A Gilt Nutmeg

There are a couple of things that make this post unbelievable.  The first is that I made cheese, a task I always thought best left to the professionals.  The second is that I made ricotta cheese and the third is that I actually liked it.  I’ve always shunned things like stuffed pasta shells and traditional lasagna because ricotta cheese is grainy and dry, but this ricotta….this is rich and dense yet somehow light at the same time, and I’m pretty sure there will be tears when this batch is gone.

All of the credit must go to SmittenKitchen, who did all the cheese-making research and figured out how to make this incredible ricotta.  And, really, it can’t get more simple to make in your own kitchen than this: heat milk in a pot, add lemon juice, leave it in a strainer, done.  Seriously, that’s it!  The only thing stopping me (aside from not realizing how simple it was) was that I never remembered to see if my grocery store had cheesecloth.  Once I stumbled across it, cheese making was on.  This is definitely one recipe NOT to be scared to make.

The last part of this post is a very very long overdue mention regarding one of the greatest food gifts I have ever received.  Last year at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Santa Monica, I was seated at dinner next to Ms. Lamamié from the Trade Commission of Spain.  She brought with her olive oil and there was a different bottle on every dinner table in the room.  I’m normally a bread-and-butter kind of gal, but she encouraged our table to try the olive oil and I don’t think I once glanced at the butter dish again for the rest of the evening.  When dinner was done, and admittedly after a glass of wine or two, I asked Ms. Lamamié if I might be able to take that bottle of olive oil home, which she graciously allowed me to do.  The olive oil was Marques De Grinon Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I have never looked back.  I have a bottle of cheaper olive oil when I just want to fry something up, when the flavor is going to be hidden, but whenever the flavor of olive oil needs to shine, like drizzling it over this ricotta, I always pull the Marques De Grinon down from off the shelf.  I thought olive oil all tasted the same, but in fact olive oils differ just like wines differ.  This olive oil is fruity and spicy in a way I never knew olive oil could be and now I truly believe it’s well worth the money to splurge on a bottle!  Ms. Lamamié warned me that you should not let olive oil sit for too long, that it does not behave like wine and deteriorates over time; you should finish a bottle in 3-6 months for the best flavor, if I remember correctly, but I just can’t bring myself to speed through this bottle and I plan to continue savoring it until the last drop (and it still tastes great).  Thank you, again, Spain, for giving me such a wonderful, eye-opening addition to my kitchen!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese
Recipe from SmittenKitchen
Makes about 1 cup

• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. In a medium stainless steel (or other nonreactive) saucepan, heat the milk, cream and salt to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring it every once in a while.  My pots have a small lip on them which makes it difficult to clip a thermometer to the side, so I have to attach it with a twist of aluminum foil hooked onto the handle of the pot.
2. Once the milk hits 190 degrees, turn off the burner and add the lemon juice, stirring only once to distribute the juice, then leave the pot sitting undisturbed for 5 minutes.
3. While the pot is sitting, line a sieve with 3 pieces of cheesecloth and set it over a large bowl.
4. Pour the milk mixture slowly into the prepared sieve and set the bowl aside for two hours.  This is separating the curds (the cheese) and the whey (the water dripping into the bowl).
5. After the wait time is up, gather the edges of the cheesecloth and very gently squeeze a little bit more of the liquid out (but don’t squeeze too hard–we want some of the liquid in there to keep it creamy) and transfer to the fridge in an airtight container.  You could eat it immediately, but it will firm up almost to the consistency of cream cheese after sitting in the fridge for a little while, which I loved.
6. SmittenKitchen’s lasts only 2-3 days in the fridge, but mine is going on over a week and still smells and tastes great, so it seems to come down to the types of milk you use–use your best “is this still good” judgement before eating.  Serve on toasted baguettes with olive oil and sea salt, or use in recipes calling for ricotta, and enjoy!

Disclaimer:  The bottle of Marques De Grinon Extra Virgin Olive Oil was given to me, free of charge, by a representative of The Trade Commission of Spain and Olive Oil from Spain, however, the opinions expressed here are my own.

Considering Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are one of my favorite cookies of all time, I had a suspicion that these crisps from The Pastry Queen might be particularly up my alley–and I was right!  These are deliciously oaty and brown sugary and (thanks to the incorrect assumption that I had corn syrup at home) full of honey flavor.  These remind me of my favorite crunchy granola bars and, truthfully, I don’t think these even need chocolate on top, which is why I just drizzled it on instead of making one thick layer of it–and when I make them again I won’t even add the chocolate.  I can’t wait to make another batch just to crumble over yogurt or ice cream!

Thanks to Missy for choosing this week’s recipe and check out the other PPQ members versions here!

Oatmeal Crisps
Yields one 9×13″ pan
Adapted from The Pastry Queen

•  1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13″ glass baking dish.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the brown sugar and honey until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes and turn off the heat.
3. With a wooden spoon in a large bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, salt and coconut; stir in the butter mixture until the dry ingredients are fully coated in the liquid ingredients.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish and, with the back of the wooden spoon, pat the mixture into a flat, even layer in the dish.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes and take the dish out to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.  When you pull the dish out, the mixture will still be liquid, but it will harden and crisp as it cools.
6. After cooling for 2o minutes, line a cutting board with wax paper or parchment paper.  Lay the cutting board over the top of your glass dish (papered side facing the cooled oatmeal mixture), then flip the pan over so that the oatmeal mixture lays flat on the papered cutting board.  With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, gently cut the oatmeal slab into bars.  The bars will be fragile and will stretch a little bit; just push them back into shape with your fingers.  If you are planning on drizzling chocolate over the bars, leave them on the parchment paper while you melt the chocolate.
7. If you choose to drizzle chocolate over the bars, set a large pot of water simmering and in a metal bowl placed over the pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate chips.  Once the chocolate is melted, drizzle it in a thin stream back and forth over the bars.  Let the chocolate cool and harden completely.
8. My only warning is that humidity will turn these bars soft, but they will still be delicious.  Store them in an air-tight container until you’re ready to eat.  Enjoy!

 A few weeks ago, my roommate told me her favorite brunch food was a Dutch Baby.  Knockawhat??  I did a double take and asked her to repeat what she just said.  I then took to the internet to make sure she wasn’t importing small children from the Netherlands to eat and instead discovered what is now one of my all time favorite breakfast/brunch items to make because a) it’s incredibly easy and b) it’s also pretty much one of the most impressive things you could possibly put on a table in front of guests, not to mention one of the most tasty.

To put it in simplest terms, a Dutch Baby is a cross between a pancake and a popover.  It’s the size of a very large pancake but it’s eggy and puffy from steam in the batter just like a popover.  The difference is that in this case the batter is sweetened or spiced and instead of serving it with Sunday Pot Roast, it’s sprinkled with sugar and spritzed with fresh lemon juice.

The reason we were even discussing Dutch Babies in the first place was because my roommate was complaining that they were hard to come by in restaurants.  I promised her I would make one for her soon and last weekend we all gathered on the floor around the coffee table and had our first Apartment 5 Dutch Baby.  Like I said, it was so easy and so deliciously sweet and tart that I’m sure it won’t be long before another one graces our brunch table–and I’ll be counting down the days until it does.

Lemon Sugar Dutch Baby
Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 4

When my sister started eating rice pudding, I was thoroughly grossed out; I couldn’t think of anything that looked more unappetizing, except maybe tapioca.  Then, a few years ago, my favorite Indian restaurant in all of Los Angeles (Anarkali, on Melrose, for those locals reading) set a little dish of rice pudding in front of me as a little complimentary sweet to end the meal with and my whole view on rice pudding changed.

Looking back, I can’t imagine why I would be turned off by a recipe that centers on my favorite spices and now rice pudding is by far one of my favorite desserts.  Dare I say, ice cream doesn’t even hold a candle to rice pudding for the cold, sweet, creamy comfort it provides.

This recipe is a little different from the normal rice pudding in that instead of using only milk, it also uses coconut milk for flavor.  It adds a gentle coconut flavor that pairs well with the vanilla bean but isn’t overwhelmingly “coconutty”, if you catch my drift.  Sprinkle with cinnamon for an additional twist of flavor and you may find yourself eating this for breakfast like I did because I just couldn’t wait until dessert later in the day!

Vanilla Coconut Rice Pudding
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic
Makes about 4 cups

• 1 1/2 cups cooked cold Arborio rice (or 3/4 cup uncooked Arborio rice + 1 cup water)
• 1 can (15 oz) light coconut milk
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out for use, or 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste

1. If you don’t have cooked rice lying around, which I didn’t, in a saucepan bring the water and rice to a boil, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for a few minutes, stirring until the water is completely absorbed.  The rice should be al dente–slightly crunchy in the middle, which will give your rice pudding more texture later.  Move the rice to a bowl and put in the fridge (or if you’re in a hurry like me, in the freezer) until it cools down.
2. Combine the rice, coconut milk, whole milk, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large saucepan and cook, uncovered, on low-medium heat for 40 minutes.  If you want it a little thicker, cook the mixture for a bit longer.
3. Let the mixture cool to almost room temperature (so you don’t heat up your fridge too much), then move to the refrigerator to finish chilling.  Serve cold with a sprinkle of cinnamon and enjoy!

While peanut butter cupcakes aren’t my favorite, I knew these would be a hit for our April birthdays celebration, so I made Jen‘s PPQ choice as well as next week’s PPQ Oatmeal Crisps to bring into the office.  Good for any sort of celebration, these cupcakes are sort of like an inside-out Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup with the peanut butter on the outside and a pocket of chocolate on the inside.  They’re topped with a peanut butter penuche icing–a term I had not known before Pastry Queen and, subsequently, Wikipedia, which says it is a “fudge-like candy made from butter, brown sugar and milk”.  Rebecca added peanut butter for flavor and I thought the rich, gooey topping was a nice change from the normal whipped buttercream frosting.  To balance out the peanut-butter-on-top-of-peanut-butter overdose, I added some bittersweet chocolate ganache on top.  You can see that the chocolate sort of separated as it ran down the sides of the cupcakes, but it still adds that little break from the peanut butter I think is necessary.  Be sure to check out Project Pastry Queen for the other members’ takes on the recipes.

Aside from adding the ganache on top, I also made these in normal cupcake tins as opposed to the “Texas-sized muffin tins” Rebecca suggests.  Other PPQ members warned against over filling the muffin tins and I concur with this advice–I filled the cups just halfway, inserted the chocolate pieces, then dabbed just enough batter over the chocolate to cover it.  The cupcakes baked up beautifully.  In addition, the batter made enough for 20 normal-sized cupcakes, not the suggested 12.

Peanut Buttercups with Peanut-Penuche Icing
Adapted from The Pastry Queen
Yields about 20 standard size cupcakes

Cupcakes

Attention Readers– The following words just came out of The Boyfriend’s mouth: “This is the best mac and cheese you’ve ever made“.  Yes, I’m telling the truth and, what’s more, I agree with him.  For years now I have been on a never ending quest for a homemade macaroni and cheese that I actually like and had yet to be satisfied until this recipe.  I’m sure my poor father’s heart has been broken many a time over the years because he loves homemade macaroni and cheese whereas I just never could get over the boxed kind.  Luckily, I can tell you exactly why I don’t like homemade mac and cheese: cheddar cheese melts grainy.  That’s it!  I want my mac and cheese to be smooth and creamy, not grainy and stringy.  My solution was discovered by wandering the Trader Joe’s cheese section for some gruyere for this recipe when I stumbled across Trader Joe’s Cheddar & Gruyere Melange.  It melts like gruyere but tastes like cheddar and with this one cheese all of my mac and cheese problems were solved!  Now add to this some sweet caramelized shallots and crisped up sage (The Boyfriend’s absolute favorite) and you’ve got yourself a near perfect mac and cheese dinner.  The only negative?  It does dirty up a whoooole lot of pots and pans, so only make this if you’re prepared for the clean up later.

Caramelized Shallot and Crispy Sage Macaroni and Cheese
Adapted from Cake, Batter & Bowl
Makes 2 entree servings, double if making for a family or if you want leftovers

• 1/2 pound orecchiette pasta
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons butter + 1 Tablespoon butter, seperated
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded Trader Joe’s Cheddar & Gruyere Melange (or 1 cup shredded Sharp Cheddar + 1 cup shredded Gruyere)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh sage

1. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat; add the shallots and sugar, stirring frequently for 18 minutes until shallots are very soft and completely golden brown throughout.  Add the garlic, stir for another minute, then set the pan aside for later use.
2. In the meantime, bring a pot of water to boil and toss a little salt and olive oil into the water; cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and set aside.
3. In a third pot (medium sized), melt the 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk the flour in.  Keep whisking until the flour-butter mixture turns golden brown, about one minute. (This is called a roux and the darker your roux the more nutty the flavor of your final dish will be.)
4. Whisk the buttermilk and cream into the flour-butter mixture and bring the pot to a boil. (Adding milk to a roux makes it a bechamel sauce; look at all the French this recipe teaches you!)  Once it reaches boiling, lower the heat and stir in the shredded cheese(s).  Once melted and smooth, stir the salt, nutmeg and cayenne into the cheese sauce.
5. In a small pan, melt the last tablespoon of butter.  Once melted and hot, drop the chopped sage in, let it sizzle for 30 seconds or so, then turn off the heat.
6. Combine pasta, cheese sauce, shallots and sage in a large bowl and mix until pasta is thoroughly coated and shallots and sage are evenly distributed.  Enjoy!

When I am making salmon for dinner, my favorite side dish to serve with it is whipped potatoes.  To me, nothing beats the soft, buttery potatoes in contrast to the flavorful, flaky fish–pair it with a simple salad and I’m in fish heaven.  While I love salmon, I’ve never been a huge fan of salmon croquettes because the binders (crackers, bread crumbs) were overbearing in flavor or unappealing in texture; the fish just always seemed to get lost.  Imagine my delight when I found this recipe for salmon croquettes that used mashed potatoes as a binder!

The texture is certainly a bit more delicate than your average croquette, but these croquettes put me right up there in fish heaven again and I’m so glad I’ve found this recipe.  Instead of an overwhelming breadcrumb flavor and texture, you get those wonderful mashed potatoes and flaky salmon mixed in with fresh dill, lemon zest, and scallions.  Even better, there’s a dill Dijon mayonnaise that pairs with it and, long story short, I will be happily eating these for days to come.  For those big eaters out there, I know the above picture looks like a pretty light meal, but these are surprisingly filling!

Pan Fried Salmon Croquettes
Adapted from Bon Appetit
Makes 12 medium sized cakes

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 3/4 pound salmon fillet, preferably sockeye
• olive oil for brushing
• 1 1/2 lbs russet potatoes, diced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (my secret: instead of chopping with a knife, I just use scissors and cut it over the bowl)
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• lemon zest from 1 large lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• black pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying

1. Combine the mustard and mayonnaise in a small bowl.  Measure out 1/3 cup of the mixture for the croquettes and refrigerate the rest for later.
2. Brush the fish with olive oil and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 12 minutes.  Set it aside to cool and in the meantime…
3. Cover the diced potatoes with water, sprinkle some salt in, and boil until tender.  Drain the potatoes and let cool; mash them or use a stick blender until smooth.  (When I used the stick blender they got a little sticky and gummy, but I figured this was fine considering they were being used as fish glue).
4. Remove the skin and any bones from the fish, move it to a medium bowl and using two forks, flake it into large pieces.
5. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, salt, egg, dill, scallions, lemon zest, cayenne pepper, paprika and black pepper.
6. Fold the Dijon mayonnaise mixture and salmon into the mashed potatoes mixture until thoroughly combined.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper.  Spoon (I used an ice cream scoop and it worked perfectly) the mixture into 12 even portions onto the prepared baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and put the sheet into the fridge.  You want to leave them in the fridge for at least an hour; I fried up a few for dinner that night and left the rest in the fridge overnight and they were great for dinner the next night, so prepping all of this the night before will mean a super fast dinner the next night.
8. Heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pan and add 3-4 cakes, flattening or shaping them into rounds as necessary (err on the side of more oil rather than less, as I found that the cakes stuck to the pan a bit when I used less oil).  Fry until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes on each side.  I put the lid on the pan while I waited, to cut down on grease splatter and ensure that the cakes were hot enough to fully cook through.
9. When ready to serve, add about a Tablespoon of lemon juice (I just squeeze a quarter of a lemon in that I had lying around) and any left over fresh dill to taste to the Dijon mayo sauce and serve the cakes with a lightly dressed salad.  Enjoy!

Up next to try: freezing the patties for a super quick dinner down the line and seeing how these turn out if I were to bake them instead of fry them.  Trust me, it won’t take long for me to get around to these again!

It’s still Passover so I’m not too too late with this holiday approved dessert, I think.  Between all of the coconut macaroons and flourless chocolate cakes that come out this time of the year, this combo seemed like an obvious (and delicious) choice–and contrary to many holiday desserts, this one is so incredibly easy I could hardly believe it!  It only has 4 ingredients and takes practically no time to complete the steps, which was a major relief because those Hot Cross Buns put a temporary curse on my kitchen.  Nothing was working and after I ruined the lime creme I was making to fill coconut macaroon tart shells, I was sure I was going to have to go back to the grocery store at 10pm (typical me scenario) to get ingredients so that I could produce something (anything) for today’s post.  Then the kitchen fairies came out and, knowing I needed 8 oz of bittersweet chocolate for this recipe (which I already had the coconut for), I found a 4 oz bar of bittersweet chocolate and exactly 4 oz of bittersweet chocolate chips leftover from a previous recipe.

This recipe produces a crisp coconut macaroon “crust” and a creamy dense chocolate filling that will be perfect with a little bit of whipped cream to lighten it up.  While it is appropriate for Passover, since it is has no flour in it and is unleavened, I think this pie will be welcome at anyone’s spring table.  Chag Sameach!

Coconut Chocolate Pie
Adapted from Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts

For the crust

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 bag (about 14 oz) of shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse about 1/3 of the coconut and butter together until well combined, 1-2 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut-butter mixture with the rest of the coconut and stir well until mixture is cohesive.
4. Press the coconut into a 9″ pie plate so that it forms a crust and bake for 10-15 minutes.  If the edges start to brown too much, cover them with some tin foil.
5. Once golden brown, move the crust to a wire cooling rack and let it cool completely before filling with the chocolate (this will allow the crust to crisp up first).
6. While the crust is cooling, bring the heavy cream to boil in a small saucepan.
7. Put the chopped chocolate into a medium bowl and pour the boiling cream over it.  Let it sit for a few minutes then whisk until it is smooth and no streaks of cream remain.
8. Pour the chocolate into the tart shell and let it cool before moving it to the refrigerator to set completely for another hour or so.  Enjoy!

So I have to admit something to you: these hot cross buns for Good Friday this week didn’t turn out the way I had hoped.  And since this blog is supposed to be inspirational, I want you to know that it’s okay to mess up in the kitchen as long as it’s in the spirit of trying something new.  For some reason, my cooking nemesis is yeasted bread and rolls (and meringue, but we’re slowly, cautiously becoming friends) and I will not give up until I get it right.  I don’t know what the problem is, be it too much flour or not enough flour or rising temperature or sub-par kneading skills, but my bread almost always turns out heavy and dense.  The only yeasty bread item I’ve ever made to satisfactory standards (and delicious standards) was my Fat Tuesday King Cake.  Once I save up a few pennies, I think I’m going to take a class on yeast breads just to make sure I understand the proper technique .

At least with these buns, I know what a big part of the problem was–I was softening butter in the microwave and completely forgot to take it out and add it to the dough.  Oops.  Oh well.  I also don’t have a stand mixer or bread machine so I may not have kneaded long enough.

I’ve posted the original recipe from King Arthur Flour below for you to try yourself.  I will say that, though the texture wasn’t right (again, my fault), the flavor is delicious.  Instead of raisins, currants, and all the extra dried fruit, I stuck to just a 1/2 cup (I made a half-recipe) of rum-soaked dried cranberries; it went beautifully with the spices in the buns and the whole house smelled like my favorite tiki bar– the scent of spiced rum was hanging in the air in an exotic way.  The boyfriend admitted these buns weren’t my best effort, but then he ate three of them, so I clearly got SOMEthing right and I think it was those flavors.

Hot Cross Buns

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Makes 12-14 buns

• 1/4 cup dark rum (or apple juice)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1 1/4 cups milk, room temperature
• 3 large eggs, 1 separated
• 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 4 1/2 cups flour

Glaze

• 1 tablespoon of milk + the egg white from the egg separated above

Icing

• 1 cup + 2 Tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 teaspoons milk, or “enough to make a thick, pipeable icing”

1. Lightly grease a  9 x 13″ pan.
2. Put the rum and cranberries in a bowl and let them soak for about a half hour.  If you don’t have the time to wait, put them in the microwave for about a minute and then let them cool before adding them to the dough.
3. Mix together the rest of the bread ingredients except for the fruit and knead in a stand mixer or bread machine until soft and elastic.
4. Add the cranberries and any rum that wasn’t soaked up to the dough and mix until incorporated.
5. Let the dough rise for an hour.  KAF warns, “It should become puffy, though may not double in bulk.”
6. Divide the dough into 12-14 billiard ball sized pieces and arrange in the prepared pan.
7. Let them rise for another hour, until the balls are touching.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees in the meantime.
8. Whisk together the tablespoon of milk and the egg white and brush over the buns before baking.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown; let cool on a wire rack.
9. Whisk together the icing ingredients and pipe them into crosses over each bun.  Enjoy!

Here I was, on a Friday afternoon, pondering where my next week of blogging might go, when it occurred to me to  check the calendar.  And boy howdy am I sure glad I did, because I had no idea that Easter and Passover were only a week away!  Of course, the blog week took shape very quickly thereafter and the first holiday cooking I’m tackling is Easter.  I wanted to do something “appropriate” (spring…bunnies…you get the idea), but I did Carrot Cake  a few weeks ago for Project Pastry Queen and I wasn’t yet ready to blog about the traditional ham or lamb, so I had to get creative.

Wanting something a little out of the standard Easter fare, I was delighted to stumble across this recipe for Carrot Vichyssoise.  Vichyssoise is a potato leek cream soup served cold and this variation brings carrots to the mix, which adds a lively flavor and color to the soup.  I thought it might be hard to enjoy eating cold soup, just because hot soup, no matter the weather, is one of my favorite things in the world, but this soup is filling yet light and refreshing at the same time and the cold didn’t bother me at all.  It will be a fantastic part of your Easter supper and, if you just can’t deal with the cold, it’s great hot, too.  The Easter Bunny will be pleased!

Carrot Vichyssoise
Adapted from Whole Living
Serves 6

• 3 large leeks (about 1 1/2 lbs), white and light green part sliced into 1/4″ pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs), peeled; 3 diced, 1 set aside
• 5 large carrots (about 9 oz), peeled; 3 sliced, 2 set aside
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups whole milk
• chives for garnish

1. Add about a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a large pot and turn the heat on to medium-low.  Add the leeks and garlic and cover with the pot lid, cooking for about 15 minutes.
2. Add the diced potatoes, sliced carrots, chicken broth, water, salt and pepper.  Bring the pot to a boil and then turn the heat down so it’s simmering for 20 minutes.
3. Once the vegetables are tender, turn off the heat, stir in the milk, and either transfer the mixture to a blender, or use a stick blender right in the pot to blend until smooth.
4. Let the soup cool (I transferred it to a large glass bowl to speed the cooling along), then move it to the refrigerator to chill.
5. While the soup is chilling, set a small pot of water to boil and make a small bowl of ice water.  Grab that last potato and the 2 extra carrots and slice them into small matchstick shaped pieces about 2 inches long
6. Boil the matchstick potatoes and carrots for 3-4 minutes, until just tender (you don’t want them too soft) and then drain the pot.  Add the carrots and potatoes into the ice water to stop them from cooking any further.
7. When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the potato and carrot matchsticks and the chives.  Be sure to share some with the Easter Bunny and enjoy!