what rainy days are made for

A weeks ago, it was gross and rainy and I started getting grilled cheese and tomato soup on my mind. Then, the sky cleared and the temperatures rose and I was over it. This weekend, however, the bad weather is back! So Sanne and I planned on having a gourmet grilled cheese party! Unfortunately, we slacked on inviting people. But two's a party, right?

I did some hunting this week and found a few winners on bon appetit and soule mama, and were inspired by our fresh picked apples we got from Tougas Farm. We also met this guy:

So, that's pretty good I guess.

We started with the soup. Sanne put the tomatoes (4lbs, about 5 large tomatoes) in boiling water, just long enough for them to loosen up and take their skins off. 

Meanwhile, I chopped 5 carrots, most of a medium yellow onion and 2 celery stalks. The Holy Soupfecta.

The tomatoes were then stripped down to their skivvies, drizzled with olive oil, s+p and roasted for 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven. 

About halfway through, I heated 2T butter, 3 cloves chopped garlic in a large pot, and cooked the onions, carrots and celery until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Then, add the tomatoes and stock, and simmer for another 15 minutes. 

Puree the soup. This is my favorite part!

Then stir in 1/3c chopped (ribboned) basil and 3/4c heavy cream.

We tasted the soup at this point and both agreed that it was missing something. I thought it was a little too vegetable-y and needed more dairy, so Sanne added some salt and a couple tablespoons of butter. After a little simmer time we tasted it again and it was much better. Time is an important factor with soup as well. The longer it sits, the more the flavors come together and the better it tastes.

Sanne and I each chose a grilled cheese and a matching beer. My sandwich was pecorino and fontina with sage butter on borodinsky rye.  I found the recipe on bonappetit.com. I feel like I don't really need to give you recipes for these. But you should know that for the sage butter, melt 3/4 a stick of butter in a saucepan. Pour half of it into a bowl. To the other half, stir in 2 1/2t chopped sage. This you will brush onto the top of each sandwich before you grill them. I poured the rest of the butter in the grill pan to cook the sandwich in.

Sanne made apple, brown sugar ham and vermont cheddar on honey wheat with dijon mustard. Our sandwiches were very different and balanced each other nicely. 

I don't know that I could choose a favorite, they were both so good. The sage butter sandwich was very different, which was nice. And it was really tasty dipped in soup.

fall-tastic

I don't think I could ever go back to kraft singles and white bread. I'm totally spoiled now. Do you have any grilled cheese preferences?

m&a

wine party!

I came across this picture on pinterest today and got a little excited...



teleport me into this party please, science!


So I followed the link and it brought me to a fabulous site, describing how to throw a perfect wine pairings party... complete with table decor.

I don't know why I've never heard of it, but chalkboard contact paper... what a great idea, right?! I did a quick internet search and found a few. This one got pretty good reviews.

I will be referring to Tablespoon in the future, and I will definitely be throwing a wine pairing party. Maybe I can get my own personal Somolier to help me...

m

Low Country Seafood Boil

Well, Julia Child will just have to wait. Lauren requested seafood, and she's gonna get seafood, New England style. Actually, this is something we did a lot growing up in the south, sans lobster... and beer. And my mom always insisted that you dump everything out onto newspaper and eat it with your hands. We're purists. 

I can't believe its August and I haven't done anything like this yet! Seafood boil is another quintessential summer meal. I like how I have to convince myself that its summer with food, this being the first time in my life that I have to work through the summer (I used to be a teacher). But there is something very summer about crackin' into seafood and getting all sticky from butter and lobster juice.

Anyway! Lauren and her friends Jennie and Hailey came over and we got straight to work...

shuckin' corn

choppin' potaties 

conducting reaserch

mixin dranks

 ... and then the business at hand. The Samuel Adams Tasting. I love the seasonal variety packs. I picked up one of those and brought out my promotional tasting glasses. We were excited; there were a few new bottles we hadn't tasted before!

I think the Rustic Saison was the winner, followed by the East-West Kolsch. There was also an IPA and a Light, not pictured.

Humiliating the lobsters is part of the process. Before you boil them to death, you have to take silly pictures with them. I'm sorry, lobsters; I didn't make the rules.

first lobster

serial killer

apron queen

kissy face

I guess I should tell you how we actually did this. It's really all about timing. Fill a big ol' pot about 2/3 of the way with water, season with Old Bay seasoning and bring to a boil. The corn and potatoes should go in first, since they take the longest to cook. Then add the lobster and sausage, which take about 15-20 minutes. Throw the shrimp in at the last 2 minutes or so. They'll turn pink pretty quickly, and they are done.

get your butt in the water

I heard somewhereCurtisStone, that if you put the lobsters in the freezer for a while before you cook, it puts them in some kind of a trance, and they suffer less, or something. Well, that's a lie. I think it actually woke them up. We should've listened to Julia Child, who puts her lobsters out of their misery by stabbing them in the brains. Oh well, live and learn.

Don't forget the butter...

or you'll walk the plank!

 ... about 6lbs will do. I kid, I kid!

shiny red buttsss

tail meats

delish!

leaky

After dinner, we talked staff infections and wrote postcards. You know, the usz.

A new reason to love the summer, since moving up here, is people coming to visit. Whenever a friend stops in, I get to do somewhat tourist-y things. It reminds me of what a fun city I live in, with lots of diversity in food and culture.

Speaking of visitors, we have two more tomorrow night! Preparations are underway to knock the socks off of self proclaimed burger-man Les Comee and his FeDish-loving wife Marilyn. SO excited! And later in the week, my dearest Madaline will be here! Try to keep up, guys! We've got lots of cooking to do!

m

I Got Chills!

I swung by Cardullo's on my way home from work tonight for their Tempt Me Thursday Tasting, and I must say, Eileen may have outdone herself.

As she was listening to the Grease soundtrack today (which is surprising, I didn't think her radio has ever played anything except country), she got inspired to make a chilled soup (you get it?-- "I got chills!"). Though she had never made soup before, she "whipped up" a Carrot and Cilantro chilled concoction in about half an hour, brought it to the shop and found for it the perfect wine and cheese pairings.

Here's what she did:

shred about 5 bags of "really good" carrots, sauté with some Irish butter and shallots. Add a little chicken stock and chopped cilantro. Salt & pepper to taste. Adjust seasoning to your liking. Blend and cool. Garnish with shredded carrot and gouda. 

I've never been too interested in gazpachos, or any soups in the summer. But guys, this was good. Like, really good. I'm going to make it for myself sometime. And when I do, I'll be sure to pick up one of Eileen's perfect pairings...

Eileen wanted something green and herbal to go with the crispy freshness of the carrot-cilantro soup, so she served a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. Sauvignon Blancs are a favorite of mine, and this one is excellent. It's a little dryer and bolder than what I'm used to, in a good way. And it balanced out the soup and cheeses nicely.

And for the beer-drinkers: a Belgian White, also from New Zealand. I loved this one. It had "fairly aggressive hops" and a super cute label. ;)

the label has unicorns and other woodland creatures on it :)

Also for tasting: Beemster Vlaskass and Beemster XO. Both aged goudas are delicious with the wine or beer. 

happy tasters

Eileen does tasting every Thursday from 5:30-7:30pm. If you haven't been yet, you are missing out. I hope she doesn't get mad at me for saying this, and I mean it in the best way possible, but Eileen is kind of a big nerd when it comes to food. Of course, that's just the pot calling the kettle black. She loves to chat people up about pairings, recipe ideas, eating local & organic, etc. I always get great ideas when I go. In fact, I'm stopping back by tomorrow to pick up some gouda and beer for myself!

m