Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens (10 page)

2 lemons, sliced extremely thin (3 slices per bowl of soup)

1
Sort through your black beans, and pick out any rocks or malformed beans. In a 12-quart stockpot, soak the beans in 4 quarts of water overnight. Rinse the beans well the next day in your steamer basket. While they're draining, dry the stockpot.

2
Put the pot over medium to high heat, and add the diced bacon. Allow the fat to render (or melt out of the bacon) for about 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the vegetables and turn the heat down to medium. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and cover the pot to allow the vegetables to sweat for 10 minutes. When you remove the lid, be sure all the liquid that has collected goes back into the pot.

3
Pour the beans back into the stockpot and stir together with the vegetables. Add the vegetable stock and bay leaves; cover, reduce the heat to low, and allow the soup to cook slowly for 1 hour.

4
Puree half of the bean mixture in your blender. Add the pureed black beans back into the pot with the fresh thyme, oregano, lemon zest, parsley, and sherry. Season to taste with salt or pepper.

5
Serve warm with 3 slices of lemon floating on the soup's surface to garnish the center of each bowl.

Vichyssoise
by No Other Name

Yields 1 gallon (12 servings)

Despite its restaurant workhorse title, vichyssoise (vee-shee-so-AHZ) is the quintessential gourmet soup, and it's easy to make at home in your CLK. To keep the soup free of floating flecks of herbs but to infuse it with flavor, chefs make an herb and spice “sachet” using a square of cheesecloth tied with butcher's twine. I use a sock, which is perfect CLK ingenuity. My dad taught me this trick in high school when we competed together in my first chili competition.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 leeks, finely chopped, washed and dried

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

Sea salt, to taste

4 parsley stems

1 whole clove

½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

Brand new, thin white sock (I'm not kidding!)

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

½ pound russet potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups chicken stock

3 cups half and half

White pepper, to taste

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

3 teaspoons chopped chives

1
In a 12-quart stockpot, heat the butter over medium heat. When all the butter has melted, add the leeks and onions, season them lightly with salt, and sweat them until they are tender and translucent. During this time, put the parsley, clove, black pepper, and bay leaf into the white sock, and tie the top very tightly. This is the perfect CLK sachet.

2
Add the potatoes, chicken stock, and sachet to the pot and raise the temperature to high, bringing the soup to a full boil. Now reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the potatoes start to fall apart, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the sachet and throw it away (unless you want to dump out the herbs and try washing the sock for future wear).

3
Using your blender, puree all of the soup and place it in the refrigerator to chill. Once completely cool, whisk in the half and half, taste the soup, and season to taste with sea salt, white pepper, and nutmeg. Serve ice-cold, and sprinkle a pinch of chive in the center of each bowl.

Cure All with Curry

Yields 2 quarts (6 servings)

Curry is a blend of spices that generally includes turmeric, coriander, and cumin—all of which have valuable healing properties. Turmeric not only provides yellow color but also helps to fight cancer. Coriander, aids with digestion, acts as a natural diuretic, and helps the body detoxify. Cumin stimulates circulation and can help relieve abdominal cramping. So long story short, eat more curry, and you won't feel so crappy!

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 cups small dice yellow onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons curry powder (yellow)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

½ tablespoon Hungarian paprika

1 cup white wine

32 ounces diced tomato, canned

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup crème fraiche, or sour cream

1
In a 12-quart stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and allow them to sweat slowly. You want them to soften, not brown. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2
When the onions are translucent, add the curry powder, curry paste, and paprika, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the white wine and bring the soup to a simmer. Allow the wine to reduce by half, and then add the canned tomato and vegetable stock. Turn the heat down slightly and allow the soup to cook slowly for 30 minutes.

3
Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve piping hot with a tablespoon of crème fraiche in the center of each bowl of soup.

Hold-the-Beef Minestrone

Yields 1½ quarts (18 servings)

This huge recipe serves eighteen people easily, but it's so delicious you'll be happy to have the leftovers. If you don't think you'll be able to finish eating it all in a few days, follow the instructions, but leave out the pasta. Freeze the soup in several batches using freezer bags or containers. Pull a portion of the frozen soup out to leave in the fridge the day before you'd like to eat it. Bring the defrosted soup to a slow boil, add the pasta, and it will be ready to eat in 8 to 10 minutes! That's how you get gourmet minestrone on demand.

1 cup dried cannellini or borlotti beans

8 cups water

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, medium dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

15 ounces crushed tomatoes, canned

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

1 cup peeled and diced carrots

½ cup diced celery

1 russet potato, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)

4 cups shredded green kale

20 cups (5 quarts) vegetable stock

1½ cups diced zucchini squash

¼ cups uncooked ditalini pasta or small macaroni

½ cup chopped basil

½ cup finely grated

Parmesan-Reggiano

1
Sort through your beans, and pick out any rocks or malformed beans. In a 12-quart stockpot, soak the beans in 8 cups of water overnight. Rinse the beans well the next day, and while they're draining, dry the stockpot.

2
Put the pot over medium heat, and add the olive oil, onion, and garlic. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook slowly so the heat pulls out their natural moisture and the onion becomes translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the entire can of crushed tomatoes, the red pepper flakes, and bay leaves into the pot, and allow them to come to a boil without raising the temperature. Add the diced carrots, celery, and potato, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season lightly with sea salt; this helps your tomatoes break down while seasoning all the vegetables. Stir in the shredded kale, and cook for 5 minutes.

3
Add vegetable stock, and raise the temperature to bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, cover, and cook the minestrone until the beans are tender, about an hour and a half.

4
Carefully drop in your zucchini and cook until softened, about 4 minutes, and then add the pasta and cook for another 8 minutes. Taste the soup at this point to see if it needs more salt, and it will certainly need freshly cracked black pepper. Let the soup cool slightly for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, and garnish each bowl with a pinch of fresh basil and grated Parmesan.

Toss Everything
but These
Salads

Salads by nature are CLK friendly because, for

the most part, all the ingredients get tossed in one bowl. Not so long ago, boring iceberg lettuce graced the tables of fine restaurants and homes alike, thanks to its crisp texture and long shelf life. In recent years, the gourmet world and the athome cook have embraced a variety of tasty leaf options—from arugula and romaine to endive and watercress—they add taste, texture, nutrition, and color to the ho-hum salads of yesteryear. To me, iceberg tastes like nothing more than pale green water. If you want a light and simple salad, go bright green. The more color, the more nutrients and flavor, because a healthy Crappy Little Kitchen is a happy Crappy Little Kitchen.

Salads create limitless possibilities, so mix and match your greens and vegetables with what you have on hand or what looks the freshest at your grocery store.

The King of Caesar Salads

Serves 8

Every gourmet chef needs a good Caesar salad recipe in her repertoire and this one is great! Add some grilled chicken, beef, or fish on top to make this dish a satisfying meal.

2 egg yolks

2 garlic cloves

3 anchovies

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1½ cups extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup shredded

Pecorino Romano cheese

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 heads romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

¼ cup shaved

Parmigiano-

Reggiano

1
Pulse the egg yolks, garlic, anchovies, and mustard in your blender until well combined. Add the lemon juice and balsamic vinegar and pulse to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil while blending at medium speed to emulsify the dressing. It should become thick and creamy. Gently pulse in the shredded cheese; don't overpuree it or it will get thick and gummy. Taste the dressing at this point and season to taste with salt and pepper.

2
Put the chopped lettuce in a large bowl and toss with about ½ cup of the dressing. Taste a piece of lettuce to see if it is well dressed. If it's too dry, add more dressing. Garnish with the shaved Parmesan cheese. To make individual portions, pile the salad high in bowls, and garnish with shaved Parmesan. For that gourmet boost, top each salad with half a soft-boiled egg.

Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and it's ready for next time. Leftover Caesar dressing is great for dipping French fries. I'm not kidding. Try it!

My Big Fat Greek Salad

Serves 6

The colorful fresh veggies in this recipe make the presentation beautiful on its own, and its mixture of flavors and textures makes it impressive for the most discerning guests.

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced anchovy (1 or 2)

¼ cup fresh oregano

¼ cup sherry vinegar

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

¼ cup diced English cucumber

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

¼ cup diced red onion

¼ cup chopped kalamata olives

3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese, plus extra for garnish

1 cup thinly sliced romaine lettuce (use your bread knife to make thin slices from a head of romaine)

4 slices sourdough bread, toasted