Prog Chefs Unite!!!

Here another one of us, our famous

Tipsy pea soup.

1 pound green split peas
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, or to taste
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons of whipped cream (one for each dish)
champagne

sort and rinse peas, then mash them. put in a large pot with 6 cups water, mix, bring to a boil and reduce heat to maintain a simmer. while the peas cook, chop onion, carrots and celery, including celery leaves, if available. add the chopped vegetables to the peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, about 10 minutes. add rosemary, marjoram, bay leaves and minced or pressed garlic. stir in well and cook for several minutes to develop flavors. simmer until peas are soft, 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the age of the peas; it needs to become a kind of cream. taste for seasoning and serve hot. when serving, add a spoonful of whipped cream into the middle of each plate and pour in some champagne

Angelo wrote: You're a great new asset in prog chef country, Jean. Now I'm going to need 4 day weekends to try out all suggestions....

we don't own a restaurant for nothing, Angelo

BaldJean wrote: Angelo wrote: You're a great new asset in prog chef country, Jean. Now I'm going to need 4 day weekends to try out all suggestions.... we don't own a restaurant for nothing, Angelo

I know. I was in Cologne earlier this month for a business lunch. I didn't know the name of your restaurant, nor if you open for lunch, otherwise I might have popped in.

Yesterday I made risotto with summer squash - it was a huge hit with my beloved other half! I used frozen, cooked squash, which thawed to a purée when put in the saucepan together with the sautéed scallions and butter. It was wonderful - the right balance of sweetness and savoury taste, fantastically creamy, and a bright orange colour. Of course, if made with fresh vegetables, it would be even nicer, but I can't really complain about the results.

Last week we went to see Ratatouille (the Pixar animation), and I got interested in the idea of making ratatouille into an oven dish instead of a vegetable stew. Tried it yesterday, and it actually is pretty nice. The children don't like the stew version, but in this one, all ingredients can be recognised individually, and they ate like (vegetarian) wolfs....
Here's what I did:

Make a tomato sauce by putting 4 large tomatoes in a food processor, together with 2 cloves of garlic, fresh thyme and rosemary and salt/pepper to taste. Heat for a short time, so that it's warm when it goes into the oven. Poor the sauce into an oven dish, cover with slices of onion, eggplant and zucchini and strips of green pepper, and some sprigs of fresh rosemary.
Cover the dish (with a lid or aluminium foil) and put in a preheated oven at 190 centigrades for 30-45 minutes, depending on how well done you like the vegetables. At 30 minutes, they are not crunchy anymore but still fairly firm - which I/we like best.

Serve on hot plates with slices of baguette and some grated cheese on top.

That rat really is a genious....


And this afternoon I'll be preparing fresh pasta for the guests that come over tomorrow. I haven't decided on the kind and taste yet, but ricotta, spinach, fresh and sun dried tomotoes and fresh basil are ready for use. Maybe a bit of a traditional - I'll let you know.

It's a beautiful Saturday morning, so we're heading down to the City Market along the bluffs of the Missouri River. It goes on every Saturday morning and you can get fresh produce from local farmers. Hmmmm, just in time for Darqdean's leg of lamb tomorrow.

E

Here's one based on the original Mai Tai recepie:

Edited by Slartibartfast - September 13 2007 at 19:21

Before I go out for the morning, I'd like to share with you my recipe for pasta salad. As in most of the northern emisphere the weather is still quite warm, it's something you can all make now, especially if you can get hold of tasty tomatoes.

Chop some cherry or grape tomatoes (the small ones, as ripe as you can find) and put them in a bowl together with chopped black and green olives (the most flavourful you can find), capers, slivered sun-dried tomatoes previously soaked for about 10 minutes in boiling water, torn basil leaves (mint is also very good in this), garlic and red pepper flakes (the quantity depends on how hot you like your food). As concerns the garlic, if you are a garlic lover you can mince one or two cloves and leave them there - or, if you prefer, you can add a few slivers and take them out before you put the pasta in. Add balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil, but avoid adding salt at this stage, since it will make the tomatoes watery. Put the mixture in a salad bowl, cover and marinate for several hours, even overnight (obviously in the refrigerator, unless the weather is very cool for the season). When serving time is near, take the mixture out of the fridge (it shouldn't be too cold), season with salt, then cook the pasta (short shapes are recommended, of course). Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl, stirring well and adding grated Romano cheese (much better than Parmesan in this case) to taste. Very simple and delicious!

Don't you know that everything that comes out of Oregon is incredibly sweet? Especially the men....