Broccoli Cheese Soup

I have a sister who loves Broccoli Cheese Soup. However, she is particular about said soup.

I suppose she's somewhat a connoisseur of it.

She really likes the soup at Bread Co./Panera (name, of course, depending on the part of the country you're in... the lone tiny island in the middle vs. the rest of it).

Anyway, for some reason she was searching for the recipe, and she found someone's interpretation of it. It's pretty good, and I like that it has more vegetables than I expected. It's not just broccoli pureed in a cheese sauce.

A roux is what will help thicken the soup (and there's a very good chance you've done it before). It's a combination of butter and flour, the mixture being cooked so that the flour is not raw and pasty. It's actually the base for many sauces in classical French cooking.

When blending the soup, you may, of course, blend it to the consistency of your choice. However, Broccoli Cheese Soup Connoisseur and I both believe that it needs to have a little chunkiness. Not too much though! I've been told large hunks of broccoli are frowned upon.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

serves 4

5 T butter, divided

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 c flour

1/2 lb. broccoli

1 c carrot, julienned

2 c chicken stock

2 c half and half

8 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

salt

pepper

1/4 t fresh ground nutmeg

Melt 1 T butter in a medium saucepan. Add onion and saute until translucent. Remove onion from the pan and set aside.

Melt the rest of the butter in the same saucepan over medium heat, add the flour to make a roux, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Slowly add the half and half and the chicken stock, whisking to incorporate. Continue to cook over medium heat, simmering and stirring frequently, until it is thickened (about 20 minutes).

Add the broccoli, carrots, and onions to the simmering soup, and cook 20-25 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Blend the soup in batches in a food processor or blender, being careful not to overfill! Place the soup back in the pan, add grated cheese and nutmeg, and stir until the cheese it melted and incorporated into the soup. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve.

Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée is one of those perfect desserts. Simple and elegant, and sometimes exactly what you want and need.

Nice analogy Julia, we understand what you're trying to say here, but (try as I might) I don't know if I can imagine choosing Jell-O over crème brûlée. Maybe if you were sick...

Anyway, there are many variations on the recipe for  crème brûlée. More or less egg yolk, maybe including whole eggs, all heavy cream, half and half, whole milk...

Plus the variations on flavor! Chocolate, fruits, spices, infused with tea or zest...

I like the plain old perfect original vanilla the best, but I don't want them to be huge.

They fill a need, and in my opinion they're best in a smaller, more manageable size.

The size, as well as the vanilla flavor is more quiet and unassuming, and it doesn't scream, "LOOK AT ME!"

But... it's still completely perfect (if it's made well).

I know some people aren't willing to take the time to make it, but really, it's not THAT difficult.
Once when I was working in a cooking store, a customer asked how to make crème brûlée. When I started to explain, and only got as far as mixing the ingredients and cooking the custards in a water bath, he shut me off. It was too much work, he said, and he wasn't really willing to go to the trouble. Do things really have to be immediate? Immediate gratification? Sorry pal, those instances are few and far between. You can't eat it right out of the oven anyway! They're a little wobbly and eggy tasting when they're HOT. The texture becomes silky, and the flavors come together after they're cool.

They're simple, but they do require a little effort.

Maybe he was used to just ordering it in a restaurant and having it suddenly, magically appear... ta-da!

A kitchen torch isn't completely necessary, however it does offer control while caramelizing the tops of the crème brûlées. That said, I will acknowledge that some people are terrified of wielding fire. Me? Not so much. Learning to weld is actually something on my bucket list, and this could possibly be as close as I get to it.

It's ok, you can just use the broiler in your oven. Heat it up, put the custards on a pan under the hot element, leave the oven door cracked a little so you can keep a close eye on the caramelization process. You're not going for completely charred cremes here.

One thing though, the cremes will probably not remain cool if you place them in the oven, but they will if you use a torch. After torching, give them a little time to rest so that the caramelized sugar on top hardens so it will shatter when tapped with a spoon.

Crème Brûlée

makes 6

1 c heavy cream

4 egg yolks

2 T granulated sugar, plus extra sugar for the tops of cremes

pinch of salt

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 c milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place milk in a small saucepan and heat on low until hot.

Meanwhile, have a tea kettle or another saucepan filled with water heating.

Whisk together cream, egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Slowly whisk in the hot milk. Pour the hot custard mixture through a sieve into a bowl or large measuring cup, and divide among 6, 4-6 oz ramekins or custard cups.

Place the cups into a 9 x 13 in. baking pan. Pour the hot water into the pan, around the cups to a depth that reaches about 1 inch up the sides of the cups.

Carefully place the pan into the oven.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until set (remember that they will still be a little wobbly). Remove the cups from the hot water with tongs and place on a rack to cool at room temperature until you are able to handle them. Place the cups in the refrigerator and chill.

Before serving, sprinkle about 1 tsp of sugar over each creme. Torch with a kitchen torch, slowly waving the flame over the sugar, or broil in the oven with the door cracked slightly (keep an eye on them).

Let cool slightly before serving and only torch those cremes you will need.

Mushroom Risotto

I think this is my favorite risotto recipe.

I love mushrooms though. I had a roommate once who would not eat mushrooms since they happen to be a fungus, and that was just against her personal philosophy or something. Not that she'd tried them and hated them, but she just refused to try them. Too bad for her (because there are so many kinds of them and they're so good). Oh, well.

Dried Porcini mushrooms aren't much to look at, but they add TONS of flavor to chicken broth. And the color goes from a weak, watery gold to a more robust, ruddy brown.

It's an earthy and special dish, really good for cold weather, and would make a great vegetarian dish if you wanted to use vegetable broth...

I used 3 types of mushrooms in this one: dried porcini, white button, and baby portobellos (aka crimini mushrooms). To me more types of mushrooms = more complexity. But, I won't say we have to go overboard here.

The white mushrooms are nice (as always), but the portobellos add a nicer flavor (in my opinion, anyway). They're the same mushroom, but the white variety is actually a cultivated anomaly of the browner and more mature portobello.

So, perhaps it's my imagination, but I think they're meatier and earthier.

If all you can find, or all you want to use is white button mushrooms, that's just fine!

When making risotto, it's very important to use risotto rice: Carnaroli, Arborio, or Vialone Nano. In the U.S. however, you're likely to find it labeled as "risotto rice." These types are short- grained, starchy, able to absorb a lot of liquid, and will yield a firm, chewy, and creamy risotto. If you were to use generic white rice, you'd end up with something a little more akin to mush or gruel. Mmmmm, lovely.

It's important to keep stirring! You want the grains to cook evenly, stay in contact with liquid so it can be absorbed evenly by the grains, and you want to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot! However, "drowning" the rice in too much broth isn't a good idea either if it happens to seem like a remedy to this situation. One of the keys to a creamy risotto is slowly adding the hot broth. And really, it doesn't take that long to make risotto, patience is possible.

Plus, if you decide to increase the amount of risotto you're making, the good news is that it doesn't add much extra time to your cooking.

Oh! And you may not need to use all of the broth for the rice- that's ok!

Confused about whether it's done? Taste it!

P.S. I'm aware that rice is not pasta, but that's just how I decided to classify it because it can fill the same need.

Mushroom Risotto

6 side-dish servings

6 c chicken stock

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1/4 c unsalted butter

2 c chopped onion

10 oz pkg baby portobellos, washed and sliced

8 oz white button mushrooms, washed and sliced

(*at least 1 # of mushrooms total- it could be ALL white button mushrooms if you wish)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 c risotto rice, preferably Arborio

2/3 c white wine

2/3 c finely grated, fresh Parmesan cheese

salt

fresh pepper

Bring the broth to a simmer in a heavy medium-sized saucepan. Add porcini mushrooms, cover and set aside for at least 15 minutes until mushrooms are tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the mushrooms and chop finely. Cover the broth and keep warm over low heat.

Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms, porcini, and garlic. Saute until the mushrooms are tender and most of the juices have evaporated, about 1o minutes.

Stir in the rice and cook, while stirring a few minutes so that the grains are coated with butter and mushroom. Add the wine and cook, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed- this should only take a couple minutes! Add 1 cup of broth and stir the rice mixture. Simmer the risotto over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the liquid is absorbed. Add more broth by the cupful as it is absorbed by the rice. Continue cooking, adding broth, and stirring until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy, about 30 minutes or so.

Mix in the Parmesan cheese and season the risotto with salt and pepper to taste.

Dill and Shallot Shrimp

This is a nice little bite as an appetizer, and the sauce that is left is great for dipping bread... OR I thought it might be good if you made it with smaller shrimp and used the whole dish as a sauce for pasta.

The main flavoring for this dish is a compound butter.

Compound butter is a mixture of butter and other ingredients: onions, garlic, herbs, cheese, spices, citrus zest...

The butter can be used as a finishing sauce for a good piece of beef (as they do in many nice restaurants- it melts right over the warm meat) or various types of seafood. When melted, the butter can be used as a dip for breads or vegetables.

When making a compound butter, you can store it in the freezer or refrigerator wrapped in plastic or waxed paper and shaped into a log. Just slice of what you need!

If you want to serve individual portions with 2 shrimp per person, the shrimp can be baked in 10 individual ramekins, otherwise place all the shrimp and compound butter in an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish. Baking time will be less than 20 minutes... I would say perhaps start with 10 and check the shrimp occasionally after that to make sure it's translucent and cooked.

To clean the shrimp, peel off the shell- but leave the last joint and tail of the shrimp intact. Make a shallow cut down the back of the shrimp, exposing the vein. Pull this out, discard, and rinse the shrimp in cool water.

Dill and Shallot Shrimp

makes 20

20 jumbo shrimp/king prawns, uncooked, peeled and deveined

3/4 stick (6 T butter) at room temperature

2 T finely chopped dill

1 small shallot, finely minced

1/3 c white wine

salt

pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees with the rack in the middle.

Season shrimp with a bit of salt and pepper and set aside.

Mix the dill and shallot into the softened butter along with 1/4 t each of salt and pepper. Place about a teaspoon of the butter in each ramekin and add two shrimp on top of the butter. Divide the white wine among the ramekins (about 1 1/2 t per ramekin) and divide the remaining butter among each of the dishes, on top of the shrimp. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan and put the pan in the oven. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until the shrimp are just cooked through.