ROTW Week 4: Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Almonds

You've probably figured  this  out by now, but I have weird food leanings.  Not that I eat things that are truly weird, but that I wake up one morning and I say to myself something like:  This week, I must absolutely eat something made using quail eggs  or  a soup seasoned heavily with cumin and coriander or other very flavour-specific directions.  I often choose what we are going to have for dinner not based on what we actually have in the fridge or pantry, but based on whether I feel like tasting cilantro and avocado (and lets face it, that's often), or whether I feel like cheeeeeese, or whether I am looking for cooked protein I can squeeze lemon juice all over...

Basically, I am as multi-faceted about cooking as I am about most things, and equally as obsessive.

So randomly, I decided last week that it was time for cauliflower soup.  Because, why not?

And I don't even like cauliflower.

Here we go:  adapted from Gourmet, found on Epicurious.com

• 1 medium leek (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices (3/4 cup) ( I used a giant shallot instead, because I cant stand cleaning leeks.  And also I didn't have any.)
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 (2-lb) head cauliflower, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces (6 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 3/4 cups fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds

* I also added about 2 tbs dry cooking sherry, and some ground cumin, at the end.

Wash leek slices in a bowl of cold water, agitating, then lift out and pat dry.  If you're using shallots, just slice.

Melt butter with water in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat. Add cauliflower and leek and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower begins to soften (do not let brown), about 5 minutes. 

Add coriander and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add broth, milk, salt, and pepper and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and gently simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until cauliflower is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While soup is cooking, toast almonds in a dry skillet over moderately low heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 3 minutes.

Purée soup in using your method of choice (I love my immersion blender!) until very smooth. Serve soup topped with toasted almonds (additional I would recommend some fresh cracked black pepper, and very possibly some parmesan cheese.)

Serve with delicious toast, or crackers, or Tostitos Black Bean Garlic chips (which are possibly even more delicious than Tostitos Hint of Lime).

Cooks' note: Soup can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Almonds can be toasted 2 days ahead and kept separately in an airtight container at room temperature. Reheat soup before serving.

Excited!

2012 is already way better than 2011.  And 2011 was the year of my long awaited wedding.

I am super duper excited that I am going to be attending Christy Tyler's photography workshop in April!!  I've wanted to improve my dSLR skills for some time now, and I think this is just what I need.  Plus, Christy could not be sweeter, and I love the idea of learning from someone so passionate, talented, and just downright nice.

Plus I'll get to see my ladies in Chicago!!  Very very excited.

Wedding Graduates - my other half

I realized today, when I was wondering how I would feel as my grad post went up, that my groom is notably absent from the post.

That is not because I don't love my husband (although I would hope that would be obvious) and more because my post was a lot about grappling with how I felt after the wedding.  And while Brandon's thoughts and feelings were a part of that, a ton of it just had to be sorted out in my own head.  But maybe, if you wandered over here, you want to hear a little bit about Brandon too, and our story?

Brandon and I met in the 6th grade, in day care after elementary school, run by the county.  I loved his outgoing personality even then, and did some playground chasing.  When we went off to middle school, he and I had a bunch of classes together in the 8th grade, and got a tiny bit more comfortable with each other (as comfortable as an 8th grade girl and guy are ever going to be amid all those hormones...).  When we were assigned a budgeting project at the end of the year in civics, we took the leap and "got married" for the sake of the class.  Oh irony.  We had to stand up in front of the class, with an elasticized bow tie for Brandon and a fake flower bouquet for me.  Try not to be mortified for me 8th grade self - it ended up being worth it.  We danced the last dance together in 8th grade, and things seemed rosy heading into high school.

Oh I forgot, high school is hell for a reason.  We then didn't speak to each other at all for 3.5 years, and both of us focused on other things.  Senior year, we had one class together, architectural drafting, and the flirting began in earnest.  We started dating on New Years Day 2003.

We went to different universities, but we spent hours on the phone every day.  I remember my dad's outrage at my first cell phone bill.  My parents were worried I would be making a mistake not looking to meet someone else in college, but I have a stubborn streak (which I came by honestly) and we made it work.  My mandatory year in Rome came and went, and things seemed to be going well.  We had some difficult moments when I was in my final year (5 year architecture program) and Brandon had already graduated, and we ended up calling it quits for a while there.  I graduated, and accepted a job in London, and Brandon entered graduate school here in VA.

And then I was delayed getting my visa, and spent a whole summer remembering why I fell so hard for this guy in the first place.  Before I knew it, we were officially back together, this time for the long haul, getting ready for yet another stint of long distance relationship.

The rest was easy, by comparison.  I spent 20 months in London, and Brandon proposed when I was home for Christmas in 2009.  By June 2010 I was back home, and we were starting the life together that seems so natural now.

Brandon has always been so solid, which is one of the reasons we make this relationship work.  He gets me when I'm crazy, and he doesn't seem to mind.  He has seen me through pimples and awkward puberty, to my semi-adult state now, in good times and hard times.  He is always willing to apologize or accept my apology - he doesn't hold grudges, and he rarely lets things get to him.  He is a great barometer for whether something is really important, especially during the wedding planning.  If Brandon didn't care, it was probably something only important to me, and didn't matter too much.  But most of all, he lets me be my honest-to-God crazy self, taking on as much as I can handle and then some.

We've only been married 1.82 Kardashians, but we already know this works.  The wedding was really just a tiny blip on the radar of the life we hope to have together.

Hell yes that is a bid with a tiny glittery top hat!  Remind me to get the tutorial linked up here sometime.

Photos by Jenn Link Photography - offering a huge 20% off deal for APW's who book in the next 2 weeks!

ROTW, Week 3: Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti

In honour of my boy, who was a big fan of anything baked.

from Smitten Kitchen, Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti.

** Lisa, and all my other GF friends:  because this recipe is not at all dependent on having a soft/springy texture, I am positive you could substitute GF flour mix for the all purpose, and make this work.  If you try it, let me know how it goes?**

purrrrrfect with red wine, or on their own, or eaten in mass quantity.

1 1/2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
4 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (2 1/4 cups)
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
Special equipment: an electric coffee/spice grinder

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Pulse peppercorns in grinder until coarsely ground.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, 2 cups cheese, and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper in a large bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk 3 eggs with milk and add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and quarter dough. Using well-floured hands, form each piece into a slightly flattened 12-inch-long log (about 2 inches wide and 3/4 inch high). Transfer logs to 2 ungreased large baking sheets, arranging logs about 3 inches apart.

Whisk remaining egg and brush some over logs, then sprinkle tops of logs evenly with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper. Bake, rotating sheets 180 degrees and switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until logs are pale golden and firm, about 30 minutes total. Cool logs to warm on sheets on a rack, about 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

Carefully transfer 1 warm log to a cutting board and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices with a serrated knife. Arrange slices, cut sides down, in 1 layer on a baking sheet. Repeat with remaining logs, transferring slices to sheets. Bake, turning over once, until golden and crisp, 35 to 45 minutes total. Cool biscotti on baking sheets on racks, about 15 minutes.

Do ahead: Biscotti keep in an airtight container at room temperature 2 weeks.

Design: revisited

The Oatmeal, obviously.

Because he says it better than I ever could.