Now that I've gotten my soup craving under control (last week I made Potato soup, Creamy Vegetable, paired with crawfish cornbread---yummm, and Cheesy Crawfish Tail soup), I'm ready to move on.
After working at my sweet little second job, I came home at 3 to the red and yellow bell peppers I bought on sale just for this meal. It's a mellow kind of day--cloudy outside, no stress from work, no one coming over, and just me, the peppers, and jazz music on the tv.
First, I cut the tops off the peppers and cleaned out the insides. Rather than your standard tomato sauce meatloaf rice concoction that is usually associated with stuffed peppers, I decided to take inspiration from a former friend. I cooked ground beef with onions and garlic, and added a can of undiluted cream of mushroom soup and some sliced mushrooms, seasoning with worc. sauce, creole seasoning, and celery flakes. I then spooned this mixture into the 4 decapitated peppers and replaced their heads. Into a preheated 350 oven to cook til the peppers are softened, then take the lids back off and top with grated cheddar cheese. Back into the oven to melt the cheese, and you almost have a crustless version of hamburger pie! I plan to serve this with wild mushroom risotto (you can buy this in a box at Target, and it's FABULOUS).
I got so into the rhythm of the cooking steps and the music that I didn't even take note of the songs floating around me, but the silky sounds couldn't have been a more perfect accompaniment to what I was doing. A glass of Barefoot cabernet doesn't hurt, either.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Potato Soup---Loaded
You're wondering---the soup or the cook, right? Alas, it's the soup. Although I am getting a little serenity help from a Chardonnay wine cube from Tar-Jay.
Anyhow, this is how it's done:
Cut Yukon Gold potatoes into a little bigger than bite-size cubes to the Cruisin by Smokey Robinson, and while those are coming to a boil, and your 4 slices of bacon are in the oven getting crispy, dice purple onion and fresh garlic to the tune of the Commodore's Brick House.
While the potatoes and bacon cook, pause to plug in the ipod and play a little air guitar to Heart's Crazy on You (don't you love that song!), and head to the computer to document your progress.
Here comes Lou Rawls with Save Your Love for Me, and the potatoes are done! Drain them, reserving the water and returning it to the pot while the potatoes cool. It isn't important that they cool, but it is important they don't cook anymore right now. Robert Palmer, in an appropriate moment, is singing Some Like it Hot, while the steam from the potatoes fogs up your glasses, and you then heat oil for the saute. In go the onions, while you dig through your spice box (yes, spice box, because my walk-in pantry is reduced to a footlocker), and OMG WTH is my whole nutmeg???? Oh, whew, found it.
Okay, now that I've calmed down and found the white pepper and celery flakes (Bloody Mary, yeah!) I can enjoy the Temps singing Hey Girl I Like Your Style. Add garlic to the onions on the stove, and go back in time with Tears for Fears: Shout. Thanks, Dan. (got some good tunes from him.)
Now I've put the sauteed onions and garlic in the reserved potato water and back on the burner, and crumbled the garlic. Time to chop green onions and grate some cheese!
Uh oh--while chopping green onions, have to take a break to dance my ass off to Jr Walker's Pucker up Buttercup!
Into the boiling pot go a package of cheese and sour cream potato flakes, plus a pkg of plain potato flakes, a tablespoon of butter, about a cup and a half of chicken broth, and about a cup of whole milk, with a little 1/2 and 1/2 for extra creaminess. Then toss in the grated velveeta, and stir til melted. Grate in some whole nutmeg (trust me), a pinch of cayenne pepper, white pepper and salt to taste, celery flakes, and add the cooked potatoes back to the pot, put the lid on, turn off the stove, and pour yourself a glass of wine and sit down and enjoy Moondance by Van Morrison, knowing you have silky heaven in a bowl waiting for you.
enjoy.
LeAnn
Anyhow, this is how it's done:
Cut Yukon Gold potatoes into a little bigger than bite-size cubes to the Cruisin by Smokey Robinson, and while those are coming to a boil, and your 4 slices of bacon are in the oven getting crispy, dice purple onion and fresh garlic to the tune of the Commodore's Brick House.
While the potatoes and bacon cook, pause to plug in the ipod and play a little air guitar to Heart's Crazy on You (don't you love that song!), and head to the computer to document your progress.
Here comes Lou Rawls with Save Your Love for Me, and the potatoes are done! Drain them, reserving the water and returning it to the pot while the potatoes cool. It isn't important that they cool, but it is important they don't cook anymore right now. Robert Palmer, in an appropriate moment, is singing Some Like it Hot, while the steam from the potatoes fogs up your glasses, and you then heat oil for the saute. In go the onions, while you dig through your spice box (yes, spice box, because my walk-in pantry is reduced to a footlocker), and OMG WTH is my whole nutmeg???? Oh, whew, found it.
Okay, now that I've calmed down and found the white pepper and celery flakes (Bloody Mary, yeah!) I can enjoy the Temps singing Hey Girl I Like Your Style. Add garlic to the onions on the stove, and go back in time with Tears for Fears: Shout. Thanks, Dan. (got some good tunes from him.)
Now I've put the sauteed onions and garlic in the reserved potato water and back on the burner, and crumbled the garlic. Time to chop green onions and grate some cheese!
Uh oh--while chopping green onions, have to take a break to dance my ass off to Jr Walker's Pucker up Buttercup!
Into the boiling pot go a package of cheese and sour cream potato flakes, plus a pkg of plain potato flakes, a tablespoon of butter, about a cup and a half of chicken broth, and about a cup of whole milk, with a little 1/2 and 1/2 for extra creaminess. Then toss in the grated velveeta, and stir til melted. Grate in some whole nutmeg (trust me), a pinch of cayenne pepper, white pepper and salt to taste, celery flakes, and add the cooked potatoes back to the pot, put the lid on, turn off the stove, and pour yourself a glass of wine and sit down and enjoy Moondance by Van Morrison, knowing you have silky heaven in a bowl waiting for you.
enjoy.
LeAnn
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Don't you just hate it?
Don't you just hate it when you find something you really like, and then it's no longer available?
It happens to me all the time, and it's infuriating. I happened upon a bottle of chocolate martini mixer a few months back, and once it was gone (and I was hooked), I went looking for more, only to find it nowhere. Then one day I went into a store and found espresso martini mix, which was also yummy. Once that was gone, I went to the company's website, AND IT'S NOT EVEN ON THERE! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT??? Well, not to be bested, I began to experiment, and voila! I've learned to make my own. All it takes is some prepared espresso (yes, I have an old-time espresso pot) and some simple syrup, which is nothing more than 1 part water and 2 parts sugar boiled on the stove for about 5 minutes. Let all this cool and mix the syrup into the espresso to your taste. Add vodka, and oh boy! If you like chocolate, add chocolate (I like the hershey's dark syrup), and use a microplane to shave a fine layer of chocolate (like dove dark candy) on top of the prepared martini, and it's heaven in a glass! Sometimes we have to improvise when we live in hickville.
Bottoms up!
LeAnn
It happens to me all the time, and it's infuriating. I happened upon a bottle of chocolate martini mixer a few months back, and once it was gone (and I was hooked), I went looking for more, only to find it nowhere. Then one day I went into a store and found espresso martini mix, which was also yummy. Once that was gone, I went to the company's website, AND IT'S NOT EVEN ON THERE! WHAT'S UP WITH THAT??? Well, not to be bested, I began to experiment, and voila! I've learned to make my own. All it takes is some prepared espresso (yes, I have an old-time espresso pot) and some simple syrup, which is nothing more than 1 part water and 2 parts sugar boiled on the stove for about 5 minutes. Let all this cool and mix the syrup into the espresso to your taste. Add vodka, and oh boy! If you like chocolate, add chocolate (I like the hershey's dark syrup), and use a microplane to shave a fine layer of chocolate (like dove dark candy) on top of the prepared martini, and it's heaven in a glass! Sometimes we have to improvise when we live in hickville.
Bottoms up!
LeAnn
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