Broccoli & Gorgonzola Soup

I have to be honest, there are just some veggies I don't dig so much.  They all seem to fall into the same family of cruciferous vegetables: Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and broccoli.  I think it may be one of those childhood things - my Irish grandma was a wonderful baker, but when it came to cooking, her one big move was boiling.  She boiled veggies to the point where I wasn't even sure what I was eating.

So it wasn't until recently that I decided to find ways to prepare those veggies in a way that I would enjoy.  Roasting is a great way to do this.  Roasted Brussels sprouts with a little olive oil, salt & pepper is now a fave of mine.  Toss a little pancetta on top and it's hard to resist.  Roasted cauliflower with oil and curry powder takes it to a whole new level.  And then there's this broccoli soup....

I love it because you need very few ingredients - broccoli, onion, potato, garlic, broth and cheese (and many of them you probably already have at home). And they produce such great flavor that when we made it in one of my cooking classes last week, everybody went back for seconds!

Like most of my soups, I start with sautéing onions in olive oil and then add a little garlic once the onions are soft.  With this soup, I also added a chopped Yukon gold potato - this helps make the soup nice and creamy.  The potato helps me avoid adding cream since I'm going to add a big hit of Gorgonzola at the end, but if you're feeling decadent, you can add some cream instead.

Next, I add the broccoli florets - the smaller you cut them, the faster your soup will be ready to puree.  Cover the broccoli with chicken or vegetable broth - if you want to keep it vegetarian, use vegetable broth, but I find that chicken broth give the soup the little bit of fat that makes the flavor pop.

After it simmers for about 15-20 minutes, puree it in a blender. Remember that when you're pureeing something hot, you want to take the little insert out of the top and loosely cover with a clean towel, so the top doesn't explode and you end up with more soup on your ceiling than in your bowl!   Here's my new favorite tip, when you think your soup is smooth enough, keep going; give it another minute.  This is what gives it a velvety smooth texture.  Then return the soup to the pot and stir in your Gorgonzola (or Stilton or blue, whatever you like).  Taste it before seasoning - the cheese adds salt, so you may find that you don't need much more salt.  I usually end up adding a good healthy pinch (about 1/4 teaspoon).  We made wild mushroom crostini to go along with it, but even a warm sourdough for dunking works.  I think you might go back for seconds, too.....

Broccoli & Gorgonzola Soup  

Serves 6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ cups chopped onion

1 Yukon gold potato, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 ½ lbs broccoli, cut into florets

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

4 ounces Gorgonzola

Salt & pepper to taste

·         Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add onions and potato, and sauté 8-10 minutes until softened.

·         Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

·         Add broccoli and cook 5 minutes.

·         Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

·         Transfer soup in batches to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.

·         Return to pot and stir in cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Leave me a comment and tell me....what is your favorite winter soup????

Cook Happy!

Scallops in Tarragon Cream Sauce

Every once in a while I get a real craving for scallops; not sure why.  And yesterday was one of those days.  They're super tasty, but best of all, they cook up in no time flat, just about 6-8 minutes.  Got to love that.  As I always say, "I love to cook, but I love to eat even more...so I want to get to it as quickly as possible."

I've made scallops in citrus cream before, to great reviews, and now I was ready for a new spin: Tarragon Cream Sauce.

I had a big fat planter box built in my backyard a few months ago, but with our dire drought conditions here in Northern California, I don't want to plant anything until we get some rain.  It breaks my heart to look at that empty 30 foot box, so I decided I could at least grow some herbs in pots - easy to water minimally.  In addition to the usual suspects, I picked a few that I don't use often enough: sage, marjoram and tarragon.

I chose to build my scallop dish around tarragon this time....

 

 

..but I can't start much of anything without onions.  So let's get a little sweet red onion going in some butter, and throw in a couple sprigs of tarragon.

 

 

Then pour in some half and half (or cream if you're extra naughty...and not a girl newly dating - got to keep those skinny jeans happy!) and just let that simmer for about 20-30 minutes on low.

 

 

Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil in a separate skillet, and toss in some sliced cremini mushrooms and chopped tarragon and let it hang out for a few minutes.

 

 

Season your big, fat, juicy scallops with a little sea salt and pepper.  Move the mushrooms to the sides of the skillet, and add the scallops to the middle of the pan.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, getting a nice little browned searing on each side.

 

 

When the scallops are nearly done, give them a little squeeze of lemon, add the tarragon sauce to the pan and continue to cook for one more minute, tossing to coat.

 

You can serve over pasta or rice or nothing at all, but I like to serve it on a bed of baby spinach - I like the look of the added color, but really like not having to fix a salad or a veggie side to go with this!  That makes it a nearly one-pot meal.

 

I promise you, you'll love this one.

Oh yeah...and you can thank me later......

 

Scallops in Tarragon Cream Sauce

Serves 4

 

Tarragon Cream Sauce:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ cup minced red onion

2 sprigs tarragon

1 ¼ cup half & half

Sea salt & pepper to taste

Scallops:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon

1 lb scallops

Pinch sea salt & pepper

Juice of ½ lemon

4 cups baby spinach

·         In a small saucepan, melt butter and add onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-4 minutes until onions are soft and translucent. 

·         Add tarragon sprigs and continue cooking one minute.

·         Add half & half, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced.

·         Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.

·         Add mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

·         Add chopped tarragon, and continue cooking a couple minutes.

·         Season scallops with salt and pepper.

·         Move mushrooms to sides of skillet and add scallops.  Cook 3-4 minutes per side, until seared and golden brown.  Drizzle with lemon juice.

·         Remove tarragon sprigs from sauce and pour over scallops and mushrooms.

·         Serve on top of baby spinach.

 

Cook Happy!



It's a New Day!

I love January 1st because it offers all kinds of possibilities, promises and hope for the year ahead.  It's a chance for new beginnings...and I intend to take full advantage.

So in keeping with the theme of "beginnings," I'd like to share some of my favorite breakfast ideas with you.  It's no secret that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Eating it revs your metabolism and sets you up for success throughout the day, skipping it leaves you feeling ravenous later on and making poor food decisions.  One of the best things you can do for yourself, your mood and your health is to get a good breakfast into you within an hour of waking.

Here are five of my favorite ways....

Suzanne's Granola
I like to make a big batch of granola on the weekend, so that I have it at the ready when I'm pressed for time in the morning.  Store-bought granola is often chock-a-block with sugar, so I prefer to make it myself and load it up with nuts and seeds.  When berries are in season, I add them to my cooked granola, the rest of the year I add banana chips, raisins and dried cranberries (go easy on them, though, because they are high in sugar.)  You can find my recipe here 

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The Puffy Omelet
I love eggs, and usually I just scramble them with a bunch of veggies, but one day something else happened.  I started out just making my usual veggie scramble, but then I probably got distracted ("shiny, sparkly"), put a lid on the pan, and when I came back I had this beautifully puffy omelet.  My kitchen accident became one of my favorite egg dishes.  Here's the recipe-non-recipe.

 

Huevos Rancheros

When I go out for breakfast or brunch, if I see huevos rancheros on the menu, it's all over.  I don't even  bother looking at the rest of the menu.  The best I've ever had is at Redd in Yountville.  My original recipe has changed because of Redd's dish; now I dip the tortillas into enchilada sauce in a skillet to coat the tortillas...that's the trick.

 

 

Breakfast Pizza

This raised a couple eyebrows (of doubt!) when I suggested it for breakfast, and I couldn't understand why.  Who doesn't love pizza?  And why would it not work for breakfast, silly monkey?  I made my own dough, but you can use a Boboli.  A little sausage, a little gravy made from the fat (OK, this lands in my 80/20 wheelhouse!), some scrambled eggs and scallions. BOOM!  Get the recipe-non-recipe here.

 

 

Soaked Apple Oats

Doesn't get much easier than this twist on oatmeal.  Soak 1/2 cup of rolled oats in a 1/2 cup of apple cider for about 20 minutes (go take a shower and it'll be ready). Stir in a pinch each of cinnamon, freshly grated nutmeg and salt.  Add chopped nuts and seeds and whatever fresh fruit is in season.  There's no excuse for missing breakfast with this easy option.

 

 

So here's to great beginnings!  Hope you have a healthy, happy, delicious 2014!

 

Cook Happy!