Soups for Spring

Believe it or not, soup is one of my favorite Springtime dishes. I know, I know. "Soup?" you say. "In 75 degree weather? Soup is a winter dish. Soup is for cold rainy days or two feet of snow. Soup is not for Spring! You have finally gone off your rocker completely, haven't you. Soup in Springtime..."

Trust me, nay saying reader. Soup is perfect for spring.

Now, in a way, you have a point. The big hearty soups - your potato soups and wall street stews and clam chowders - really are better suited for the cold winter months. But, there is an entire world of lighter, brighter soups, even cold soups, that are easy, don't require a lot of time, and are absolutely delicious.

The two standard bearers of the Cold Soup brigade are vichyssoise, which is basically a cold potato leek soup, and gazpacho, a traditional Andalucian dish of pureed tomatoes, fresh vegetables, garlic and chiles. Both are delicious and really introduced the concept of the cold soup to the world. However, these are just a starting point. In my opinion, the greatest thing about summer soups and cold soups is the unusual combinations of flavors that you find. My two favorites at the moment are strawberry rhubarb soup and cucumber-avocado soup. Both are so refreshing and incorporate my favorite things about spring: fresh produce and bright, exciting flavor. Potatoes and squash are great, don't get me wrong, but they simply cannot compare to tomatoes and avocados and strawberries. God I love Spring.

Since I am finished with my effusive praise of the season (for now), we get down to business. Hardware is very important when it comes to cold soups. Beyond your usual saucepans and ladles, you need two things: either a food processor or one of those heavy duty ice demolishing blenders and a fine mesh sieve. A lot of cold soups are smooth; something that is hard to achieve without a food processor and a sieve.

Now, I know what you're saying. "Cold soup? That is definitely not my thing." Fear not! You can still enjoy the wonderful world of Spring soups, hot or cold. The key?

Lime. ALL things in life are improved by the presence of lime, and really, what says warm weather and bare feet more than the deliciously succulent tang of fresh lime? As long as you keep with the theme of fresh, bright ingredients, there's absolutely no reason why you can't have soup, and enjoy it, year round.

Because I have been a bit of a slacker with the posts, today you get two recipes: one hot soup, and one cold soup. The hot soup is a personal favorite, a Thai Chicken soup. It has coconut milk, lime, and cilantro and is perfect for the cooler, rainier days of April. The cold soup is Strawberry-Rhubarb soup. It is delicious and divine on a warm Sunday picnic. Make one, make both, and make sure to take advantage of the joy that is good soup!

Strawberry Rhubarb Soup

1 pint strawberries, washed and hulled
1 pound rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
1/2 cup superfine sugar or splenda, or to taste
1/4 cup mascarpone cheese for garnish
3 tbs mint, for garnish

Place the strawberries, rhubarb, and orange juice in a large pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the rhubarb is soft. Remove the pan from the heat and add the sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Taste the mixture and add more sugar if desired.
When the mixture has cooled, puree in a food processor. Pass the puree through a fine mesh sieve. This is very important, because the soup looks a little bit like insides if you don't.

Refridgerate for 4-6 hours. Serve with mascarpone and mint.

Thai Chicken Soup

3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken meat
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
4 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Cut chicken into thin strips and saute in oil for to 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken turns white.

In a pot, bring coconut milk and chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat. Add ginger, fish sauce, lime juice, cayenne powder and turmeric. Simmer until the chicken is done, 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with scallions and fresh cilantro and serve steaming hot.

Enjoy!

I <3 Richmond

About once a week, I am reminded why I love Richmond. Sure, the town is tiny - I can't go ANYWHERE without running into someone who knows me or someone I know - but there are some things that really can only happen here.

Case and point: Yesterday, I was going with my roommate to pick up sushi from the takeout place on Main Street. We're stopped at a stop sign and I look out my window to see two guys, probably around 18 or 19, with three bicycles. One of the guys is trying to arrange the extraneous bike on his shoulder so that he can ride his bicycle while carrying it. Rachael looks at me, I look at her, and we both look at these guys. Now, this is in The Fan. The roads are extremely narrow and, because of all the parallel parking, visibility is not so great around corners. I had visions of maimed undergrads dancing in my head for sure. So, I roll the window down and say, "do you guys need some help?"

5 minutes later, I have a bicycle stuffed into my beetle and I am on my way to VCU campus. Only in Richmond is the answer to that question, "Well.... yeah."

It was an interesting evening, to say the least.

The thing that I guess I love about Richmond, and that this story illustrates, is that there is a sense of community to this place. My downstairs neighbors comment on my cooking (particularly when I make Indian) and borrow soy sauce. The guy who lives behind me knocks on the door to let me know I've left my laundry in the dryer (again). The people are nice, the place is cozy, and it is, truly, my home.

Besides, it has great restaurants.

Growing up here, my mom (who is very Southern), always quipped that Virginia is NOT truly Southern because they eat oysters. And, compared to Tuscaloosa, AL, we're not. Take that or leave it. Community, though, isn't a uniquely Southern or even uniquely rural phenomenon. I think it can occur anywhere, and it does.

I think that today, in honor of the community spirit, I'll post my mom's famous cornbread recipe. Keep in mind, this absolutely requires a cast iron skillet, preferably one that belonged to your grandmother, to turn out properly.

Mom’s Cornbread

1 stick butter

1 cup self-rising cornmeal MIX

½ cup self-rising flour

½ cup evaporated milk

Water till very moist

Preheat oven and 1 Qt cast iron skillet with butter to 350 degrees.

Blend cornmeal, flour & milk, add water until very moist (better too wet than too dry). When butter is completely melted in the skillet, add most of the butter to the batter. Mix very well. Pour batter into VERY hot skillet.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Immediately turn out onto plate with knife under cornbread to prevent condensation from making bottom of cornbread mushy.

Cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy, y'all!

Anywhere But Here

Ever since college graduation, my best friend, Carrie, and I have played this game we call Anywhere but Here. The premise is simple and pretty self-explanatory: as we were (and are) working mind-numbing Jill Jobs, we would send emails back and forth with pictures of places we'd rather be and the glorious food we'll eat when we're there. For example:

"Anywhere but here, I am going here: http://www.southwestrooms.com/palm-springs-hotels/caliente-tropics-resort/caliente-tropics-resort-images/caliente-tropics-resort-lobby.jpg I think I'll have Lime-chili shrimp kabobs over brown rice." ~ Me.

“In the grand tradition of anywhere but here, I am going here and having a cup of rooibos tea, a lovely salad and reading my book in the rain” ~Also Me
















"I am going here and having a picnic with this and a glass of red wine while also reading my book (which is a book about the supreme court).” ~Carrie
















Carrie even bound a bunch of our Anywhere but Here recipes in this gorgeous cookbook for me this Christmas as a gift. Super cool.

Well, because of a lot of things, I am thinking about taking a culinary vacation next summer. If all goes well, my Real Life Anwhere but Here will be this, a culinary tour around Rome and Tuscany…. In a Ferrari. I mean, Italy, cooking, and cars, all in one trip?! What more can a girl ask for???

In honor of the grand tradition of vacations and Anywhere but Here, I’m posting the extraordinarily simple and ever delicious Insalata Caprese. Like most Italian cooking, the key is the ingredients: the fresher, the better.

Insalata Caprese

1 cup fresh whole-milk mozzarella, sliced thin
2 large, ripe beefsteak tomatoes
1 bunch fresh basil, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive Oil, to taste

Season tomatoes with salt and pepper, then layer tomatoes, cheese, and basil on a large plate. Drizzle with good olive oil. Serve with crusty Italian bread or by itself.

Enjoy!

Music, Mood and Food

I have a very close relationship with my family. That's not to say we're not human - of course we have rough patches. Who doesn't? - but, even at 25 years old, when I need to talk, my mom is usually the first one to hear about it. Part of the closeness, and really some of the craziness, comes from our shared love of music. Music, to us, is our shared language, our shared passion, and one thing we agree to appreciate and never agree on.

Really, it all started with Dvorak.

In 1893, during a three year stay in the United States, Antonin Dvorak wrote his 9th, and probably most well known, symphony entitled "The New World." He was interested in the themes, nuances, and idiosycracies of local American music, particularly that of the African- American and Native American communities of the time, and tied a lot of those ideas into this enormously popular piece. He has been quoted as saying, "I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them."

Growing up, this piece was (and is) the Family Theme Song. From this beautiful and passionate composition, and my parents' boundless enthusiasm toward it, the music seed was planted and bloomed to create two professional musicians (my brothers are a violinist and cellist) and one avid music enthusiast.

These days, Dvorak and a few other great composers -Beethoven, Shostakovich, Schubert - are where our common ground as a family regarding music really begins and ends. I like to think I have the widest and most accepting view of music, and what good music really is, of the five of us. That doesn't mean I'm not a snob. I am just less of a snob. I know that, when you ask a person what kind of music they listen to, the response 98 times out of 100 is either, "Oh, I listen to everything!" or "Everything but country."

I really do listen to everything, even a little country.

Because music has such an ability to affect my mood - Ella Fitzgerald on a lazy, rainy Sunday, Hot Hot Heat when I'm working, Incubus when I am driving, Debussy when I need to sleep - I listen to certain songs or playlists when I cook. Etta James' "At Last" is the perfect chocolate-espresso souffle song. At the risk of getting too specific, I'll give my genre list for culinary awesomeness:

Rap metal (i.e. Linkin Park): Shrimp, scallops, other shellfish. Anything that cooks on very high heat very quickly

Big Band (i.e. Frank Sinatra): Grilling or Breakfast. I always think of a romantic weekend breakfast when I hear Etta belt out "Sunday Kind of Love."

Ethereal Prog Rock (i.e. Radiohead): Rice in a rice cooker, with something that requires a lot of chopping, like a stir fry or goulash.

Mid-tempo rock (i.e. Jimmy Eat World): Anything with citrus, coriander, or cilantro. Mid-tempo is usually bright, a little more optimistic, and reminds me of picnics and summer. Also, femme-pop, like older Nelly Furtado or Esthero, evokes similar culinary stylings. Don't ask me why.

Good Stuff (i.e. whatever your favorite is. For me, Incubus, Muse, and Alanis Morrisette) Culinary Therapy and Comfort Food.

Classic Rock (i.e. The Beatles): Whatever Mom used to make. Or Italian Food. Your Choice.

I use the, for lack of a better term, "mood altering" affects of music to enhance the stress relief, relaxation, and social joy I derive from cooking for myself and others. Just like the perfect song on windows-down spring drive can improve two weeks of rain, perfectly seared tuna steak can clear off any bad day blues. And when I hear that perfect song with that seared steak? That absolutely makes my life!

In honor of Spring, seasonal cuisine, and that perfect song, I am posting my glorious Orange Glaze Salmon. It's so bright, refreshing, and made for eating on a patio.

Orange Glaze Salmon

2 pounds salmon fillet
1 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger root
2 tbs. cornstarch
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Whisk orange juice and cornstarch together, then place mixture in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Cook and stir 10 to 15 minutes, until reduced by about 1/2 and thickened. Remove from heat, and allow to cool.

Stir balsamic vinegar and ginger root into orange juice.

Place salmon fillet in a medium baking dish, skin side down. You can line it with wax paper or aluminum to make cleanup easier. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover with 1/2 the orange juice mixture.

Bake salmon in the preheated oven 10 to 15 minutes. Brush with remaining marinade, and continue baking 10 to 15 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork. Serve with steamed rice or naan.

Enjoy!

Zen and the Kitchen

I know I have mentioned it before, but cooking is my biggest form of stress relief. Give me my iPod and a spatula and I am more at home, haha barefoot in the kitchen, than anywhere else in the world. I've had more than one roommate who loved when I came home after a really bad day, because she knew that dinner would end up being spectacular.

I'm not sure if it is the temper-cooking or just my nature, but in recent years, I've become a lot more creative in the things that I make. Take the photo on the site, for example. Those tropical fruit pastries were the product of two things: my inability to eat sugar and a very long day. It's really nice to have a creative outlet, where I can make something that makes me, and everyone else, happy.

By popular demand, the recipe for the tropical phyllo pastries.

Tropical fruit phyllo shells

Each of the fruit is diced and seeded:
1 mango
2 starfruit
2 kiwi
1 pint strawberries
1 pineapple
1 blood orange

**** be prepared to be STICKY. A lot of the fruit is really juicy and makes a mess when you’re cutting it. Also, you want to wikipedia the right way to pit a mango, because it’s a pain. If you use canned pineapple, make sure you drain it completely. *****

2-3 packages of pre-made mini phyllo shells: You can find them in the freezer section of the grocery store, near the pre-made desserts.
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tbs honey
1 tsp each ginger, coriander, cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, cloves, mint and cardamom

Whisk together juice, honey, and spices in large bowl with a lid. Add the fruit. TIGHTLY secure the lid and shake. Refrigerate, stirring every few hours, for at least 6 hours.

Spread shells out on a baking sheet and bake per box instructions. Fill with fruit mixture. Top with mascarpone cheese or whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

A little bit of this... a little bit of that...

Last night, I made the most fantastic alfredo sauce. I was SO proud of myself, because really, parmesan cheese doesn't melt worth anything, making alfredo a bit tempermental. However, that recipe is a.) not really mine, it's from the foodnetwork.com website (though I made a few changes), and b.) not what I am writing about today.

I've been thinking a good deal recently about fusion cuisine, mostly because it's not something at which I excel. I can make just about any type of food, but when it comes to mixing a few different ideas, I have room for improvement.

Now, the aforementioned statement does beg the question: what exactly is fusion cuisine? According to the great wikipedia, "Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions while not fitting specifically into any. The term generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s."

Actually, speaking of the great wikipedia, a lot of information about different cuisine styles and their histories can be found here.

The thing about fusion is that it can be done really well, i.e. cream cheese and smoked salmon sushi, which combines traditional British flavors with a Japanese method; or it can be done really poorly, like this weird Peking duck quesadilla I had one time. Yuck. As I said before, if it smells good together, it usually tastes good together, but when what you're smelling is chili paste, habanero peppers or curry powder, you're probably going to wish you'd spared your nose. Other things, like fish sauce, smell HORRIBLE no matter what you're using them for, but combine with things like soy sauce, lime juice, or coconut milk to make a really interesting and delicious flavor. So you can see the dilemma.

The foodnetwork.com website offers up some pretty interesting fusion recipes, mostly focusing around Latin American techniques, such as quesadillas and chimichangas, with European, Asian, and even African flavors.

My one really delicious foray into fusion was my Greek stir fry. Ginger, chili paste and scallions, plus the traditionally Chinese technique of stir-frying, add a different twist to some very Greek flavors.

Greek Stir Fry

1 lb lamb, diced small
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, diced
1 bunch clean fresh spinach, shredded
1 large tomato, diced
2 tbs mint, chopped
1 T ground coriander
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp chili paste
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 T lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Prepare couscous according to package. Set aside.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in large wok-style pan. Saute onion and garlic until translucent but not completely caramelized.

Stir in lamb, cook for about 4 minutes, turning occasionally.

Stir in garbanzo beans, coriander, ginger, chili paste, salt, pepper and lemon juice, and cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Add spinach and tomato, cook for about a minute. Serve over couscous, and stir in goat cheese.

Enjoy!!

Variety is the Spice of Life

I need to get back on the ball with the daily blogging! C'est la vie.

Alas, I have precious little to share, but a recipe, which is my very favorite that I make. It's fairly easy, not terribly time consuming, and completely delicious.

Lemon-cream pasta

1 box pasta, any shape you want. I like penne.

1 T butter

1 small onion, chopped small

3/4 cup chicken broth

LOTS of lemon juice

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 T fresh mint, chopped

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add pasta. Boil, drain.

Melt butter in large, deep skillet or saucepan over medium heat. I prefer making this in a skillet because it is faster, but you have less chance of mess in a saucepan. Your choice.

Saute the onions until soft but not completely caramelized. Add about a T of lemon juice and the chicken broth. Raise heat to medium-high and cook until the broth is reduced to between 1/8 and 1/4 cup. You want to leave a path with the spoon when you stir it, because this is the step that thickens your sauce.

Add another T or so of lemon juice and simmer for about a minute. Stir in the heavy cream and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, do not boil, for about 10 minutes until cream is heated through. Add cayenne, mint, and another tsp of lemon just before serving.

Pour the drained pasta into the sauce and stir until completely coated.

Enjoy!

The Learning Process

Sorry for the break, guys. I was out of town.

While I was in Fairfax, I had the opportunity to lead an informal "cooking school" for a friend of a friend. He is (or, I rather hope, was) one of those guys whose culinary ability extends as far as boiling water without burning the pot (which I STILL can't figure out how people do), and Jackie (our mutual friend) had volunteered to teach him how to cook. He was an exceptionally good sport - he and one other guy subjected themselves to lessons from three more than slightly crazy girls - and picked up on the techniques really quickly. I was proud.

In the process of teaching this guy how to cook, right down to the very basics, I had to think about two things in a way I normally don't. The first thing was really breaking down the steps. I couldn't say "sauté the chicken", because he didn't really know how to do that. Not to imply that he is unintelligent -on the contrary, he is extremely smart - he just was unfamiliar with the process and the terminology. I also had to think about why we do certain things when we cook. For example, why do you use sea salt instead of table salt (answer: lower sodium, better flavor)? Why do you use 1 tablespoon of oil, not two? He was very curious and very analytical, so I really had to stop to think, "Well, why DO I use 1 tablespoon of oil?"  

While, by its very definition, gourmet cooking is not simple, I think that it's a matter of practice and confidence in your ability that makes it really work. Super fresh ingredients, patience, and the right tools of course are important and definitely help, but, just like playing violin or soccer, the more you practice, the better you get. The technique and tricks come with time. You can't perform the Mendelssohn violin concerto or take on David Beckham in a one-on-one match after your first lesson. Similarly, you can't make foie gras for 12 the first time you try to make dinner.

Today's recipe is really about 85,000 recipes in one. It's called my Mix and Match Marinade. The concept is really simple. I have broken the recipe up into four categories: Meat, Acid, Base, Spice. You want to pick one or two meats (not all of which are actually meat, yes I know), a couple of acids, one base, and as many spices and you choose. Keep in mind; if it smells good together, it probably tastes good together. If you're unsure about using ground mustard with scallops or red pepper flakes with tofu, read the labels on the spice bottles. Usually, in addition to the exotic locales whence these spices hail and effusive praise of their properties, the label will offer a little guidance on usage. I typically don't use the mix and match marinade on red meat, or even pork, but that is more personal preference than for any particular reason.

 

Mix and Match Marinade

Column A: Meats

Shrimp (marinate for 30 minutes)

Scallops (marinate for 30 minutes

Tilapia (marinate for 30-60 minutes)

Salmon (marinate for 30-60 minutes)

Tuna (marinate for 1-2 hours)

Portobella mushrooms (marinate for 1-2 hours)

Tofu (marinate for 3-24 hours)

Chicken (marinate for 3-24 hours)

Column B: The Acids

Lemon Juice

Lime Juice

Orange Juice

Soy sauce

Worcestershire sauce

Balsamic Vinegar

Red wine vinegar

White wine vinegar

Apple Cider vinegar

 

Column C: The Bases

Olive Oil

Peanut Oil

Sesame Oil

Yogurt

Butter

 

Column D: Spices (The Fun Part)

Ginger

Brown Sugar

Wasabi Paste

Chile peppers

White Sugar

Dill

Cilantro

Cumin

Coriander

Basil

Mint

Lemon Grass (SPARINGLY)

Cayenne Pepper

Lemon Zest

Honey

Tarragon

Nutmeg

Garlic

Whisk together ingredients. Pour in large zipper bag over meat of choice. Marinade. Grill, pan fry, broil, or bake.

If you’re really feeling motivated, reserve the marinade and boil down with a tablespoon of butter and a bit (maybe a teaspoon) of cornstarch dissolved in water. Drizzle your sauce over the cooked meat and serve.

As a rule, I serve this dish over rice, couscous, or quinoa.

Enjoy! 

Foodgasms

Tonight, I must say, I cannot supply you with a recipe. It would be an insult to the place where I had dinner to pretend to be a chef and give out culinary advice, because I have just had the absolute best food that I have ever eaten in my life. 

Ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about Si' Tapas. If you have the pleasure of living in Richmond, drop whatever dinner plans you have RIGHT NOW and go to this beautiful little hole in the wall off of Lombardy in the Fan. My best friend, Carrie, and I treated ourselves to a trip to culinary divinity this evening, and oh MAN was it worth it. Reasonably portioned (and priced) tapas, beautiful and quiet atmosphere and an exceptional and eclectic wine list make this my new favorite place in Richmond. Not to mention that the food was absolutely divine. 

We started out with the vegetable selection: she had pequillo peppers stuffed with chevre and fennel; I had belgian endive with chevre, almonds and orange with some kind of sweet lemon dressing. OH MY HOLY GOD. The texture of the peppers and cheese just melted into my mouth like the most decadent dark chocolate. The slightly bitter endive basically did a Viennese waltz with the sweet orange, the creamy chevre, and the rich toasted almonds. I could have died then, and we weren't even getting started. 

Next, we moved on to seafood. Carrie tried the scallops, served with some kind of paprika sauce, bacon and watercress. I had yellowfin tuna tartare served with a spicy garlic aioli and a rice cracker. The scallops were perfect. They were fresh, just barely seasoned, and played beautifully with with the other flavors. The tuna was just a bit spicy for my tastes, but was so perfectly rich and decadent that it made my head spin in the best kind of way. 

Our final dinner selection was the roasted duck served with jellied kumquats and cocoa nibs. This, my friends, was a foodgasm that will leave you spent for weeks. The duck was so tender that it, like everything else, melted off the fork, and the sweet and savory interplay of the cocoa and the kumquats was a hurricane of sensory delight. 

We finished off the night with the roasted red d'Anjou pears. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we are presented with a perfectly spiced warm pear alongside a citrus-ginger sorbet. This place is appropriately named (it'll make you scream YES!), because seriously this capped the single best meal that I have ever had. 

If you don't live in Richmond, mourn the loss of this place. If you do, you are doing yourself the greatest of imaginable disservices by depriving your senses of the foodgasm that is dinner at Si. 

Enjoy! And have a great weekend. 

Nothing says 'Comfort' like soup

In my opinion, every person on Earth has a comfort food. This is the food I eat when I have LONG bypassed the kind of stress or frustration that Culinary Therapy can resolve. Comfort food is reserved for the days where you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, you're feeling under the weather when the weather is the kind of 42 degree drizzle that feels like acupuncture when the constantly gusting wind blows, when you are physically, mentally, and emotionally drained and the idea of curling up and hibernating for a solid three months is exceedingly appealing. I don't think it has anything to do with compulsive or emotional eating, or the societal tendency toward overeating. At least for me, comfort food is all about association.

Take my ultimate comfort food, for example. I love Kraft Mac and Cheese. It is absolutely my all time favorite comfort food. Now, I know that seems odd, that the ultimate in comfort for someone who loves to cook is processed cheese product from a blue box, but mac and cheese was the first thing I ever learned how to cook. It was a favorite weeknight dinner for my family from the time I was about 5, and we have it down to an absolute science. I can wake up from a congested NyQuil sleep, starving, and make mac and cheese with my eyes closed.

There are a lot of variations on the comfort food theme. More than one celebrity chef has made a killing dressing up the basics: mashed potatoes, meat loaf, spaghetti and meatballs, chili, tuna melts, you name it, but it all boils down to something you know. Most of the time, it's a dish you grew up with. Maybe it's something your mom made you when you weren't feeling well, or, like me, the first dish you learned to cook.

I have a good friend who has stayed sick pretty consistently for the last few months. Because I have absolutely zero medical skill, when he calls me feeling poorly, my first reaction is soup. There are actual scientific studies touting the actual medicinal qualities of chicken noodle soup, and I have started branching out to other soups and stews to help him get well.

When I first started really cooking for myself consistently, I guess I was a sophomore or a junior in college. I had (well, still have) this fabulous friend named Jackie who was my fellow Culinary Goddess. To this day, we close emails with "In the name of Dill, I bless thy kitchen" on occasion. Between the two of us, we devised this absolutely glorious recipe for French Onion Soup. We recommend yellow onions and good white wine that you like. I use riesling most of the time.

I think I'll make some for my friend tonight. Nothing comforts like a good bowl of soup.

French Onion Soup

4-6 large yellow onions, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 boxes beef broth
1 T fresh parsley
1 cup white wine
1 baguette, sliced
LOTS of mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large pot over medium heat, saute the onions in the butter or margarine for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender. Stir in the flour, ground black pepper and the sugar to form a pasty mixture.

Now add the beef broth, water, parsley and thyme and simmer for 10 minutes, Then add the wine and simmer. The longer this simmers, the more the flavors combine and the more fantastic the soup becomes.

Preheat oven to broil.

Fill individual oven safe bowls 3/4 full with the soup. Place a slice of bread on top of the soup and cover with the cheese. Place bowls in the oven.

Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Where in the world did you find THAT recipe?

My brother, Matt, swears that his last meal on Earth should be Indian butter chicken. My mom loves shrimp quesadillas and orders them at every Mexican restaurant we visit. My youngest brother, Alan, and I have a sushi tradition where we go to this one place whenever he is in town, and my dad eats Italian food like it is going to vanish off the face of the planet if he alone doesn't keep it in demand.

When it comes to eating and cooking, I really like to try new things. From Thai to Ethiopian to tapas and pho, I love experimenting with food from all over the world. Of course, it doesn't always go that well - I tried making sushi one time and ended up with rice starch up both of my arms, all over the counter, and in my hair - but I find it to be a great way to broaden my horizons both as a cook and as a person.

Last night, for Tuesday Night Dinner, we ended up having a little South Asian banquet. Sze made Hainan Chicken Rice, the unofficial national dish of Singapore, Dee brought makeshift samosas, which are basically curried potatoes wrapped in dough, and I made korma, a traditional Indian dish. Korma is one of my favorite Indian dishes for three reasons: it is not particularly spicy but it is extremely flavorful; the texture is really interesting, particularly if you make it with pork as I did last night; and it is easy and completely delicious, if a bit time consuming.

Korma

1 tbs vegetable oil (NOT olive)
2 cinnamon sticks
4 cardamom pods
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 chicken thighs or legs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbs parsley

In large skillet, cook cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods in heated oil for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion and cook until soft.

Add the chicken, cook for about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper flakes, coriander and cumin. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Add tomato and water, cook for another 10 minutes.

Stir in buttermilk, cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley just before serving.

Serves 2.

Enjoy!!