Easy Blender Chilled Avocado and Cilantro Soup

It's the time of year for chilled soups! A delicious cream of cilantro soup I had at lunch yesterday inspired me to try to find a recipe. I found several, but this recipe topped them all by adding avocado. It may seem rather decadent, but it's very rich and filling. If you serve it as the main course, at 378 calories per serving it's not too bad. Add grilled or poached shrimp or chicken to the soup for a more hearty meal, and have toasted pita triangles on the side.

This soup really must be refrigerated for at least 2 hours for the flavors to meld, and it should be served cold -- not at room temperature. The amount of Tabasco, lime juice, and cilantro can be adjusted to your taste. Tequila gives another layer of flavor, but it's not necessary.

Easy Blender Chilled Avocado and Cilantro Soup

4 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 1/2 cups cold chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (or sundried tomatoes)
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1 tablespoon lime juice (or to taste)
6 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
(1 tablespoon tequila)
salt and white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sour cream (or fat-free yogurt)

Combine first 8 ingredients in a food processsor, reserving some cilantro for garnish. Process until smooth. Add  salt and pepper. Taste to adjust seasonings. Transfer to a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Serve cold with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, chopped cilantro, and toasted pita bread.

Helen Corbittt's Popovers with Strawberry Butter

This posting is inspired by the bridesmaids' luncheon given yesterday at the Zodiac Room at Neiman-Marcus in Fort Worth for the wedding of my young cousin Sally Dulaney. I wasn't there, but all reports are that it was a beautiful affair, with a very traditional Zodiac Room menu: chicken salad, fruit salad, and orange congealed salad...and of course, starting it all off -- the popovers with strawberry butter. Yum! So, from the Helen Corbitt Cookbook:

Popovers

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
7/8 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

Preheat oven to 450.

Mix the flour and salt. Beat eggs until light, add butter and milk and add slowly to the flour. Stir until well blended. Beat 2 minutes with rotary blender by hand or 1 minute with electric beater.

Heavily butter muffin tins or custard cups and put them in the oven to heat.

Fill the cups to one-third.

Bake 20 minutes at 450, then reduce heat to 350 and bake 15 minutes more.

Serve hot with strawberry butter.

Strawberry Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons pureed thawed frozen strawberries (or according to taste)
1 teaspoon juice from strawberries

Cream butter. Add sugar and beat. Stir in pureed strawberries and juice. Beat until the consistency of whipped cream.

(You can also do this more simply in a blender: blend softened butter until smooth, then add sugar and strawberry juice and blend for just a few seconds, and finally add strawberries and pulse until desired consistency...you may also like to chill before serving)

Broiled Scallops Hors d'oeuvre

This is a variation on the classic broiled bacon-wrapped water chestnuts in soy sauce that's so tasty. But this version "pumps it up" by substituting scallops for the water chestnuts. I had this at a lovely brunch in Austin...they were passing this and also had it in a chafing dish on the buffet table...and I thought it was one of the best things ever. These were gone before anything else! (Of course, you can substitute back with water chestnuts instead of scallops -- in that case you don't really need anything in the marinade but the soy sauce and maybe a dash of dijon mustard).

Broiled Scallops Hors d'oeuvre

Preheat broiler.

Slice scallops in half, depending on their size. Combine soy sauce, a dash of dijon mustard, a little white pepper, and chopped scallions. Pour soy sauce mixture over scallops and toss until well coated. Marinate for about 1/2 hour.

Cut slices of bacon into strips about 2 inches each. Wrap bacon pieces around each scallop and secure with a toothpick. Broil about 4 inches from the heat until bacon is crisp and scallops are opaque-- about  5 minutes.

Shrimp Egg Foo Yong

Egg Foo Yong is really a Chinese version of the omelet, and like the omelet it can accomodate a myriad of ingredients. Also like an omelet, it can be served flat, folded once, or even folded twice (into a square). I like the flat egg foo yong, but this recipe can of course be folded as well.

I like this with broccoli florets sliced lengthwise stir-fried with minced garlic, lemon zest, and crushed red pepper. And steamed rice with bamboo shoots (rinse the canned bamboo shoots, pat dry, and toss for just a second in a hot skillet before adding to the rice).

Shrimp Egg Foo Yong

8 ounces fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1 cup cooked small shrimp
8 eggs, beaten
1 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
2 large green onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Sauce

1 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
white pepper to taste
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons cold water

Combine bean sprouts, shrimp, eggs, mushrooms, scallions, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix thoroughly.
Heat a deep skillet over high heat until a drop of water bubbles. Add oil and lower heat to medium-high.
Pour in 1/2 cup egg mixture. Cook until golden brown, turning once -- about 4 minutes.
Repeat with remaining egg mixture.

For sauce: Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and white pepper. Bring to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix cornstarch and water. Stir into broth mixture. Cook until thickened (about 10 seconds) and pour over eggs.

Make-Shift Nicoise Salad

It's hot and muggy today, and my planned dinner just didn't appeal. What to do?

I realized I had the ingredients for a make-shift Nicoise Salad: tuna (although solid white tuna packed in water, rather than the light tuna in olive oil preferred for Nicoise), green beans (although not the haricots verts), olives (although Greek rather than Nicoise), red bell pepper (although marinated strips rather than fresh), hard boiled egg, capers, and new potato -- no anchovy being the most missed item. Still, not bad...

I made vinaigrette and marinated the cooked green beans and cooked & sliced potatoes for about an hour (these were left over sides that accompanied a pot roast I made for a neighbor this weekend, so I was glad to have a use for them). Drained and shredded the tuna and tossed it in the vinaigrette.

Romaine lettuce leaf in the center of the plate, mound of tuna atop. Capers sprinkled over tuna. Green beans, potatoes surrounding. Red bell pepper and sliced egg in the next circle. Olives on each side. French roll.

Perfect for a hot and muggy day, if I do say so myself!

Shrimp with Ginger Sauce and Orange Rice Pilaf

My cousin Catherine Burton made this shrimp dish for brunch and passed the recipe on to me. She found it in Real Simple magazine, and it truly is "real simple." It seems to be intended as an appetizer or party snack, but I made it as a main dish with pilaf and a green salad and it made a delicious light meal..

Shrimp with Ginger Sauce

3/4 cup apricot preserves
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, divided use
black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails left on)

Preheat broiler.
In a small saucepan, cook preservves, ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt over medium heat, stirring, until melted -- about 2 minutes.
Place shrimp on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of apricot sauce, and season with pepper and remaining salt.
Broil until browned in spots and opaque -- about 3 or 4 minutes.
Serve with remaining sauce.

Orange Rice Pilaf

3 cups cooked rice
juice of one orange
zest of one orange
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons slivered toasted almonds
salt and white pepper as needed

In a large saucepan, saute onion and green pepper in a small amount of butter until softened. Add rice, orange juice, and raisins. Cover and simmer until rice is heated through and raisins are plumped -- about 20 minutes -- adding water and/or orange juice as needed. Toss with almonds and orange zest before serving. Add salt and white pepper to taste.

shrimp, goat cheese, basil, and pasta

Tonight I just got a few shrimp and sauteed with butter, olive oil, and garlic. Cooked some pasta (angel hair). When the pasta and shrimp were ready, tossed with some Paula Lambert Mozarella Company goat cheese and a little shredded fresh basil. Slice of tomato on the side. Absolutely delicious! It's as simple as that!
(You might want to add some sea salt, white pepper, and/or red pepper flakes to the shrimp...)

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

I made this gumbo the first time for a baby shower I gave for my cousin Marie. All of the guests raved about how delicious it was, but it seemed totally tasteless to me. I thought they were just being polite. Then the next day I had some leftover gumbo for lunch and it WAS delicious! This was the first time I experienced the phenomenon whereby, after inhaling the fragrance of a dish for several hours during cooking, you lose the ability to taste it. Cruel irony!

This is a Cajun gumbo -- no tomatoes, no okra  -- as opposed to the Creole gumbo with seafood. Like most good soups and stews, this gumbo does take a while to prepare. And it really is better the next day, even if you are not suffering from post-cooking taste deprivation. So I recommend making this the day before you plan to serve it. The recipe is for 6-8, so adjust if needed.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons ground red pepper
1 roasting chicken (or hen or fryer) cut up -- 3-5 pounds
2 cups medium roux (recipe below)
2 large onions, finely chopped
2 bell peppers, finely chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 gallon chicken stock
2 pounds smoked pork sausage (ideally Andouille, but Kielbasa will do)
1 cup chopped green onions
1 cup chopped parsley
4-6 shakes of Tabasco
(for the roux):
1 12 cups oil
2 cups flour

Mix salt and peppers in a small bowl and set aside.

Pull fat from the neck and back cavities of the chicken and set aside.

If necessary, cut chicken into small serving pieces. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper mixture.

Render the fat in a large skillet. Add butter if needed. Add chicken, brown, and remove. Use remaining fat as part of the oil for the roux.

Roux:

Heat 1 1/2 cups oil in the same large skillet over medium heat to about 350 -- or until a bit of flour dropped in floats and sizzles.

Quickly stir in 2 cups of flour all at once, using a wooden spoon or whisk. Be careful not to splatter. The flour should make a smooth paste. Add more flour if needed. Continue to stir over medium heat until it is medium brown with hints of gold (30-45 minutes).

You will probably have more than 2 cups. It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks, and is good as a base for gravy.

When roux is ready, add half onions, bell peppers, and celery. Stir well and set off heat to cool, stirring occasionally.

Place stock and remaining onions, bell peppers, and celery in a heavy 6-8 quart pot. Bring to a boil.

Gradually stir in roux and add the rest of the salt and peppers mix.

Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour (during this time you can chop the green onions, parsley, and sausage).

Add chicken and sausage and continue to simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Add water if needed.

Remove from heat and let stand for 15 minutes (this is a good time to cook the rice).

Skim fat and discard.

Remove chicken bones with a slotted spoon, shred any meat remaining on the bones discarding skin and return the meat to the pot.

Stir in green onions, parsley, and Tabasco. Let stand for a few more minutes.

Serve over rice in large bowls.

Custardy Oven Pancake with Berries

Thanks to Rusty Jackson for this recipe, which he got from a friend in California. I tried it and it's beautiful and delicious...great for brunch!

Oven Pancake with Berries

4 large eggs
5 1/2 teaspoons honey, divided
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups raspberries, divided
1/4 cup butter, cut into chunks
1 pound strawberries, hulled and sliced (or another fruit)

Place an ovenproof 12-inch frying pan or 9 by 13 inch pan in the oven and preheat to 425.
Whisk eggs, 1/4 cup honey, and lemon zest in a bowl to blend. Add salt, flour, and 1/4 cup milk and whisk until smooth, then whisk in remaining milk.
Puree 1 cup raspberries in food processor or blender until smooth. Strain. Discard seeds.
Remove pan from oven. Add butter and swirl until melted and golden.
Pour in batter. Pour raspberry puree over batter in wide ribbons.
Reduce heat to 400 and bake until pancake is golden -- about 30 minutes.
Let stand 10 to 15 minutes to firm (otherwise pancake will fall).
Combine strawberries, remaining raspberries, and remaining honey in a bowl and let stand for at least 10 minutes. Add honey to taste.
Cut pancake into wedges. Spoon half of the fruit mixture over pancake wedges, and serve the rest on the side.