Roasted Potato Leek Soup

I can't believe this is my first post in over 2 months. I have completely forgotten about posting. I was really into this and wanted to be dedicated to this blog and I have totally fallen off the band wagon. I can't really think of any blog worthy recipies we have made either! Oh times have been quite busy.

Well yesterday I made a pot of soup. It has been really cold here lately and Dave is in California for the week. I am trying to get through the fridge and not shop. I'm really not a soup maker. I seem to mess it up each time. I thought I would try it without the pressure of have Dave around to critique and then I go ahead and bring it over to Kate and Walid's for dinner last night! I thought it was pretty good. I found the recipe in Back to Basics by Ina Garten. I LOVE her recipes. I of course made my own modifications to suit my likings and what I had in the way of ingredients.

5 or six potatoes peeled and cut into chunks
2 big leeks rinsed and chopped
evoo
kosher salt and fresh pepper
1/4 c dry white wine
5-6 c chicken stock
1/4 c milk
1/4 freshly grated parm

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer and toss with evoo, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 40-45 minutes turning a couple of times. Remove the pan from the oven and place over two burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of chicken stock over low heat scrape up any crispy roasted bits sticking to the pan.
In batches transfer the vegetables to the food processor fitted with the steel blade adding the pan liquid and chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large dutch oven. Add the milk and more stock if needed to make a thick soup. when ready to serve whisk in the parm.

Roast Pork with Apricot and Shallot Stuffing AKA Roasted Goodness

I just looked at the pictures saved in our camera and realized that it has been a really long time since I posted any recipes or daily tidbits of our life these past... well it looks like it has been over a month!
So lets see, I thought winter was coming but it has been really mild around here. The weather has been pretty amazing. We've been on our bikes quite a bit and have even been climbing a bunch as well. I had my season opener on the old skis last week. It was like great spring skiing in November! What else, oh I no longer work at the Raven as of 11/14. I was a little surprised but quite relieved as well. I know "hate" is a strong word but I pretty much hated working there since the sale. I use to love my job but the new owners ruined those feelings pretty quick! I am working hard at being unemployed but anxious to start working again. I'm taking some time out of the professional world and bartending and waitressing for the winter. I really feel like I need a mental break after the life of the Littles in the last eleven months. I hope this will recharge my batteries and I look forward to the new doors that may open due to changes this year. Maybe we will finally be blessed with a move in 2009! What else, Dave is working really hard back on the hill. The dogs are great! That is about it!

So this recipe... page 466 in the Yellow Gourmet

3 slices firm sandwich bread
20 or so dried apricots
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 C chopped shallots
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1 boneless pork loin (we used a tenderloin since this is what we had on hand)
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 C water

Make the Stuffing: Toast cut up bread until golden. Bring 3 cups of water to a simmer add apricots and simmer until plump. Drain well and cut apricots into small pieces. Melt butter in skillet over moderately low heat. Add shallots and cooking until softened. Add apricots and cook stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in bread, parsley, salt and pepper.
Stuff and Roast Pork: Make a pocket in the pork and stuff with stuffing. Season pork well with salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy skillet over high heat and brown pork on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer pork to roasting pan and roast until thermometer registers 150. Make sure you don't test the stuffing. This should take 40-50 minutes. Let pork rest for 20 minutes before cutting. Meanwhile, set the roasting pan over burner and add water to deglaze pan by boiling over moderate heat, scraping up brown bits. Slice meat and pour sauce over.

Fall folliage and Persian Delight

Let's just start by saying that Dave named this entry.

Let's start with the first part of this title... It may be Fall in the rest of the country but it's somewhere in the abyss between Fall and Winter in the Rocky Mountains. Mostly leaning towards the Winter side of the scale. The colors have dwindled but the ground looks really good. Whether we're biking or running I keep finding myself looking at the ground and the beautiful yellow and orange leaves. It is just so pretty. I kind of equate it to rose petals strewn all over the floor but instead of flower petals is is Aspen leaves. We don't' get the reds here in CO. like the East coast gets. I really miss those times but the Aspen trees sure make it worth while. So we woke up to 25 degrees this morning. I think my riding to work days are over. I could barely hold me coffee mug on my dog walk this morning and had to sit on my hands for like an hour this morning when I got to work. I was freezing! I did walk with my newly acquired pottery Red Sox mug. (Its just a little shout out to the win we received last night against the Angels!) Oh and one more thing. Matt and Rebekah bought their tickets to Deer Valley!!! I cannot wait for this vacation. I really wasn't looking forward to winter but now that there IS something to look forward to I guess I don't mind that Fall is becoming Winter. I have started to count down the days. Nancy, Chuck, Zoe, Dan, Rebekah, Matt, Dave (and the dogs, George & Saly) all in one house!! Deer Valley, Park City, The Canyons, Alta, and Snowbird all at our beckoning. Oh and we also have a personal chef who serves us cocktails and drinks before dinner!!

Okay, I think I have said enough about the Fall weather we are having. Let's move on the to the second part of this post:

Persian Delight... This is what we had for dinner. Page 372 in the yellow Gourmet. It was very good. I did make some changes and have noted them below. So if you are looking for the exact recipe please reference page 372. A delicious cold weather comfort.

Persian-Style Chicken with Walnut, Onion, and Pomegranate Sauce

1 large pomegranate or two
2 boneless, skinless breast of chicken
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 T unsalted butter
2 T evoo
1.5 yellow onions very thinly sliced
1 t ground cinnamon
2 C walnuts, toasted, cooled and coarsely ground in mini prep
1/2 C tomato sauce
1 1/2 C chicken broth
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 t molasses (not robust or blackstrap)

Juice two pomegranates to make a least 1/2 cup.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook on each side for 3 minutes or until browned. Transfer to plate. Cook onions on med/low heat until softened and slightly golden (about 15 minutes). Add cinnamon, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add walnuts, stir and cook for 1 minute. Stir in pomegranate juice, tomato sauce, stock, lemon juice, and molasses. Season to taste and bring to a boil for 3 minutes. Add chicken and reserved juices and simmer 20 minutes. Serve over rice.

Orzo its snowing

Once again, we had a wonderful weekend! Yesterday we worked all day blowing out sprinkler systems. I like to say we but I guess this is all Dave. His business is really taking off. We got a glimpse into the second homeowners of Summit. The houses were pretty amazing. Then we came home just in time for the rain to start. Go figure. As soon as work is done and its play time the weather turns. It didn't stop us, we got on our bikes for a quick ride across the street came home showered and headed to the the Guinles for some amazing barbecued pulled pork. It was so darn good! We got to catch up with some friends and had a very nice night. Woke up this morning to snow on the peaks and headed down to Golden to better weather for some more biking. It was the perfect temperature down there and we had a great ride. I've got a nice purple bruise to show for it on my rear end. The drive home really sucked. We knew it would be snowing at the tunnel. As soon as we hit the west side of the tunnel we started sliding down the highway for about 100 yards. I was screaming and holding on to the "oh shit handle". Dave did a very good job of keeping us on the road just in time to see a huge pile up and a mangled SUV on the side of the road. Great. Winter is slowing tightening its grip on the Rocky Mountains. Anyway, we are all fine and made it home safe and sound. After a little recuperating we started our fabulous dinner. I was a nice way to end the weekend and snuggle in for a cold night.

This week I made our entire menu out of the Gourmet Cookbook. It never fails and is always tasty. As you can see by the picture, Dave really enjoyed the Orzo!

Baked Orzo with Shrimp, Tomato Sauce, and Feta
2 T evoo
1 medium onion finely chopped (I used the mini prep)
3 minced garlic gloves
1/2 t dried oregano
1/4 red pepper flakes
1/2 c dry white wine (used chicken stock)
1 28oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 t salt
1.5 large shrimp peeled and deveined
1 pound orzo
1/2 chopped Kalamata olives
1 C give or take of feta

Heat oven to 425. Lightly oil a 13/9 baking dish.
Heat 1 T oil in heavy skillet and add onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add wine/broth boil and reduce by 1/2 about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and salt, reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened- 8 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook until just cooked through.
Meanwhile cook orzo in salted water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 C cooking water and then drain. Return orzo to pot and toss with 1 T evoo.
Stir sauce and reserved cooking water into orzo, then add olives. Spoon half of pasta into oiled baking dish and sprinkle with half of feta. top with remaining pasta and feta. Bake, uncovered for 15 minutes or until it bubbles. (Page 224)

Steak au Poivre, oolala! Oh and Carrot Cake

That's right! Yum, yum. We finished off the M&B Bertolami birthday box tonight. The fillet mignon were amazingly delicious. I wish I could say I created this recipe but I didn't. This recipe definitely has a little spot in by heart. Way back when I was like 10 or something we went to Jamaica or it may have been Antigua (I can't remember) with the entire Feshenfeld side of the family. I know I had just had my hair braided into corn rows and I sure thought I was pretty spiffy. Each night of the vacation I had chicken au Poive. Yeah, I didn't like steak back then. My brother and I just had to sit down at the table and the waiter already knew what we would have, me the chicken and Matt the steak. I'm pretty sure I had a virgin pina colada as well! Pretty disgusting if you think about it, now that I know what's is in the sauce. Butter and heavy cream. Well tonight we tried to slim it down a bit by adding less butter and a mix of half & half and milk. We used more peppercorns that it called for because we really like the spicy bite it adds. Needless to say I didn't have a blender drink but stuck with a big glass of H2O! I don't think I will post the recipe but you can find it in The Gourmet Cookbook (the big yellow book, page 426). We rounded out the meal with some red potatoes and sauteed spinach.

Oh, that's right I also mentioned something about carrot cake. Everyone knows that this is my all time favorite cake. Dave made me the best cake last year for my birthday and this year I was lucky enough to have a wonderful friend Susan make me her famous recipe. It is so good! I think I was seven when I requested carrot cake for my birthday cake. After playing some crazy and creative game my mom created to wow my friends we came inside our old house in Boxboro and sat down to cake. At seven it was either "We're going on a lion hunt or the crazy spider maze game in the front yard. Every kid can't wait until the cake portion on a birthday party. I really couldn't wait because I knew what waited, boy were my little friends surprised when they saw orange shreds in the slice cake sitting on their plate. No one touched it, they all expected chocolatey goodness not somewhat healthy carrots. Oh well, more for me!

It's a BOY!

That's right! The Allen's are having a boy! After being told "for certain" that it was a girl yesterday morning, we were told it was a boy later that night. The envelope didn't stay sealed that long. How could you not find out what was in there! Here's to a Thor not a Pammy! Congratulations Berit!

Not only is Berit wondring what the heck birthday cake is but what a baby brother is as well!

Peace, Love and Lobsters!

That was the description on our bibs tonight. Yes, bibs. Its 11pm and we just finished dinner. Actually Dave is still working on the last course. In honor of Grandma he is eating Moose Tracks. Actually Mint Moose Tracks. I don't know how he fits all this food. If I had even an ounce of room I would be eating Moose Tracks as well but I just can't. I can't even think about topping the dinner we just had. When we arrive home from work today we were greeted by a big old Styrofoam box. What the heck could this be? Come to find out it was filled with two live Maine lobsters, two fillet Mignon, a couple of crackers, little forks, butter, a lemon, our bibs and some wet naps. My wonderful, amazing and very thoughtful brother and sister-in-law were the master mines behind this amazing night. Oh they were SO good!

We figured that the last time we had lobster was right before Matt and Rebekah's wedding with my parents. Before that it was on our honeymoon in Bar Harbor. I think in three days Dave consumed 6-8 lobsters whether it be whole or tucked into a bun. Talk about a shiny chin. He may as well have been bathing in clarified butter. Gosh after seeing him eat and suck the meat out of those little legs I wasn't sure if I had made the most educated decision! I'm just kidding!

Well, this dinner was amazing and being land locked in the Rocky Mountains lobsters really made my night and for sure the start to my birthday weekend. Thank you M&B!