So what does one do when you a) can't drive anywhere; b) can no longer really walk anywhere *unless you like being lashed by blowing snow in the face; c) haven't been in your office for a whole week now?
Well, one bakes and one cooks.
Yesterday I baked cupcakes. I made them from scratch, from a recipe that I've used before, and I made some amazing cream cheese frosting for them (8 oz cream cheese, 5 tbsp butter, 2 tsp. vanilla, and about 2 cups confectioners sugar to taste).
Bogdan (who always has the best exclamations while tasting food I've made) said that he would "totally wait in line for these cupcakes," poking fun at the Georgetown Cupcake mania where people wait in a line that wraps around a block just to buy a $3 cupcake.
Then today, as the wind beats against the window shaking the power lines so intensely I'm just waiting for the power to go out, I decided I would finally try Julia Child's potato soup. My godparents got me the cookbook for Christmas and while I've read through several chapters, I haven't actually made anything.
The ingredients for the soup were so simple - potatoes, onions, water, salt, butter - that I seriously worried whether the soup would lack flavor and depth (I've had my fair share of soups with no depth!) but boy did Julia show me up!
The soup was amazing. Bogdan's reaction, "this is so French!" and it was so French. And delicious.
The thing I loved most about it (and all of the recipes I've read so far) is that Julia allows for you to make something of your own. She gives you the basics (noted above) but then she says, Ok now do it yourself! So I did, I added carrots during the simmer, corn after the simmer, and some dried herbs after it was all said and done.
And now I know what I'm doing. I don't need the recipe, it's in my head, it's my own. And I can tweak it and change it as much as I want in the future. It's like a small slice of cooking confidence.
I find myself hoping for an end to this blizzard madness so I can go to the store and get the ingredients to make more great Julia recipes.
can you post the potato soup recipe
ReplyDeleteYep, it's very easy. The full recipe (I made half) is 3-4 cups peeled chopped potatoes and 3-4 cups chopped onions or leeks. Put in a pot with 2 quarts water and 1 tbsp salt. Simmer partially covered 40-50 minutes.
ReplyDeleteTake off heat, smash the potatoes with the back of a fork (or put through a food mill). Add 2-3 tbsp butter OR 3-4 tbsp heavy cream. Top with parsley or chopped chives.
You can add whatever veggies you want. I didn't have 3 cups onion, so I put the onions I had and then some carrots. After mashing, I threw in some corn and let it simmer 10 minutes more.
Julia suggest lima beans, broccoli, peas, carrots, etc. etc. etc. :)
Her French onion soup is also ridiculously easy and delicious.
ReplyDeleteSounds so good. Wish you lived close enough to share it. It is sooo cold here too. No snow though but unseasonably cold. Hope you power stays on.
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