For the Love of Chocolate - Tuesdays with Dorie, Baking Chez Moi

All you need is love.

But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

- Charles M. Schulz

Marquise au Chocolat is a rich, soft, velvety, heavenly, creamy, and incredible dark chocolate mousse that is frozen in a loaf pan, sliced, and traditionally served over creme anglaise. Of course, Dorie provides creative variations for add-ins, molding and garnishing, like adding a crust of crushed cookies, freezing in individual ramekins, and/or serving with whipped cream, but there are endless ways to be creative with this dessert! 

I kept mine simple and elegant with a light dusting of cocoa powder, fresh berries, a few sprigs of mint, and whipped cream.

My Marquise au Chocolat was waiting for me when I arrived home from work last evening, having been made the night before. I couldn't wait to have dessert before dinner, but I had to whip up some whipped cream, slice, plate, garnish and photograph first!

The loaf pan is lined with plastic wrap before the mousse goes in, wrapped tightly in more plastic wrap, and then placed in the freezer until frozen. Dorie suggests using dental floss to cleanly slice it, which I tried, but my mousse was still too firm. As you can see, I got impatient and used a knife. My dusting of cocoa powder was more to cover up the crinkled exterior from the plastic wrap impression, but I think it added a nice touch.

I don't think it's a coincidence the Tuesdays with Dorie members voted to make this dessert just days before Valentine's Day. I'm sure it will be a heavenly ending to a romantic dinner for two!

***

Tuesdays with Dorie is an online cooking group where anyone can bake along. We bake with two books – Baking with Julia and Baking Chez Moi. I am baking along with the Baking Chez Moi group, which bakes two recipes per month and posts on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. We are asked to refrain from including the actual recipe in our posts, to promote the publishing industry and encourage others to buy the cookbooks.

Wishing Yule All a Happy New Year!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...the day after. The temperature on our morning walk was 46 degrees! That's pretty nippy for these parts, and it may get even colder. The National Weather Service reported San Diego may experience a very cold weather system next week, with a mix of rain and snow levels down to as low as 2000 feet. I would love to take Trapper up to our local mountains for a romp in the snow!

I had a quiet Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here in Coronado with family, but I was able to fly up to Northern CA this past weekend and spend some holiday time with TN at his parents' house - yes, my TN man is a CA boy. Our flights landed about the same time Friday night and we spent the next three days hanging out, visiting with his parents and a few friends, watching football (including my Chargers beating his 49ers!), driving around seeing where he grew up, and cooking dinners together. TN was head chef for Saturday night's filet mignon, twice baked potatoes, and roasted asparagus, and he was my sous for Sunday's lasagna, Caeser salad, and garlic bread.

I packed fresh lasagna sheets from Assenti's Pasta in my bag, along with homemade cookies and fudge (see below), and a Christmas stocking filled with various San Diego treats and favorites reminiscent of memories during our first year...a Coronado golf cap in SF Giants colors (his other team), taffy from Fuzziwig's in Coronado, Just Chili California hot sauce (I introduced him to Brigantine's fish tacos this year), Jerky's Gourmet jerky in craft beer and chipotle tequila flavors, Eclipse artisan chocolate bars in sea salt nib and peanut butter toffee flavors, whisky-infused salumi, David sunflower seeds in Ranch flavor, Sports Illustrated issue featuring Sportsman of the Year Madison Bumgarner, and a few other treats.

TN has been adding charms to the charm bracelet he gave me a year ago that represent a little bit of him, a little bit of me, and some of the things we've shared. For Christmas, he gave me dog bone and Chargers' helmet charms...not that I'm a diehard Chargers' fan, but we were able to go to a San Diego home game together this season.

I spent most of Christmas Day preparing dinner and dessert for the evening. I jumped on board for the latest Tuesdays with Dorie (Baking Chez Moi) Gingerbread Büche de Noël. We were permitted to post late if we chose to make this for Christmas. I've always wanted to make one of these Yule logs, but some of the more elaborate ones are quite intimidating. Dorie's variation involves quite a few steps, which took me most of the morning, but it wasn't difficult. Her version also omits cutting off one end and setting it atop the cake, to resemble a chopped off branch, and the little meringue mushrooms.

However, the gingerbread sponge cake, with cinnamon, ginger, and brown sugar, didn't taste a whole lot like gingerbread to us, and it was a bit dry. The cream cheese filling didn't impress me either - whipped cream cheese, butter, and chopped praline. My favorite part of this Büche de Noël was the snowy-white, meringue-marshmallow frosting. I used a cake decorating frosting tool in an attempt to make the frosting resemble the texture of a log.

I'm happy I made this for Christmas, because it does make a beautiful presentation and I can say I've made a Yule log. Next time, I won't be so shy about trying a more traditional and elaborate version. The recipe for Gingerbread Büche de Noël can be found on NPR, here, or on page 86 of Baking Chez Moi.

I didn't realize, until after dinner, that my entrée, Sylvie's Turkey Breast Ballotine, and my dessert complemented each other quite nicely (both French roulades - one savory and one sweet). This photo was taken when I made this the first time for Thanksgiving in 2011. Last night, I added mashed potatoes to soak up the amazing apple cider gravy. You can find the recipe on my blog, here.

Since I didn't get around to doing a blog post on my fudge, I'll include it here. This dark chocolate fudge took a fraction of the time to make in comparison to the Büche de Noël, and was more up my alley with its crunchy bourbon sugar topping. I used Armagnac in place of bourbon, because that's what I had in the house.

The recipe for Bon Appetit's Chocolate Fudge with Bourbon Sugar can be found here.

It's time to go enjoy my Friday off...maybe a nice long walk on the beach. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays, and Trapper and I wish you a very Happy New Year!

I'm Back..Cranberry Crackle Tart

Yes, it's been a LONG time since I've done a blog post...four months tomorrow, to be exact. Sometimes, you just need a break, and I also needed some time to think about where I want to go and what I'm trying to accomplish with my blog these days! The answer: What it's always been - a creative outlet to share recipes, stories, photos, and a little bit of my life in Coronado!

When I first started blogging regularly in 2009, I enjoyed sharing our summer Concert in the Park culinary themed picnics and I was involved in various online cooking challenges (Fine Cooking, The Daring Cooks, The Daring Bakers). I was in a full-time relationship where I enjoyed entertaining, cooking for the two of us, and cooking together. That all gave me blogging material. While I still enjoy cooking and working on my culinary and photography skills, the Concert in the Park themed picnics have fizzled out a bit, it's not always fun cooking alone and/or for one, and I have been able to spend more of my time photographing other chefs' food rather than my own.

For the past year, I've been involved with a wonderful man who lives in TN. For the past six months, I've been settling into my new job. Unfortunately, Trapper has been through some serious medical issues this past year and I've been dealing with those and trying to spend more time with him.

With that said, I do miss cooking, blogging, and sharing bits and pieces of my life, and I am going to make a serious effort to get back on track! However, if I do go missing again, please visit There's a Newf in My Soup Facebook page, where I do post a lot of photo albums from various events, share some of the things I cook but never get around to blogging, and try to keep Trapper's fans happy with photos of him.

My photography has been going extremely well and I've been photographing for local restaurants and at quite a few wine dinners and food and wine events. Last week, I photographed six events for the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival - mostly food shots for all the dinners, as well as hanging out in the kitchen photographing the chefs cooking and plating, and then in the judging tent for the Chef of the Fest competition at the Grand Tasting. I was able to taste some of the food and take a sip or two of wine here and there throughout the week-long festival.

If I had to choose a favorite event, Comer Conmigo: Dinner, Tequila at Chef/Owner Chad White's Común Kitchen & Tavern would be the one. This was a six-course dinner with paired tequila and wines that blended "Baja comfort food with eclectic style and borderless creativity." Every dish burst with incredible flavor and color, like this octopus, cauliflower puree and green mango salad. I also photographed an intimate, exclusive 10-course wine dinner, Celebrity Chef Dinner & Auction and Fish Taco TKO at Stone Brewery.

In addition to food and event photography, I joined a new photography social club. A few weeks ago, 12 of us were granted full access press passes to the Del Mar races, which now has a short, second meet during the month of November in addition to the summer meet. We were invited to photograph morning workout, wander through the barns, hang out in the inner circle of the paddock, sit up in the press box for a race, and stand right on the rail for the races. I've always been a horse lover and racing fan, so this was the ultimate experience. I'm definitely looking forward to future photography outings with this group.

...I had to look back at Newf in My Soup's Facebook page to see what else I've been up to these past four months!

I dressed up as a witch and photographed the Coronado Witches' Tea. This is now a Coronado tradition that started 15 years ago with a handful of women dressing up as witches to celebrate Becky's October birthday. It has turned into the Halloween event of the year, with over 150 witchy women this year, dressed to impress! Mode of transportation and itinerary for the afternoon are surprises. You show up at The Brigantine and await your adventure. This year, we traveled by two luxury buses to Jsix for cocktails, San Diego Wine & Culinary Event Center for lunch, and then back over the bridge to McP's Irish Pub for dancing and more "tea"...

A few photo ops in front of the Hotel Del before boarding our luxury buses

Wall of Chocolate Lava Cakes, kept warm by candles, at San Diego Wine & Culinary Event Center

Witchy Selfies

Letting loose at McP's

I participated in Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk for my second year, when walkers around the world gather in various towns for a two-hour photo walk, all on the same day. The winning photo from each town goes in the mix for the Top 10 and Grand Prize. I was honored again this year with Coronado's winning photo.

Sunset Paddle

A group of close friends gathered for a girls'  day in Temecula to celebrate Kelley's birthday with wine tasting, horseback riding in the vineyards, lunch, and more wine tasting. Too much fun on that trip!

Birthday Girl

Another fun day trip, but a very LONG day, was with Club Tengo Hambe for a Valle de Guadalupe Wine + Baja Cookout. I was uneasy about traveling down to Mexico, but our tour guides were wonderful and showed us a fantastic time.

Unfortunately, like I mentioned earlier, I've been through some scares with Trapper this past year, and almost lost him twice - once to a massive fever/infection, and then to bloat/GDV. He made it through the GDV surgery, but had a very slow recovery before his Coronado vet diagnosed with Addison's Disease, to go with his epilepsy. Poor boy has to take so many medications now and I worry about leaving him alone. He'll be celebrating his third birthday in December, and I'm so thankful he's been with me the past three years to help me through the changes in my life.

Morning Walk to Tartine for coffee and a peanut butter dog biscuit

Okay! Now that I've shared a little of what's been going on with me these past few months, it's time to get to the subject of this blog post...my first experience cooking from Dorie Greenspan's new cookbook, Baking Chez Moi. I did pretty well cooking through the first half of Around My French Table with French Fridays with Dorie, but then I fell off the wagon. That book is almost done now, and most of the group is joining Tuesdays with Dorie, a group that has been cooking from Baking with Julia and is just now starting Baking Chez Moi. I'm a bit reluctant to start baking with this group, mainly because I'm not sure I want sweets around that often, but I do need help with my baking skills and I can always share the sweets with friends, mom, the boys at work, and TN. I also like the fact that Tuesdays with Dorie bakes from Baking Chez Moi twice a month, rather than weekly, with posts on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, and we can bake as often as we'd like.

Because this week's recipe was perfect for Thanksgiving, we didn't have to post on Tuesday and could post late if we made the tart for Thanksgiving. I actually made two of the desserts from Baking Chez Moi for Thanksgiving, this week's Cranberry Crackle Tart and the Petite Apple Croustades with Creme Anglaise.

Cranberry Crackle Tart - the one piece left over from Thanksgiving!

Both desserts were very different and very good. This tart was fairly easy...the Apple Croustades, requiring patience with phyllo dough, not so much!

The tart has a nice crackly top

This Cranberry Crackle Tart is very unique. For the crust, you have a choice between Sweet Tart Dough or Galette Dough. The Sweet Tart Dough recipe needs confectioners' sugar and an egg yolk, whereas the Galette Dough uses granulated sugar and ice water. Since I was out of eggs at that point, I make the Galette Dough. After the crust is pre-baked, you spread a layer of jam over the bottom (I used raspberry). The filling is whipped egg whites, sugar, a pinch of salt, and fresh cranberries. After slowly baking for an hour at 300 degrees, the tart comes out of the oven with a crackle finish, but the meringue inside is soft and marshmallowy. The fresh cranberries cook fine in an hour, and provide a nice tartness with the sweetness of the meringue and jam.

The tartness of the cranberries is offset by the sweet meringue and jam

Newf Notes: I'm not sure why Dorie suggests using a pie dish rather than a tart pan. She also instructs to trim the dough to about one-third down from the rim of the dish. With pre-baking, the crust shrinks and comes down even more, not leaving much of an edge. The recipe also calls for only two egg whites. I just didn't see how two egg whites would whip up enough meringue to fill up the crust. I made an adjustment and doubled the egg whites (and sugar).  I used a little extra jam, and reserved a few extra cranberries to place on top of the meringue before baking, for added color. I extended the baking time just slightly, waiting for the top of the meringue to turn golden and crack. I think this recipe would work fine in a tart pan and I did like the added volume and height with the extra egg whites. The flavors and textures were great! It was a nice addition to the Thanksgiving dessert spread! Normally, we don't share the recipes in French Fridays with Dorie or Tuesdays with Dorie. However, Dorie has posted this recipe on her blog, here. You can also go check out how some of the other TWD bakers did with their tarts, here.

A huge thank you to Kai and Hillari for hosting Thanksgiving this year and bringing together family and friends for a wonderful dinner we all helped to create.

Kai carving the turkey while Max tries to be patient, and Bryan checks his messages

Trapper helped with the Brussels Sprouts!

Happy Birthday to My Peeps

April is Happy Birthday Month in Coronado with friends Hillari, Pam, Julie, and Mary all celebrating another year with get-togethers and parties. Mine is coming up in June, and we usually celebrate it at Concert in the Park - I'll have to think of a good theme for the third concert of the 2014 summer season with Cool Fever.

For Hillari's party, I did a test run on a new flavor for my SeaCake side business. I've been making savory appetizer cheesecakes with different seafood combinations and they are gaining momentum and making their way to open houses and dinner parties. The Big Easy features shrimp, andouille sausage, sauteed vegetables and Cajun spices. Another popular one, The Clam Dipper, showcases clams and bacon. The Smoked Salmon SeaCake is yet another.

The Big Easy SeaCake

The next morning, the ultimate hangover-cure breakfast: Leftover Shrimp Étouffée.

Clam & Bacon SeaCake

Smoked Salmon SeaCake

Pam was off on her annual birthday weekend getaway, so I baked her a batch of Chocolate Cayenne Cocktail Cookies for the road. These are extremely addictive, and the dough freezes well for easy slice and bake satisfaction.

I wasn't able to make anything for Julie's surprise party because my invite went to the wrong e-mail address and I ended up at the party last minute. However, there was no shortage of great food, including Pam's Kale and Pear Salad that I must recreate and blog soon!

Here's a pic of Pam and me dressed in cowgirl attire for the country theme. I wore my favorite little pink tee from Tennessee which says on the front: "Tan-legged Juliet looking for my Redneck Romeo" and then on the back: "But I'll settle for a one night rodeo" (lyrics from Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party). Any party where I can wear my Stetson is my kinda party! Unfortunately, Romeo was no where to be found, and rodeo tickets were in short supply ;-)

For Mary's pool party at The Shores, I made more luscious, buttery shortbread cookies. I was inspired by My Baking Addiction's Rosemary Lemon Shortbread Cookies and Lavender Shortbread Cookies posted recently by The James Beard Foundation. I didn't get a photo of my Lavender Lemon version, but definitely plan on adding them to the Cocktail Cookie Collection since they paired so nicely with bubbly!

It's been so long since my last blog post (Pam scolded me), so I have to keep looking back at Newf in My Soup's Facebook Page to see what else I've been up to this month....

In addition to making SeaCakes, I photographed another wine dinner at Leroy's and several dishes at various Coronado restaurants for Coronado Lifestyle magazine's annual Taste of Coronado Dining Guide. The cover photo will feature Nicky Rottens "Bad Ass" BBQ Burger...not exactly what comes to mind when I think of Coronado dining, but I'm excited to have another cover photo!

Trapper and I continue to take our early morning walks, in addition to Jolly Ball outings on a strip of grass by the Marriott and play dates with Cocoa. On one of our morning coffee walks, we were able to get close to this beautiful heron we see out fishing almost every morning. Today, we saw it catch and swallow a fairly large fish on the little beach by Il Fornaio!

Easter Sunday afternoon was spent by the pool at Mary's party. Easter dinner was fairly simple, but very Spring-appropriate with Bon Appetit's Ricotta Gnocchi with Asparagus, Peas and Morels. I made the fresh ricotta for the gnocchi and substituted Shiitake mushrooms. Brian and Kelley stopped by with more bubbly and I baked up a fresh batch of Lemon-Lavender Shortbread Cookies for dessert.

Speaking of Easter and Facebook, Trapper sort of went viral on Easter with one of his carrot photos. He often receives close to 100 "likes" and several comments, but this photo was shared 74 times! Once again, I'm tempted to throw him in the convertible and set out on a "Trapper on the Road" trip.

That pretty much sums up the last few weeks...the Coronado Flower Show will be going on this weekend and I'm photographing one of the Chef Celebration dinners next week. I may get around to cooking this afternoon or tomorrow, but Trapper's bath is long overdue and I must get that done this morning!

Enjoy your weekend...

Cooking on a Whim - Nutella Granola, Corned Beef Hash and Happy Hour Cookies

Cooking and blogging continue to be sporadic…lately, the mood strikes when I see something on one of the blogs I follow or in my Facebook newsfeed. I really wanted to Cook the Cover of Bon Appetit this month (Savory Short-Rib Beef Pies), but had just made Natchitoches Meat Pies and wasn't motivated enough to track down boneless beef short ribs after striking out at the local market.

My latest whim was inspired by David Lebovitz' Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Granola. I like snacking on granola occasionally, but I thought it would be fun to make a special batch to ship to Tennessee to take on the road for an out of town baseball tournament. I adapted the recipe to include a few of his favorites - Nutella, bananas, coffee, and pineapple. Unfortunately, since this was a last-minute whim, and without thought to overnight shipping cost, two pounds of granola will now be waiting on the doorstep when he arrives home! Sorry FedEx, not paying $90!

I have quickly become addicted to my Nutella version, but would like to try David's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip version. Please consult his blog for the original recipe and preparation method, but this is a list of what I used in my adaptation (I added the coffee to the pan when I warmed the Nutella, orange honey and brown sugar):

Nutella Granola 

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raw macadamia nuts, very coarsely chopped
3/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup banana chips
3/4 cup dried pineapple
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground coffee
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup orange honey
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons water

A few other recent whims included Bon Appetit's Corned Beef Hash, which I made for St. Patrick's Day dinner….

And Bon Appetit's Savory Black Pepper and Parmesan Cookies, to share at our community's weekly happy hour. 

Walking back from the clubhouse, after happy hour, I caught a glimpse of crisp white sails against the dark sky, and ran inside to grab my camera…Spring was here last week, but has been a no-show this week!

Spring Forward with Saveur's Glazed Grapefruit Cake

Spring? Did we even have winter? I guess the rain storm that managed to drench me on two of our walks this past weekend, was San Diego's best attempt at winter. Trapper loved it! Newf + Rain = Happy Dog!

It was 80-something today for Jim & Carmen's annual Time Change Party. Fabulous party, as always, and everyone is now itching for Concerts in the Park to get started. Today's party featured Jim's bottomless pot of pork chile verde, tortillas, rice, beans, chips, guacamole, salads, cake, margaritas and wine.

My original plan was to bring Saveur's Glazed Grapefruit Cake to the party, because it is so gorgeous and sunny with the different colored grapefruits. I found some Oro Blanco and Ruby Red grapefruit at Coronado's Tuesday Farmers' Market, which is now steps from my front door, and decided to throw in a few blood oranges for an extra burst of color. I did a test run of the cake on Friday, but then woke up Sunday morning and felt like cooking something different for the party. It's not that I didn't love the cake, especially with my morning coffee, but I was intrigued by the Natchitoches Meat Pies in Donald Link's Real Cajun and felt they would go well with the party menu. Preparing those kept me busy for the morning and everyone said they were fabulous. I guess a blog post is in order for that recipe!

The Glazed Grapefruit Cake is basically a moist, tangy (buttermilk) pound cake, baked in a 9 x 13-inch dish, covered with a layer of sugared, broiled grapefruit slices and drizzled with a grapefruit juice glaze. After making and eyeing the amount of batter, I opted for a slightly smaller, 8 x 10-inch dish to give my cake more height. The cake itself doesn't have much grapefruit flavor, with a few tablespoons of zest. I might be tempted next time to use the method in Thomas Keller's Grapefruit Cake and make a grapefruit syrup for the cake.

Glazed Grapefruit Cake
Slightly adapted from Saveur
Serves 8

Ingredients:

Combination of different colored grapefruit and blood oranges (1 pink, 1 red, and 1 white grapefruit, and 2 blood oranges, peeled/supremed, and and sliced ¼″ thick crosswise, plus 2 tablespoons zest and 3 tablespoons juice
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preparation:

Heat oven broiler. Arrange grapefruit and blood orange slices in an even layer on an aluminum foil–lined baking sheet fitted with a wire rack; sprinkle with 3 tablespoons sugar. Broil, rotating pan as needed, until slightly caramelized, about 7 minutes; set aside.

Heat oven to 325°. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, and using an electric mixer, cream remaining sugar and the butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add zest, buttermilk, and vanilla; mix until combined. With the motor running, slowly add dry ingredients until smooth. Spread batter evenly into a 8” × 10” baking dish; bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cake cool, then arrange reserved grapefruit and orange slices, overlapping slightly, on top.

Whisk juice and confectioners' sugar in a bowl until smooth; drizzle evenly over cake. Let cake sit 30 minutes to set glaze before serving.

I liked the addition of blood oranges

Sugared, broiled grapefruit and blood orange slices

"Winter" moving in for the weekend

Trapper was in Newf-Heaven as the storm moved in

Boozing Up My Cranberry Sauce and Tart

I'm thankful I didn't have to cook an entire Thanksgiving dinner today and am looking forward to sharing the evening with friends and family. I made the Bourbon-Caramel Pumpkin Tart featured on the cover of Fine Cooking, Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine & Figs suggested by David Lebovitz, and will be making Yorkshire Pudding (from my man, Tyler) with the drippings from the prime rib. Of course, there will also be turkey, stuffing, sides, desserts and wine!

The cranberry sauce tastes great, but you'll need to wait for my take on the tart. After reading the online reviews, I'm a bit skeptical about the texture of the crust and consistency of the caramel. I sprinkled a little fleur de sel on top but now regret messing up the glossy finish of the caramel.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Cheers,

Denise & Trapper

Lentil and Sausage Soup for Girls' Night

Day #3 of NaBloPoMo: This is going to be tough, posting every day for the month of November!

Michele and Nina hosted Girls' Night last evening, before all the holiday madness begins. We were invited to bring along a substantial nibble and our good spirits.

Michele has a gorgeous house with a dream kitchen, ideal for entertaining. The dining table was exquisitely adorned with candles, flowers from Wholesale Flowers & Supplies, and uniquely colored pumpkins from Specialty Produce. I especially loved the creative and elegant flower arrangements made with red tulips, eucalyptus, sprigs of white flowers, basil and green onions.

This is a group of women who love to cook and entertain, so our nibbles were amazing. Nina and Michele collaborated on flatbreads with various toppings and cheeses - mushrooms and pine nuts, butternut squash and rosemary, and roasted beets. Nina made a lovely salad with creamy burrata, red and yellow tomatoes, basil, and Italian green olives. There was a wonderful Spanakopita Pie, gooey baked brie in phyllo with raspberry preserves, crudites, muffins, crackers and bread. I made a big pot of lentil and sausage soup. Nina was tending bar as we all arrived. She offered a choice of cocktails depending on our mood - something with sugar, spice and everything nice, or her signature Dark & Stormy. I think most of us were feeling Dark & Stormy. Later, we uncorked the wine and sat around the table telling stories. For dessert, Michele made an outrageously decadent Baked Chocolate Brownie Pudding (with a touch of cayenne added to the batter), served with Talenti Sicilian Pistachio and/or Tahitian Vanilla Bean gelato, and one of her family's special occasion desserts, Mil Hojas, also known as Thousand Layers Cake. Everything, especially the company, was over the top!

I should have brought my camera because my iPhone photos just don't do justice to the gorgeous spread:

SOUP'S ON!

I recently purchased a package of heirloom lentils from a quaint little market called Stehly Farm Market, knowing I wanted to make a lentil soup. I started with Ina Garten's recipe for Lentil Sausage Soup from Barefoot in Paris. I consulted some similar recipes, as well as my trusted Flavor Bible. Ina calls for French green lentils, such as du Puy (supposedly the most flavorful), but you can also use Spanish Pardina lentils or a blend like I did. She uses kielbasa sausage; I used Linguica. You can use any type of smoked sausage, Italian sausage, or bacon. If you wish to make homemade chicken stock, or have some on hand, the soup will be even better. I used 2 quarts Kitchen Basics Chicken Stock and 1 quart of water. I like a bit of heat, and added some red pepper flakes. If you are using spicy sausage, you may wish to omit. I reduced the quantities of onion and leeks and added an extra clove of garlic. I added a bay leaf, omitted the cumin, and used balsamic instead of red wine vinegar. In the preparation, I sauteed the sausage to get it a little brown, render some of the fat and flavor the vegetables more. I also reduced the cooking time slightly so the lentils and vegetables wouldn't get too mushy. I didn't this time, but you could toss in a few handfuls of chopped kale, Swiss chard or spinach toward the end of the cooking.

I admire bloggers who have the time and patience to take step by step photos during preparation. I usually give up after the initial ingredient shots. Sorry, no photos of sauteed vegetables or simmering soup today...

"Chicken Scratch" Lentils

There's lots of chopping and slicing going on!

Lentil and Sausage Soup
Adapted from Barefoot in Paris
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

1 pound Spanish Pardina lentils, or French de Puy lentils, small stones removed, rinsed (I used a blend of heirloom lentils called "Chicken Scratch")
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
1 pound smoked sausage (kielbasa, linguiça, or andouille), cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick
3 cups coarsely chopped yellow onions
2 cups coarsely chopped leeks, white and light green parts only, rinsed well and drained
3 large cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf
3 cups thinly sliced celery
3 cups medium diced carrots
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 quarts (8 cups) low-sodium chicken stock (I used Kitchen Basics)
1 quart (4 cups) water
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

Preparation:

Put the lentils into a colander and rinse well under cold water. Drain.

In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the sausage until it just starts to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer the sausage to a plate with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, thyme, and bay leaf to the pan and saute for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste and saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil. Add drained lentils, reduce the heat, and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Return the sausage to the pot and add the balsamic vinegar. Simmer another 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Drizzle olive oil over the top and sprinkle with grated Parmesan. Leftover soup freezes well.

***