Being from Mexico City, I am no stranger to earthquakes. I grew up with them, in them, numerous times. Yet I still remember September 19, 1985.  I was already living in Texas, and was actually at the Austin City Coliseum  for a Squeeze concert.  Some of my friends told me about an earthquake in Mexico City, comments I quickly dismissed with “oh, yeah, they happen all the time.”

But not like this one. By the time I got home and turned on the TV, panic set in. I tried repeatedly to call home, to no avail. It took days before I heard from my cousin in Chicago who had finally managed to call home. Everyone was OK, but over 10,000 people were dead, and the city, including the general Hospital, was in shambles. My brother tells me stories of how people, without really organizing anything official, just started  getting out there to help. He and his friends brought coffee and food to workers who were trying to find survivors in the rubble.  At the General Hospital, the only survivors were a dozen babies from the maternity ward, their bodies supple and their minds not able to grasp a thing. As far as they were concerned, they were in a dusty rather than wet dark womb.  Many others were not so lucky. I was unable to help, stuck far away, a new immigrant with little money. I remember going to a benefit at Liberty Lunch. Don’t remember who played, but remember many people being there and lots of friends calling to comfort me.

As I watch and hear about the people in Haiti, I have a weird flashback. Again, stuck far away with little money, seeing a whole country suffer YET AGAIN from another natural disaster striking an already impoverished nation. So during the NFC Championship last weekend, it was impossible not to draw parallels among my own memories, the impending crisis in Haiti, and the horror of Katrina.  As instructed by the NFL and TV commentators, I got my cell phone and texted Haiti to 90999 to send $10 to the Red Cross.  I saw Pierre Garçon wrap the AFC trophy on the Haitian flag. I saw Jonathan Vilma play with an incredible energy. And we all had tears of joy when the New Orleans Saints won that game. After so many heartaches, on and off the field, the Saints came through for themselves and a city that long has supported them and deserved more than any other to have something to celebrate.

We did, wholeheartedly, at our house. I made “Cajun” pizzas that were a huge hit, unfortunately there are no photos because we demolished them quickly to soak up the beer and adrenaline. But I’ll share my ideas and recipes as some of you may want to do this inexpensively for the Big Game on Feb 7th.

“Cajun” Pizzas

4 Frozen cheese pizza of your choice. I bought thin crust 3 cheese pizzas from our local HEB brand.
1 pound cooked salad or cocktail shrimp, thoroughly drained
6 links of smoked sausage of your choice. I wanted Andouille, but ended up with Texas-style from Southside Market
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
Cajun seasoning mix of your choice
Cook the sausage to brown evenly and drain some of the abundant fat. Cool slightly and slice thinly.  Cook the ground turkey (I used bacon grease I had saved and chopped onions) adding cajun seasoning. Let cool. Toss the shrimp with Cajun seasoning. Assemble toppings on frozen pizzas to your liking. I made one with just shrimp, one with sausage and turkey, and two with everything. Bake according to box instructions. Enjoy with plenty of beer and add Tabasco or another Louisiana-style hot sauce to taste.

On that note, I remind you to do your best to help the crisis in Haiti by donating anything you can. $10 here go a LONG way there.

GO SAINTS!

First, we’re going to talk about the fabulous menu that I came up with for last night. And I’ll give you my recipes, too. All quantities make 2 servings.

Burnt Orange Carrot Soup

4 big fresh carrots, sliced
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 large parsley stems (I forgot to buy the celery…)
1 Tbs mild olive oil1 tbs butter
1 Tbs tomato paste
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
2 cups homemade chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Sautee carrots, onions & parsley stems in the oil and butter until onion is translucent but not brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste while cooking. Add tomato paste, stirring frequently, until slightly caramelized. Add broth, stir, lower hear and cover. Cook until carrots are tender. Puree in blender until silky. Add milk and return to pot. Bring to a boil, taste for seasoning and adjust if needed. Enjoy.

As I say, not quite Burtn Orange but very tasty. My fourth Hook'em-mosa keeps it company.

Sockeye Salmon with Burnt Orange Sauce

1# wild sockeye salmon
1 orange bell pepper
1 medium RIPE red tomato (I used the last from our garden)
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 tbs. butter
kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Brush salmon with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Core and seed pepper. Roast pepper, garlic and tomatoes on a griddle, comal, or heavy pan. Alternatively they can roast in the broiler. Turn frequently until slightly charred and soft. Blend in food processor, seasoning to taste. If it’s too sweet, add a few drops of fresh lemon juice to balance out. Broil salmon skin side down until desired doneness. I like mine medium, with crispy skin. Reheat sauce briefly, transfer back to food processor and blend in the butter. Serve immediately over the salmon. Dig in.

The side dish is the Riso e Zuca from Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. I used butternut squash. It’s super easy and went well with the salmon and sauce. Not quite Burnt Orange but close enough for me.

Salmon with Burnt Orange sauce and butternut squash riso. My fifth Hook'em-mosa in the background...

Now for the bad part: I wasn’t halfway done with the salmon when Colt left the game. I lost my appetite. By halftime I was crying. Jordan Shipley’s face  set me off. It was not only disappointing, but my heart truly hurt for them. Just the look of anguish in Colt’s face! You know it wasn’t from his shoulder pain, it was from deep disappointment, powerlessness, heartache. All he had been waiting for his young life gone in half a second on a seemingly harmless play. We were dominating. We would have destroyed them -I have NO question about it.
Colt McCoy got robbed twice. The winningest QB in the HISTORY of NCAA Football loses the Heisman to a sophomore running back? All because the last game the voters watched was a poor performance against Nebraska…really? He’ll win the championship, everyone said. The Heisman means nothing. It’’s a curse. And then he gets robbed from playing the most important game in his life. Where is justice?  Father and coaches all talked him into leaving the game -despite his insisting protests- to protect his NFL career. Really? Call me naive or stupid, but to me, Colt is not bound for NFL glory, just like Major Applewhite, an god forbid Chris Simms.  Colt’s day was YESTERDAY people, YESTERDAY.

I really wish him the best. I hope he recovers from the emotional earthquake. Texas players have a history of meltdowns: Simms, Vince, Benson, you name it.  I am so pissed off. The game was ours. We lost it on turnovers forced from a freshman kiddo who did his best to keep his act together while bearing the biggest weight imaginable in the sports world. He did his best. The defense did their best-the Acho brothers and Sergio Kendall kept Bama’s punter busy. Add a couple of bullshit no call pass interferences and you got your fate sealed.

Hang in the Colt, your day will come. I’ll get over it, too.  Or maybe not.

Picking up 2010 with renewed energy, lots of projects and hopes, including a commitment to make this blog much better. I am still learning to use this tool, so I expect lots more to come.

Today, I start the new year with some sports and recipes. The College Football Championship fever has Austin upside down, and I am at the forefront of it, of course. With temperatures expected to be the lowest since 1996, we are looking at highs in the 30s and lows in the teens for the next 4-5 days. Brrr. So, we dutifully pruned and mulched all the perennials in the garden, covered the tropical beds, and harvested all the beets and a handful of carrots. This gave me an idea: a Burnt Orange menu for tonight’s game watching. Will thinks I am nuts. yeah, what’s new?

I made an Almost-Burnt Orange Beet & Carrot soup with the harvest. Although not quite the right color, it made a delicious and warming  light lunch to start the day right.

Almost-Burnt Orange Beet & Carrot Soup. Super delicious, if I may say so.

For tonight, I will try carrot soup since I picked a bunch of them, and will add a bit of fried tomato paste for a hint of tartness and Burnt Orange. Just look at these beauties:

These are Nantes variety. The odd white carrot just sneaked in there somehow!

For the main course I am considering a butternut squash risotto from Lidi’as Italy, or perhaps some orange roughy? We will drink a hybrid mimosa with cava and freshly squeezed tangerine juice from the lovely fruit from our neighbor Paul’s tree. The tree was already there when he moved in so we’re not sure of the variety, but they could be tsatsumas or clementines. Either way, they are amazing.

Tsatsumas? Clementines? don't know. Organic, fresh picked, delish, though.

With these babies, I just made a drink I call “The Hook’em-mosa”, with fresh juice, cava, and a dash of Sanbitters. Two strips of peel that you can bite into add a double dose of tangerine taste and a pleasant bitterness. Yum. I am enjoying one with Pickles in her full Longhorn outfit:

Pickles and me: Hook'em!

And here’s Pickles enjoying a treat of her own:

Look at her...she's almost smiling! Love my dog...

This is my prep for my Lets Kick The bleeep Out Of Alabama All-Burnt Orange Dinner:  cream of garden carrot soup, wild sockeye salmon in roasted orange pepper and tomato sauce, Lidia’s butternut squash risotto. Plenty of Hooke’m-mosas and a dash of El Milagro tequila, hoping for the miracle.

Burnt Orange Dinner prep. I'll post the winning recipes tomorrow, hangover permitting

For dessert, I am having a 31-28 win and cava on my head. Yeah! My doggie waits and my sweetie is handing me an El Milagro so I must run. Here’s hoping to a great game and another heartwarming repeat of the 2005 win. Recipes tomorrow, hangover permitting.

HOOK ‘EM HORNS!

I love the holidays. To me, this season doesn’t mean rushing to the mall to buy useless stuff, or stressing about traveling, or family, or whatever it is that people hate the holidays for. Perhaps I should count myself amongst the lucky ones. I have health and a family I love, a roof over my head, lots of friends, the best dog in the whole wide world, and although I am quite tight on the budget, I am mostly happy.

So here is what the holidays mean to me: a chance to see friends that I don’t see often. A chance to reconnect with family members. A chance to donate time, money, or goods to help others less fortunate. The smell of a conifer tree inside my house. Christmas lights. Cooking. Lots of cooking. Sharing meals, drinks, and good times with people I love. Making homemade presents. Seeing my parents.

In this kind of holiday spirit, I will try to blog as often as possible to share recipes, cocktails, gift ideas, charity opportunities, cool happenings, and whatever else comes to mind during the last days of 2009. I welcome all input from you readers, so get in the spirit and share! Have a great recipe? A volunteer opportunity? An event announcement? Send it and I’ll post it! Send photos too, if you have them. It is my hope to infect you out there with good vibes and good spirits instead of stress, dread, and shopping frenzies. Deal?

I’ll start with a quick note on the garden. Expecting our first freeze of the winter, I picked a bunch of unripe fall tomatoes and put them in a basket on the kitchen table. The summer crop was non-existent and I won’t risk watching the fall crop turn to frozen goo. Last fall’s crop ripened just fine in the basket and we had tomatoes most of the season. It was great. I brought the citrus trees inside. The variegated lemon is loaded and the Key lime has a few fruit and loads of blooms. I picked a few beet, the last of the eggplant and poblanos  and processed them into various things.

Last of the garden eggplant and poblanos, first beets!

My beautiful variegated lemons!

Here’s what I made with the eggplant. This Russian recipe was given to me by my friend Ed a few years back and it’s a favorite at the house. We eat in on crackers or crostini as a snack, but it would make a killer sandwich filling or pasta topping as a hearty vegetarian option. It is easy to make and freezes well, and makes a nice party hors d’ouvre.

Baklazhannaia Ikra (“Poor Man’s Caviar”)

2 pounds eggplant
6 Tbs. olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (14 oz) petite diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. sugar
2 tsps. salt
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
2-3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
4-5 sprigs fresh parsley

Bake whole eggplants at 425 F, turning as needed until soft and skin is charred, about 30-45 min. depending on size. Cool. Meanwhile, sautee onions in 4 tbs oil until translucent, add green pepper (I used poblanos since I had them, added a nice bite!) and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes until all is soft. Transfer to a bowl.
Peel eggplant and chop it finely, almost to a puree. Heat remaining oil on medium heat and add eggplant, sauteed veggies, tomatoes, salt, sugar and pepper to taste. bring to a boil, stirring constantly so it doesn’t stick to bottom of pan (a cast iron skillet works great.) Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for about 30 more min. until liquid is evaporated and mixture is thickened. Stir in lemon juice and parsley, adjust seasoning. Transfer to a glass bowl and chill until ready to serve.

Try this out and let me know what you think. Stay warm by cooking something delicious tonight! More recipes tomorrow!

As we are in Texas and tamales here are synonyms with holiday fiestas, this posting seems appropriate. Some of you know that I have been working on a book on the history of tamales, and I am happy to announce that I am currently working with an editor at UT Press in hopes to see the book finally published in the Spring of 2011, tentatively. And as these developments were occurring, I was also involved with curating and organizing a series of lectures on historic and cultural aspects of Mexican cuisine. What I didn’t know at the time is that I would be opening the series with a lecture this fall.  So, those of you living in or near the Austin area are invited to attend my lecture on Thursday, November 19th at the Long Center.

New Speaker Series on History of Mexican Food Begins

Event: “A Brief History of Tamales”

Austin-based food writer Claudia Alarcón will explore the pre-Hispanic origins of the tamal and its continued importance in Mexican cooking and culture today. It is the first talk in a new speaker series called Foodways of Mexico: Past, Present, and Future, which looks at lesser-known aspects of Mexico’s rich culinary tradition.

When: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 6:00-7:00 p.m.  (Reception to follow 7:00-7:30 p.m.)

Where: ATT Education Room, Long Center for the Performing Arts, 701 W. Riverside Dr., Austin, 78704

Background: The Mexican Center of the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS) at the University of Texas has organized a speaker series titled Foodways of Mexico: Past, Present, and Future, which runs November 2009 through November 2010 and looks at lesser-known aspects of Mexico’s rich culinary history, from pre-Columbian times to the present day.  The series was curated by Claudia Alarcón, an Austin-based food writer who is a native of Mexico City and has written extensively on foodways topics for a variety of publications, including The Austin Chronicle.

In the first talk of the series, “A Brief History of Tamales,” Alarcón will speak about the central role that tamales have played in Mexican cooking and culture, from their origins among the ancient Mesoamerican cultures that existed in what is today Mexico, to its present-day use as an essential food at celebrations, for the holidays, and at other special events.

The series continues in February 2010 with a talk by Rachel Laudan, a British food historian who has lived for many years in Guanajuato, Mexico, and has written and spoken in depth about the colonial legacy of Mexican food. Her presentation, “Transplanted Cuisines: Migrants in the Making of Mexican Cuisine,” will examine the legacy that disparate migrant communities—including Lebanese, French, and Asian—have contributed to Mexican cooking.  In April 2010, noted cookbook author Diana Kennedy will speak on the “Unknown Gastronomy of Mexico,” looking at the dishes and recipes that are handed down within families from generation to generation, but rarely printed or published.

Foodways of Mexico: Past, Present, and Future will continue in September 2010 with additional speakers to be announced at a later date.

All talks will be followed by a reception and are free and open to the public. The talks by Claudia Alarcón and Rachel Laudan will take place at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Austin. Diana Kennedy’s talk will be held at the Blanton Auditorium on the UT campus.

For more information please contact the Mexican Center at 512.232.2423 or g.sanders@austin.utexas.edu.

Sponsored by the Mexican Center of LLILAS and the Blanton Museum of Art
~

As you can imagine, I am honored, overwhelmed, nervous, and incredibly busy. I have lots of cool ideas for new posts, which I will start the week after next. Look for a series of holiday-related blogs with recipes, ideas, cocktails, parties, and of course, football.

Until then, thanks for your patience. Hope to see some of you at the Long Center on Thursday.

Happy everything,

CA

Ever since childhood, I have always loved the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration. To me, remembering your loved ones who have passed on with beautiful art, flowers, favorite foods, and drinks is a much nicer celebration than meaningless drinking binges in ridiculous costumes. I have never been a costume person myself, and the only thing I really enjoy about Halloween is the proliferation of horror and monster movies on TV and in theaters. But nevermind all that.

After moving to Texas in 1984, I have continued celebrating Day of the Dead Mexico-style setting up ofrenda altars for family and friends who I miss. I think I have done a good job in promoting and spreading the love for this tradition. Nowadays, it is not only accepted, but Dia de los Muertos art is widely popular, and many celebrations around this holiday are common in Austin. One of the best-know, longest-standing is the festival at Mexic-Arte Museum.  This year, I have been invited by the kind folks at Mexic-Arte Museum to participate in the events. Willy and I have set up an altar ofrenda at the museum in honor of Ladybird Johnson. I had envisioned an offering full of live plants and flowers, but unfortunately live plants did not do well in the gallery space without any daylight. The aloes, agaves, and cacti seem to be doing well, however, and I think she would have approved. The altar exhibit is open to the public during museum hours and goes on until November 22nd, so stop by if you are in the Downtown area and give us your opinion.

This Sunday, I will be one of the presenters on a mini-symposium at the museum. This text is from their website:

Why Do the Dead Come Back?
Culture, Life, and Transformation
from the Aztec and Maya World Through the Present

Mini-Symposium
Sunday, November 1, 2:00 PM
FREE Admission

Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – is a Mexican and Mexican American cultural ritual that takes place annually.  The panelists will talk about daily life in Mesoamerica and how Day of the Dead fits into that context. They will further explain why the tradition exists in some places and not others, and how we know what we know about pre-Columbian history and the cultures within it.

Claudia Alarcón will present a short lecture on gastronomic traditions of the Day of the Dead, including a slide show with original photos and food samples prepared by Chef Marisela Godinez of El Mesón.

Moderated by Toni Nelson Herrera, Education Director at Mexic-Arte Museum

Panelists:

• Dr. Enrique Rodríguez-Alegría – Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin
• Amber O’Connor – Doctoral Student at the University of Texas at Austin
• Claudia Alarcón – Independent Researcher and Author

I will have a PowerPoint slide show with photos from our research in various parts of Mexico, and Marisela’s food should be a wonderful ending to an interesting afternoon. Come by if you are not too hungover from your All-American costume partee.

More soon,

CA

As I wrote in my last post, I got a very cool surprise last week while attending a media party at Piranha Killer Sushi downtown. While talking to the Statesman’s bright-eyed Addie Broyles, she gave me the surprise of the year.

I had just turned in a review of Lidia Bastianich’s newest cookbook, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes, to appear in the Chronicle’s Food section to coincide with this weekend’s Texas Book Festival (where she will be featured.) Therefore, I did not quite understand what she was telling me about my blurb on the book…I thought she probably heard I was writing a review of the book or something. But then, noticing that I was fully clueless, she insisted. “No, Claudia. Your blurb that is ON THE BACK COVER of the book…”   Say what? Yes, Addie assured me. On the back cover of the book’s jacket was a quote from me. Having just read and used the book to cook a week’s worth of recipes, I was shocked that I hadn’t bothered to read the back cover, as I usually do. Well, not this time. Here is the photo Addie sent me:

Now, this is huge for me. Those familiar with my byline in the Austin Chronicle must have read my glowing reviews of Lidia Bastianich’s cookbooks.  I am a fervent admirer of hers, and not just because of her excellent writing, simple recipes, and passion for her country’s cuisine. I have actually had the chance to meet her once, and I was truly floored by her humility, friendliness, and overall great personality and attitude. believe me, I have met other “celebrity” TV chefs and cookbook authors, and my general perception has been less than favorable in most cases. Not with Lidia. What a class act she is. And to suddenly see MY NAME on her latest book, proclaiming my love of her work for the world to see, was just unbelievable. I called Virginia Wood, my editor at the Austin Chronicle, to let her know. She was as surprised as I was, she had not had a chance to see the book either! She phoned me back later to give me another surprise: I would be representing the Chronicle at a special dinner on Halloween night at Crú, where Lidia would be the guest of honor and the chefs would be preparing recipes from her book paired with her son Joseph’s wines from Northern Italy. Oh man…

Those of you who know me know that I have had a tough 2009.  So finally, as it is about to be over, 2009 deals me an ace.  I could not be happier. I have a wonderful husband, the best dog in the world, and a blurb on one of my food idols’ latest book.

Bring it on, life!

If you are interested, check out my review of  Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes in the upcoming issue of the Chronicle. If you are available Saturday, she is presenting a cooking demo from her book at the Cooking Tent for the Texas Book Festival at 12:30. Check outthe website: http://www.texasbookfestival.org/

And if you are ready for a supercool dinner treat, call Crú and make a reservation before the event sells out. 238 W. 2nd Street, Austin. 512/472-9463. I’ll be there with bells on.

Happy everything, indeed!

CA

Last night, Will and I attended a media party at Piranha Killer Sushi Downtown. Those of you who know me are already familiar with my raw fish obsession, and also know that when it comes to sushi, I am picky, picky, picky. I also have reservations about chain restaurants, but since Piranha is small and Texas-owned I felt it OK to check it out. Thankfully, Piranha did not disappoint.  The space is hip and modern but not stuffy or pretentious like other downtown sushi outposts (you know what I am talking about), and the staff  is friendly and accommodating.  Chef/Owner Kenzo Tran is Vietnamese, and his heritage is well reflected in many of his creative offerings. I was particularly smitten by the Vietnamese summer roll, a hybrid between sushi roll and Vietnamese spring roll, with fresh tuna, salmon, and crab (NOT Krab) rolled in rice paper with fresh salad greens, cilantro, asparagus, and green mango:

Chef Tran's Vietnamese summer roll - refreshing and delicious!

Most of the dishes we sampled were beautifully presented and the fish was the best quality I’ve seen outside of Uchi and Tomodachi (my two faves for raw fish indulgence.) I don’t much care for sushi rolls dressed with creamy mayonnaise-based sauces, but the sashimi and raw appetizers were outstanding.

Hamachi crudo with cilantro puree - pure bliss...

Of course, drinkies were involved. I liked the sake-pear martini, not too sweet nor boozy, refreshing and actually easy for food pairing. Great with the salmon ceviche with jalapeño, cilantro and mango.  We clearly had to order their signature weird cocktail, The Rabbi, a dry martini with vodka and pickle juice, garnished with a pickle spear. Yes, Dana. We need to work on that…

The Rabbi, a vodka and pickle juice martini. Breakfast, anyone?

And since I am on the sushi topic, I thought I’d mention my birthday lunch at Tomodachi. I love Chef Steve Riad’ creations and Tomo’s friendly atmosphere. He was glad to see us and made me some special things since we told him it was my birthday. First, we sampled shishito peppers,  mild Japanese peppers with a lot of flavor, fried whole with sea salt and served as an appetizer.  They are addictive and delicious. I could eat a pile of them while drinking a beer on football Sundays.

Shishito peppers, crazy good!

Steve also made us a torched skate wing dish, strangely chewy but tasty. Birthday dreams are made of this:

Steve torching skate

I am looking forward to another visit to Piranha to try things on my own, outside of a party. I’ll be sitting at the sushi bar this time, getting to know the chefs.

And on that note, tune in to tomorrow’s post to read the crazy cool story of the surprise that my buddy Addie Broyles from the Statesman gave me last night…could be my official first Fifteen Minutes!

Cheers and raw fish,
CA

Temperatures are supposed to drop to the 50s tonight. Perhaps fall is really here (forget yesterday’s high of 92…)

I have already started cooking with fall ingredients.  I have been reading Lidia Bastianich’s new cookbook, she’ll be here for the Texas Book Festival and I am covering that for the Austin Chronicle. So I cooked Northern Italian all last week.  There was a butternut squash risotto, pork chops with lemon and capers, apple and celery root salad, and a superdelicious spaghetti with apple-tomato sauce. But one of the nicest, easiest recipes was her Roasted Chicken in Beer, graciously flavored by carrots and parsnips. Since this veggie has been in my mind a lot, my friend Dana Daniel sent me some lovely recipes, including this one here which I will make tonight:

Cream of Parsnip Soup  (Aka Potage De ‘Snip)

1 small leek, thinly sliced
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
1 clove elephant garlic
1 large bay leaf
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
Sea or kosher salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Dash of cayenne or Tabasco
½ cup dry Vermouth
3 cups chicken stock-preferably homemade
2 cups diced parsnip
½ cup diced turnip
1 small Yukon gold potato
1 cup chicken stock
2 oz. aged Gouda, shredded
¼ cup Half & Half
Accouterments~

Diced crispy prosciutto
Frizzled leeks
Lemon zest
Fresh thyme leaves
Crispy fried parsnip wafers

Dana’s mis en place for parsnip soup

Sweat leaks in olive and butter over medium heat. Add garlic and seasonings. Cook until just soft and add vermouth and chicken stock. Add parsnips, potato, and turnips.
Cook over low heat until soft. Remove bay leaf and return leaf  to pan. Puree veggie mixture until fairly smooth. Return to pan over low heat. Add another cup of stock and simmer over low heat for about twenty minutes. Add gouda and stir until melted. Stir in Half & Half, adjust seasonings and ladle into bowls to serve. Allow guests to add their choice of toppings.
That just sounds so good to me…On the side she served a salad of baby purple romaine, Italian Parsley and shredded parsnip, very simply dressed with extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, white balsamic, sea salt & pepper. Yum.

Fresh, seasonal salad of baby romaine, herbs, and shredded parsnip

For the salad, it would be best to find super fresh young parsnips, since they tend to get fibrous when they are older and bigger, like carrots. And on that note, here is a picture I just took…

Tiny parsnip plants have emerged and are thriving. I counted at least 12 of them. Thank goodness for all the rain!

Yes my gardening friends, those are parsnip seedlings, happily growing among some weeds and a forest of tiny basils. I am so happy I could cry. Let’s hope they keep growing. Now  I head out to the garden to harvest basil and spend the evening making pesto, an early night so I can be ready for tomorrow’s game. Can’t wait.

Go Horns!

Ugh…I love living in Austin, but not in October. It’s a shame, really, since it’s not only my birthday month but the best time to be out in the garden, and all I can do these first few days is look outside while I blow my nose between sneezes. *sigh*.
I have been practically indoors since Thursday. On Friday, Will and I spent a few hours at Mexic-Arte setting up our Day of the Dead altar (more on that later). Of course we did not finish, and planned on going back quickly the next morning. Already feeling sniffly, I should have known better than going on the morning walk with Pickles, but I felt a bit cabin-fevered. Of course, the maintenance folks were mowing the grassy fields where we usually walk, sending grass and ragweed pollen flying my way. Add a high mold count and presto…I couldn’t stop sneezing by the time we got home. We had been invited to the inaugural dinner for a new supper club, The Movable Fest, by my buddies Gina Burchenal and Kristine Kittrell, but literally could not even breathe. I was so looking forward to their Canadian Thanksgiving inspired menu! Instead, I spent the weekend watching sports (more on that later as well) and eating spicy Thai soup. Thankfully I started feeling better yesterday, just in time for my trip to Houston tomorrow with my brother Miguel to go see the U2 show. yeah!
So after tomorrow, I’ll be back on full blogging mode since I am so behind and have so many things to discuss. Some surprises, some sports rants, and yes, parsnip recipes!
hasta pronto,
CA