Heating Things Up From The Inside Out

There is nothing like a freezing stormy day that adds to the atmosphere of cooking up a great pot of soup. I just love brewing up a hearty soups and when the wind is blowing hard enough to rattle the windows it inspires me to create a soup that will warm you right down to your toes.

This weeks recipe is for our Roasted tomato and Pesto Bisque Soup. Now don't let the term bisque scare you. This recipe was created to pack in the flavor and bulk up the soup without adding tons of cream.

Roasted Tomato & Pesto Bisque

5 lbs of ripe Roma Tomatoes or you can use cherry tomatoes if you wish
2 large carrots
1 onion
8 quarts of vegetable broth
2 cups of half and half
1 quart of tomato juice
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 bay leaves
Kosher Salt
Coarse black pepper
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 cup of basil pesto (pre-made is ok)


cut your tomatoes into quarter pieces, removing the core.
spread in a cookie sheet and coat with oil, then salt, pepper and garlic.
place in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes or until caramelized.
remove and set aside.

mince your carrots and onion in the food processor.
Do this by pulsing until they are finely minced but not made into liquid

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil and unsalted butter in the a heavy bottom stock pot.
Add minced onion and carrot and saute until soft.
Sprinkle your flour over the sauteed veggies and slowly add in your
vegetable stock and tomato juice.
Add your caramelized tomatoes and bay leaves, let this simmer on the stove for 30 minutes.

Remove your bay leaves, then using your stick blender, blend the soup until smooth.

At this point taste your soup and salt and pepper to taste.

Take your 2 cups of half and half pour it into a cup and add some of the hot soup, as to temper
the cream so it will not curdle.
Now stir the half and half into the remainder of the soup.

This soup should be creamy and smooth but not thin.
Some tomatoes are juicier than others, if you find at this point
that your soup is too thin, prepare a simple butter and flour roux in a sauce pan
and add this to your soup to thicken it up to your liking. Do not boil your soup once you
have added the cream to avoid it separating.

Ladle the soup into a bowls and drizzle the pesto into the top.

This soup is striking to look at and amazing to eat!

enjoy!

If your feeling ambitious, cut up some leftover bread into small chunks
toss in a bowl with oil, parmasan cheese and salt and pepper.

Place in oven or fryer to create some great croutons.
Drop a few into your soup.

Community of Cooking in Delmar

I love my job and all the opportunities it presents to be part of my community. People come in an share their lives with us. Food seems to just have a way of involving us into people celebrations, holidays, happy times, sad times too. Often, when someone has a loss, folks come in and ask us to create some meals that provide a bit of comfort.

It is one of the benefits of this business that I never expected. I have lived in my home for over 15 years and sad to say I know very few of my neighbors. Here in Delmar, I feel like I  have been blessed with a community that knows my name, gets my sense of corny humor and appreciates and reflects back to me my passion for food and flavors. Not only do they buy my food, but they share their cooking styles, experiences and recipes. Some times I am even lucky enough to have a customer bring me a taste of the things they have cooked. Many times when catering a party, people will give me treasured recipes and ask me to recreate them.

I had one customer come in and ask me to create a beef bracioli using raisins, olives, cheese and pignoli nuts, then simmer it in a tomato sauce. (For those of you who are not familiar with bracioli, it is a piece of flank steak, pounded flat and stuffed with all sorts of ingredients then rolled and tied and placed to simmer in sauce.) I had never made one this way before, seems like each Italian family has its own way of stuffing these. I was a wreck thinking that this was just going to be a disaster. Instead when this gentleman came to collect his order, he was so anxious to eat it that he opened it up and ate a piece on the spot. Tears came to his eyes, no, not from my cooking, but rather the memory of his grandfather. You see, for a moment he could conjure up his long lost "Papa" and remember what it was like to be in his kitchen. Cooking, food, family, friends...they are all connected.

Think about how often food has brought you and your loved ones and neighbors together.
How will does food and cooking effect you and bring you a sense of community this week?

Bracioli - My Grandfathers Recipe 


          2 lbs of flank steak
          2 cloves of minced garlic
          1/4 cup of chopped flat leaf parsley
          1/4 cup of grated parm cheese
          1/4 cup of bread crumbs
          Salt and Pepper to taste



Pound the flank steak between two sheets of plastic wrap, until thin but not broken

Salt and pepper the meat

mix the the remainder of the ingredient together
and spread it over the meat
roll the meat tightly and with butchers string tie into little bundles.

When preparing your tomato sauce sear the meat bundles in oil and remove.
Add all your sauce ingredients and put the meat back in and simmer until your sauce is done.


enjoy!

It's Greek to Me!

Maybe it's the cold, maybe its about being home bound, but these days my thoughts are turning to dreams of Greece, therefore my menu has been sprinkled with Greek dishes.
I thought I would share my Moussaka recipe. Seems like our customers like my recipe. I use beef instead of lamb, you can use either.

1  28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes,
   undrained
4 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. ground beef or lamb
1 tsp. cayenne
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. ground ginger
1⁄4 tsp. ground allspice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper,
   to taste
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, cored,
   and finely chopped
1 cup red wine
1 1⁄2 cups canola oil
1 1⁄2 lbs. eggplant, cut crosswise
   into 1⁄4"-thick slices
1 large russet potato (about 1 lb.),
   cut crosswise
   into 1⁄4"-thick slices
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
1⁄2 cup flour
2 1⁄4 cups milk
1 bay leaf
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1⁄2 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 egg yolks
1 cup grated Parmesan

1. Purée the tomatoes in a blender and set aside. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a 6-qt. pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb, cayenne, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and salt and pepper and cook, stirring to break up the meat, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer lamb or beef to a large strainer set over a bowl and drain; discard any liquid left in the pot. Return pot to the heat and add the remaining olive oil along with the garlic, onions, and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost evaporated, 10-15 minutes. Add the reserved tomatoes, and meat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and set meat sauce aside.
2. Heat the canola oil in 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the eggplant slices and fry, turning occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer eggplant slices to paper towels. Working in batches, add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 5 minutes, and transfer to paper towels.
3. Make a béchamel sauce: Melt butter in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, until pale and smooth, 2 minutes. Whisking constantly, add the milk in a steady stream until incorporated; add the bay leaf and cook, whisking often, until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and discard the bay leaf. Let sauce cool for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt and egg yolks and whisk into sauce until smooth.
4. Heat oven to 400°. Place the reserved potato slices in the bottom of an oval 3-qt. baking dish (or two 1 1⁄2-qt. baking dishes) and season with salt and pepper. Put the eggplant slices on top, season with salt and pepper, and then cover with the meat sauce. Pour the béchamel over the top of the meat sauce and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle Parmesan evenly over the top and bake until browned and bubbly, 45–50 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
SERVES 12