, which you get at a Chinese grocery, but you can probably find at Whole Foods.  The one I use looks like the jar at the top. Hot or not - you choose - I think hot is better in this dish. 
• 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch dissolve in 1 TB water

(This part same as above.)  Combine chicken with the soy sauce, cornstarch, sherry and sesame oil and stir until well mixed.  Heat about an inch of vegetable oil (I use canola) until VERY hot in a wok-shaped pan if you have it (uses less oil) but a regular frying pan is fine.  Throw in the chicken and stir fry pretty continuously for just 5 minutes or until cooked through.  Spoon out the chicken with a slotted spoon onto a plate, and discard all the oil except for a few tablespoons.  (If there is stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan, you will probably want to clean it and add fresh oil.)  

Heat the oil again, and put in the cabbage, ginger and garlic and stir.  Pour on a little water and cover for a few minutes to move it along without burning.  Uncover and see if the cabbage is just barely cooked. When it is, pour the sauce over and stir until it thickens.  Add the cooked chicken and heat throughout.  Serve with the rice. 

Of course in both of these you can substitute pork for the chicken, or tofu, or use different vegetables, etc. etc.  Then it will be even more inauthentic!  But your own.

One more thing:  as every dinner needs a salad, you can make a simple one of sliced cucumbers with scallions, salt, and a dash of sesame oil - or take a look through this absolutely brilliant and essential compilation of salads by (who else?) Mark Bittman, and pick any Asian one that strikes your fancy.  To the New York Times:  please never take this away!

HOW MANY CHOCOLATE CAKES DO WE NEED? AT LEAST THREE

Cake of enchantment, created by Tamara last week!

Inspired by that, but sticking to our more homely theme, here are three chocolate cake recipes from our family past, which are the home-style fairly fast kids' birthday kind - also lovable.  And maybe if we're lucky Tamara will send hers in too.

DECADENT CAKE:  Go-to birthday cake in the Andrews/Werner family.
(not decadent at all, really, but that's what they called it in the venerable Silver Palate cookbook, which in this house opens automatically to this page.  Slightly amended.)

• 1 cp. boiling water
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate
• 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract (optional)
• 2 cps. sugar
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cp. yogurt (best if full fat)
• 2 cps. all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour either a bundt cake pan or a 13x9" pan.

Pour boiling water over butter and chocolate and let stand until melted.  Stir in vanilla, almond extract, and sugar, then whisk in egg yolks, one at a time.  Separately, mix baking soda and yogurt thoroughly, and then whisk this into the chocolate mixture.  Sift flour and baking powder into the batter and mix thoroughly. 

Separately, beat egg whites with the salt until they hold a shape.  Fold them into the batter gently, a quarter at a time.  Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30 - 45 minutes, checking at 30 minutes to see if the top bounces back when you touch it, and a toothpick or thin wooden skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  When it does, it's done - cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold.  Frost when it's perfectly cool.

Frosting:

• 2 TB unsalted butter
• 3/4 cp. semisweet chocolate chips
• 6 TB heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cps. sifted powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract (or 1 tsp. vanilla)

Put all of these in a heavy saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Take off the heat and let cool until it thickens somewhat but is still warm and gooey.  Spread over the cake the way you like it.  


Next up:

:

NAN'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

This is the one my Nan always made for us, and always said "it didn't come out right!" and we always loved it of course.  It's here mainly for preservation as is Nan's fear-inspiring handwriting.

• 1/4 lb. sweet butter plus one piece (1 TB?) at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar scant
• 3 eggs separated (large probably)
• 1 2/3 cp. cake flour
• 3 sq. bitter (unsweetened) chocolate
• 1/2 cp. water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Melt chocolate over hot water in double boiler.  Cream butter, add sugar, then egg yolks, and beat until smooth.  Add melted chocolate and stir.  Sift dry ingredients together and stir in, alternating with water.  Add vanilla.  Beat egg whites until just stiff and fold them in.  Bake in a greased tube pan for 40 min.  

Frosting:

• 3 TB butter softened
• 2 cps. confectioner sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1 egg

Beat together and frost cake.

(A woman of few words - actually she was a woman of a crazy amount of words, but not about frosting.)

BUT IN THE END, THIS IS THE ONE EVERYONE WANTS:

MY SISTER-IN-LAW ALICE'S KILLER CAKE

• 6 oz. unsalted butter
• 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate chopped
• 6 eggs
• 3 cps. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 TB vanilla
• 1 1/2 cps. flour
• 1 1/2 cps. chocolate chips

Mix the cake by hand.  Preheat oven to 350. Grease 2 9" round cake pans and line bottoms with wax or parchment paper.  

Melt butter and chocolate together over simmering water.  Cool to lukewarm.  In a large bowl, whisk together for one minute the eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla.  Whisk in the butter-sugar mixture.  Stir in the flour and chocolate chips.  Pour the batter into the pans and bake for 30-35 min. (Do not overbake - actually a cake tester should not come out clean.)  Cool on racks and remove from pans as soon as cooled.  (If you are not using it that day, these freeze well if wrapped closely.)

Frosting:

• 1 1/4 cps. sugar
• 2 TB instant coffee
• 1 cp. heavy cream
• 5 oz. unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 oz. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine the sugar, coffee, and cream in a heavy deep saucepan.  Stirring, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate; stir until melted and blended in.  Add butter and vanilla and whisk well.  Chill until it begins to thicken and feels spreadable.  Spread some on top of one layer, cover with the other, and now cover the whole thing. 

At last, decadence.

SUNDAY ROAST CHICKEN

It's Sunday - time to roast the chicken that will fill your house with a delicious smell so classic that its effect is primordial.

So it is important where you get the chicken, because that counts more than technique:  as Nigella Lawson says, it's almost embarrassingly easy to do this.  My go-to place for chickens is the East Liberty Farmer's Market - every Saturday morning - right from the farmers (the valiant Kennedy family) and, more amazing, the most inexpensive chicken in Pittsburgh.  (People complain that they run out early, but if you call and reserve one, you can show up as late as 10 and they'll have it all ready for you.)

• 1 chicken (roaster or fryer), 2 1/2 lbs to 3 1/2 lbs  (smaller one serves 2 - larger serves 4)
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• olive oil or soft butter
• kosher or other coarse salt
• some kind of herb that you like, dried or fresh (I have some rosemary in a pot outside that is somehow alive and well all winter long and has been there for years.)

Preheat oven to 425.
Any pan is OK (though not glass), and if you have a roasting rack, that will help - I use a little cheap one which looks like this and is fine.

Wash and dry the chicken, and sprinkle the inside with a tsp. of salt.  Put the smashed garlic and the herbs (either sprigs of fresh ones or a tsp. of dried) inside, and (optional - makes it look better) tie the legs together with string.  With your fingers, spread some olive oil or butter over the skin.

Put the chicken on the rack in the pan on its side, and set the timer for 20 minutes.  Now take it out and turn it on the other side (dishwashing gloves are a big help here) and roast another 20 minutes.  Take it out and turn it again, this time right side up.  (All the turning crisps the skin underneath.)  Put a little more butter or oil on the top side, turn the oven down to 350, and that's pretty much it, so you can go read a book or write a blog entry.   Don't get too involved though, since you will want to baste it every 20 minutes or so with the liquid in the pan. and turn it from back to front at least once.  If the top starts getting too brown, slide a piece of foil or baking parchment over it.  Timing doesn't have to be perfect:  I find 1 1/4 hrs. for the smaller and 2 hrs. for the larger chicken will do if you like it tender and falling apart, like I do.  You can tell it's done if, when you pierce the thigh with a knife (how savage, really) the juices run clear and not pink.  Or, use an instant thermometer - 165 degrees is safe.

Now the end game:  take it out of the oven and lift the chicken onto a plate and loosely cover - it should rest for 15 minutes. While that is happening, spoon off at least some of the liquid chicken fat floating on top of the liquid in the roasting pan, put the whole pan over a burner and pour in about a cup of white wine or chicken broth or a combination. Bring to a simmer and scrape up all the bits stuck to the bottom with a wooden spoon; boil down until it's a little thicker and more concentrated - there's your sauce!  If you're a perfectionist you can strain it.  Cut the chicken up and arrange it any way you like, spoon some sauce over the top and serve the rest on the side.  You are now in your own bistro.

Of course googling roast chicken will give you a million more ideas to jazz this up - but try it this way at least once, for its knockout simplicity.  And for the last 45 minutes, do consider roasting some potatoes alongside, either those tiny ones, or bigger ones cut into 1"cubes - just use another pan that you have spooned some of the chicken fat into (oh alright, olive oil is fine also.)

COCINANDO CON EVITA

In Chicago this weekend for Eve's birthday, and of course much wonderful eating going on, but especially in Eve's kitchen, where she is taking the best advantage of her heritage and of the bodegas in her neighborhood.  So here are some of the recipes she's sharing:


CAMARONES EN SALSA DE CHILE ANCHO

• 4 ancho chiles (dried)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large can tomatoes
• 2 or 3 lbs. large uncooked peeled and deveined shrimp (depending on # of eaters)
• salt to taste and a pinch of sugar
• chopped cilantro as garnish

Use a large deep saucepan (preferably cast iron) that can hold all the shrimp as well as about a quart of sauce.  On medium heat and with no oil, toast the chiles on both sides until they are aromatic (about 5 minutes.)  Take them out and when they've cooled enough to handle cut them open, take out the seeds, stem and veins, put them in a heatproof bowl, and pour boiling water over them, to barely cover.  

Meanwhile, back in the saucepan, add some olive oil, and then slowly saute the chopped onion and garlic until translucent.  When the chiles have softened (10 minutes?) pour them and the soaking water into a blender or food processor, along with the contents of the can of tomatoes.  Blend until smooth, and pour over the sauteed garlic/onions in the pan.  Simmer for about a half hour until it's a deep rich brown, and add salt and maybe a pinch of sugar to taste.  Throw in the shrimp and simmer about 10 more minutes until the shrimp is just done. Scatter the top with chopped cilantro. ¡Listo!

This goes naturally with black beans and rice (simply cooked, because it will soak up this sauce gorgeously) and an excellent accompaniment is this Mexican-ish "green onion red cabbage slaw" (via Eve's favorite, Smitten Kitchen.)  An ideal winter in Chicago dinner.


But first, some TOMATILLO SALSA with tortilla chips -

• 4 large tomatillos
• 1 jalapeño
• 4 cloves garlic

Broil these until blackened - turn over and do the same.  (Eve did this in a toaster oven.)  Throw into a blender (or a food processor?  will have to try) and blend.  Add salt and maybe some water if it's too thick.  


And for another time - or perhaps a first course?  Eve's invention, made for a monthly potluck with friends event:

GINGERED CARROT AND PEANUT SOUP WITH ANCHO CHILE BUTTER
Makes about 10 cups - 6-8 servings?? (i doubled it for the party)

• 1 TB butter
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2 smallish white or yellow onions, chopped, about 1 1/2 cups
• Roughly 1 1/2 lbs carrots, peeled and chopped into discs
• 1-2 smallish russet potatoes, chopped into 1-inch chunks
• 2-3 TB chopped ginger (depending on your affinity for fresh ginger)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 cup peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 3 cups broth (I used vegetable)
• 2-3 cups water
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Roasted and finely chopped peanuts, for garnish
• Minced parsley, for garnish

Heat butter and olive oil in large, heavy-bottomed pot until butter is completely melted. Add onions, carrots, potatoes, ginger, and garlic, and sautee for about 7-8 minutes. Add chopped peanuts and sautee for about 2-3 more minutes. Add broth and water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 25 min. Add peanut butter, simmer for 5 more minutes, and remove from heat. Puree in blender or with immersion blender, and season with salt and pepper. Serve with roughly 1-2 tsp ancho chile butter, chopped roasted peanuts, and minced parsley.

Ancho chile butter - makes about 1/2 cup

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 large dried ancho chile
1/2 tsp sea salt

Toast the dried chile on an iron skillet until the color changes slightly, cool, and remove stem and seeds. Soak in roughly 1/2 cup very hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Remove, drain, and mince into a paste. Cream with softened butter and sea salt until uniformly incorporated.

BEFORE AND AFTER - Gougères et Compote

Dinner always benefits from something before and after.  Allons-nous!

If you want to whip up a quick appetizer (amuse bouche!), gougères are really faster and simpler than you would believe especially since they essentially the same as those intimidating éclairs and profiteroles.

GOUGERES
(This recipe adapted from the captivating French Food at Home) wherein many delights.

• 1/3 cp. plus 1 TB unsalted butter
• ½ tsp. salt and pepper
• 1 cp. all purpose flour
• 3 eggs (large)
• ½ cp. Gruyère (or swiss, or any kind you like) cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375.  Put the butter in a heavy saucepan with 1 cp. water and salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and take off the heat.  Add the flour all at once and beat until smooth with a wooden spoon.  The mixture will pull away from the sides of the pan and form a ball.  Put the pan back on low heat and beat for a minute or so to dry the paste somewhat.  Remove from the heat and let cool about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon after each addition  (It will just make clumps at first, but eventually will become smooth.)  What you want is a smooth, soft, glossy paste that falls easily from the spoon.  Stir in the cheese.  Drop the mixture by spoonfuls onto a buttered baking sheet (or definitely use parchment paper if you have it.)  Brush with some milk. Bake until puffed up and nicely browned, about 20 min.  (But check after 10 to make sure they’re not browning too quickly.)   Put on a plate and eat soon (not a problem.)

COMPOTE  (OK - you might want to have cookies or ice cream on the side - but try it straight too.)

• 1 cp. dried apples
• 1 cp. dried apricots
• 1 cp. dried prunes 
• really any other dried fruit that you like
• water to cover
• 1/4 cp. white wine
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 cp. sugar

Put all of this in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer.  Let go on for about 1/2 hr., until everything is tender and the liquid is somewhat syrupy.  Cool, and think about adding some bourbon.  Ummm, just add it.

FOOD IS TO LOVE AS SOUP IS TO...

Oh, go ahead, all you smartypants SAT takers.  All I can say is that this particular soup is simply just what you want, especially around Valentine's Day.  It's somewhat like Jesse's soup below, and another one I had put in earlier, so I was going to skip it, but you've probably forgotten them by now - and besides, this deserves a spot.  There is just something about it's complete softness, sweetness, saltiness, hotness, and aroma that is kind of perfect.

SORT OF INDIAN SOUP

• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 clove garlic and 1" of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped together
• 2 tsp. of good hot curry powder (or more to taste)**
• 2 cps. of butternut squash, peeled and in 1/2" cubes
• 2 cps. of potato, peeled (if you want) and cut into 1/2" cubes (in the soup, russets will fall apart somewhat; and yukon golds or reds will hold their shape - just pick the kind you like)
• 1 can of garbanzos, drained and rinsed (or better yet, some that you have cooked)
• 1 tsp. or cube or packet of chicken bouillon (have recently discovered Trader Joe's in packets - excellent!) (or better yet, lots of chicken stock)
• 1/2 can of reduced fat coconut milk
• 1 cp. of frozen (try to find leaf and not chopped if you can - Whole Foods has it) spinach (or better yet, a pile of washed and trimmed turnip greens)
• (optional:  if you happen to have some leftover cooked chicken, by all means use it here)
• Juice of 1/2 lime, salt and pepper

First, put the spinach in a bowl so that it defrosts a bit while you do the rest.  Then, in a soup pan, sauté the onion and pepper in canola or vegetable oil over moderate heat until they are quite soft.  Stir in the garlic and ginger, and then the curry powder, and stir for a minute or so.  Add the squash, potato, and garbanzos, stir, and then add water to cover and bring to a simmer.  Stir in the bouillon until dissolved, put a cover on, and simmer until the potato and squash are soft.  (20 min.?)

Now stir in the coconut milk, the spinach, the optional chicken, and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.  Salt/pepper to taste.  Mush up the potatoes just a little, and freshen it up with some lime juice.  Be satisfied.

**there is a terrific recipe for making your own curry powder - and if you have a coffee grinder and a co-op (where they sell spices in bulk) nearby, really a cinch - in the China Moon Cookbook, and I think Google Books gives it to you right here (click on p.7).