According to the National Resources Defense Council, an amazing 40% of our country’s food is thrown out every year. Now that you’ve digested that number, here’s another. The cost of that wastage translates to a whopping $165 billion.
Seems crazy, doesn’t it, that almost fifty million Americans do not have access to enough food every day. Seventeen million of those are children. For seniors, the number, 10% to 11%, is rising quickly. Welcome, Boomers.
If you’re wondering what this had to do with today’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice,Christine’s Simple Party Soups, here’s the deal. Dorie’s Parisian friend, Christine Vasseur, serves an exquisite hors d’oeuvre triumvirate of pureed soups. Each vegetable, asparagus, red pepper and broccoli, stars in its own soup extravaganza. Served together, in their individual shot glass and topped with a dollop of spiced whipped cream, this is sure to impress any guest. Oh, yes, three spoons, please.
Christine’s simple party soups, asparagus, red pepper and broccoli (foreground) as pictured in Dorie Greenspan’s, “Around My French Table.” Photo by Alan Richardson
Still with me? My only resolution this year is to eliminate waste in my kitchen. Since I’ve not yet adjusted to cooking for One, I either give away or toss away too many of my extras. My garbage sends me on a guilt trip. That’s why this week I decided to make only one soup, the tangy, electric-red, cream-coifed bell pepper soup variety. My Dorista colleagues will be making the additional asparagus and broccoli soups so visit them at this link.
I even cut the red pepper soup recipe in half but still managed to make three different variations of it by adding shrimp to one portion and raspberries to the other. I usedtiny canned cocktail shrimp in one. For the second, I made Chilled Red Pepper-Raspberry Soup, Dorie’s Bonne Idée She nails it when remarking, ‘the berries add both acidity and mystery to the flavor.’
Spiced cream-topped Red Pepper Soup
Because this delightful first course can be made the day before (add the shrimp at the last moment) and served hot or cold, here are my suggestions for making all three reds for your Valentine’s or next dinner party. Pour the soups into demitasse cups or tall shot glasses and let your guests – who may want to try more than one kind – decide which most tantalizes their taste buds. A conversation starter, whether in the living room or at the dinner table.
Chilled Red Pepper-Raspberry Soup
Here’s a tip. Since I enjoy a thicker soup than Dorie, more bite in each spoonful, I used a ratio of one cup of liquid to one cored and seeded plump pepper. While you can easily add liquid to any soup, it’s more difficult to add thickness.
You can find the recipes for all three soups here. The technique is simple and the same for all three vegetables. Cook each in its own broth (vegetable, chicken, or even bouillon cubes with water), bring first to a boil and then let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Liquefy the mixture in your blender, pour into the container of your choice and plop some frothy, spiced whipped cream on top. Voila!
Red-pepper with Shrimp Soup
Tonight I will finish my red pepper with shrimp soup for dinner. A FFWD week with no leftovers. Hooray, yahoo, give this gal a gold star.
French Friday’s with Dorie is an international cooking group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s “Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.”
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Pommes au Four, baked apples filled with fruits and nuts. My first thought? Who can’t bake an apple? In Iowa, when I was a kid, we picked apples at the local orchard, hauled them home and helped Mom turn them into sauce, pie, crisp, cake, salad and, yes, baked.
But readers, this is an apple like no other. In Dorie’s words, “Baked apples are less a recipe than a construction: you core some apples, stuff their hollows with dried fruits, nuts, honey and butter, and then slide them into the oven. Which fruits and nuts? It’s up to you. Cinnamon or no cinnamon? Again, your choice. Hot? Warm? Chilled. with heavy cream? No one will tell you definitely.”
I made this recipe last week-end just before leaving for California. I enjoyed it hot, warm and chilled, with crème fraîche. I even diced up the leftovers to use as a topping for my oatmeal. If you follow the recipe carefully, Pommes au Four are simple to bake and delicious to eat.
I baked my apples in Aspen but am writing this post in Cambria, my winter home for the next three-and-a-half months. Yesterday I moved into our family’s rental house and, admittedly am enjoying the roominess. Although I’ve made peace with my 940-square foot Colorado condo, this house is nice, quiet and, sorta like this week’s baked apples, a real treat.
My biggest treat, however, will be seeing my nearby family more often. In their last e-mails to me, Emma, my blond, 12-year-old granddaughter, announced that the tips of her hair are now dyed pink! Her sister, Clara, who is 10, wrote that she is negotiating with the neighbors to rent hen space in their chicken coop. To my mind, my daughter, Melissa, who is their mother, has either lost her mind or loosened her grip. I need to check in on Family Place to find out. (If it’s the latter, Ms. Clara and I are going to go purchase one great big noisy hen.)
On my first day in Cambria I spotted a herd of the normally elusive zebras, a remaining bloodline from William Randolph Hearst’s zoo, grazing in the pastures along Highway 1 near his castle at San Simeon. A good omen, for sure. Note the dry meadow. This area needs moisture. Please, Mother Nature.
If you’re interested in seeing how other Doristas peeled their apples this week? Go, here.
In our family we’re a mixed bag as far as religion is concerned. My husband, Michael, was Jewish. I am Episcopalian. My son-in-law’s father was a Lutheran minister. My daughter finds truth and power in Buddhist principals. My granddaughters attend a Seven Day Adventist school. And just recently, I’ve found hope in the writings of Pope Francis.
If there really is a limb, we’re way out there.
However, the religion and culture that has most impacted my life the past twenty-five years is Judaism. One facet of that impact, of course, is the food of observances and celebrations. Soon after our arrival in Aspen in 1988, Michael and I were embraced by the local Jewish community. I am comforted by knowing he enjoyed the retirement of his dreams here and those friends contributed mightily to that joy.
Mme. Maman’s Chopped Chicken Liver Paté
Which brings me to chopped chicken liver.
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Mme. Sonia Maman’s Chopped Liver. Although I always contributed food to those parties, I left the chopped liver to the pros. My speciality was Haroses, a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and cinnamon used at Passover Seder. I also participated in the brisket bake-offs. My arm still has the burn marks to prove it.
The chicken liver mixture spread on pumpernickel rye bread
I never had made chopped liver. Kudos to Mme. Maman for substituting a heart-healthier peanut (or, grapeseed) oil for the traditional schmaltz which is rendered chicken fat. Her recipe is simple. Cook 2 chopped onions in oil until nicely browned. Remove the onions from the pan to drain and add the chicken livers to brown also. Because I wanted a paté rather than coarsely chopped livers, I threw the onions, livers, and seasonings into the food processor and did the blitz. After stirring two chopped hard-boiled eggs into the mixture, I covered it tightly before placing in the fridge.
Although this is tasty (and, I took a bite), I realized this stuff could kill you. That’s when I called Mindy, one of my younger, health-conscious Jewish friends to ask if chopped livers graced her table and those of her friends. Her distaste for chicken livers came through humorously but loud and clear.
Vegetarian Chopped Liver, a healthier alternative and mighty tasty
“Would you like me to send you my vegetarian version?” she asked. “It’s almost, almost as good as the real thing. Whenever I make it, it’s always eaten up.”
She quickly e-mailed me the recipe, “Here we go, Mary!” she wrote. “It’s yummmmmy!!!!!”
Vegetarian Chopped Liver
Ingredients:
1 slice pumpernickel bread
1 15 oz. can Le Sueur peas, drained
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1 onion, chopped and sauteed in grapeseed oil
1/2 cup chopped, roasted walnuts
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Preparation:
Throw the bread, peas, and onions in a food processor and pulse into a mixture. Salt and pepper liberally to taste. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the egg and walnuts. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the mixture for two to three hours before serving.
In my taste-off, the peas held their own with the livers. Admittedly, because it was “almost, almost as good”, my heart has to belong to healthy.
This week, I must admit, has been humbling. During the past few days I’ve found myself on-the-hunt for my sense of humor and good will. This is not a week when I’ve felt the love from either our Dorie or Mother Nature.
Today the French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Almond-Orange Tuiles (pronounced tweel), a paper-thin cookie and perennial favorite in France. Dorie describes tuiles perfectly, “lacy, fragile, light, curved and naturally elegant.”
Heavy sigh.
Wednesday evening I mixed together the tuiles batter, consisting of sugar, flour, Bob’s Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour, orange juice and butter, for an overnight sleepover in the fridge. So far, so perfect. Thursday morning I woke up with a can-do attitude, threw on my bathrobe and charged into the kitchen to bake these treasured gems.
I noticed, however, I already had a text from Melissa, my daughter who lives in California. “I am sorry about the Aspen weather, Mom. Not to be bossy, but maybe you should stay inside today.”
I fired up my Mac and clicked to our weather link. Throughout the night the snow accumulation in Aspen had jumped to more than 14”. Not too alarming. We need the snow. The temperature? Currently registering at minus-17 degrees Fahrenheit. (For my international readers, that’s -27.222 degrees Celsius.) Baby, it’s cold outside.
Amazed but undeterred I soldiered on, precisely following Dorie’s instructions, suggestions and tips. The result? This is a cookie that fights an amateur baker like me every step of the way, from the initial hand-rolled ball to the moment it curves over the rolling pin.
I ate my tuiles with my morning coffee and enjoyed every crumb. I came. I saw. I didn’t conquer. Tuiles-la-la.
STILL LIFE: Almond-Orange Tuiles at -17 degrees and 14 inches of snow.
While I may not have excelled at cookie baking this week, I did shine in another department. Although I choose to call The Gant my home, it is really a destination hotel and resort with no covered parking. Therefore when the weather is fierce, my vehicle is brutalized. If cars could talk, mine would be filing for divorce.
Determined to make nice, I bundled up, grabbed a shovel, window scraper and spent more than an hour cleaning it. I don’t mind admitting I was quite “I-did-it–myself-proud” of the result.
These are frigid and snowy times throughout most of North America. To all my readers, not to be bossy, please take care and be safe for the next few days. Mother Nature is quite unforgiving right now.
It’s early Thanksgiving morning. I suspect many respectable cooks are already in the kitchen pouring over the plan, adding to the list and organizing theday. The result, of course, will be the tasty holiday meal expected by all the lucky guests at your table.
I am enjoying a quiet moment and my first cup of coffee. It’s a perfect time to share this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice,Sugar-crusted French Toast. Readers, give thanks.
Pain Perdu means lost bread in French. In America where we call a spade, a spade, this translates to stale. Today we’re using our stale bread for stuffing but we most often toss those crumbs away. Not the thrifty French. They turn stale into heavenly sugar-crusted french toast.
Use brioche or challah. Although I used brioche this time, I often have challah on hand. Soak either of these breads in a mixture of eggs, whole milk, heavy cream, vanilla and salt. Cook the moist bread until golden and crusty in a pan of melted butter with a generous sprinkling of sugar.
Need I say more?
Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends and colleagues. Although Thanksgiving has always been our family’s favorite holiday, today seems especially joyous.
I’m happily resettled in Colorado and have resumed a life, albeit different but a perfect now. The past few days, on my way to California, I stopped in Henderson/Las Vegas to visit old haunts and enjoy those amazing friends who befriended Michael and me for the nine years we lived in Nevada. We’ve kept in touch, as I knew we would, and I still feel an integral part of their neighborhood.
Now I am with my family in Death Valley National Park where we have spent our last five Thanksgivings. After our fancy-schmanzy holiday meal at the Furnace Creek Inn – my son-in-law wears a tie – we go casual and it’s all fun. I no longer see my kids as often (they are thriving in spite of that – who knew???) so we are making every minute count.
And, as always and everyday, I am thankful for my growing virtual community of friends. You are a gift that unexpectedly dropped into my lap three years ago. Merci beaucoup.
Life is neither simple nor easy but I’ve always believed my motor chugs along more happily if I concentrate on the glass-half-full, lemonade-out-of-lemon theory. Toss in a serving of Sugar-crusted French Toast and it’s even better.
