(y)our food choices

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We cook a lot in our tiny kitchen and love it! Baked bread, simmering soups and homemade pizzas are just a few of the staples in our apartment. We are constantly experimenting with recipes and love a challenge. We’re not Iron Chefs but we do respect the men and women who are and their dedication to the craft. We’re just two men who are trying to get back into the simple ways of life. We’re all about farmer’s markets and grass fed beef. We believe that the food we eat is sacred, even if we are not of the religious state of mind, and that with every bite we take or every drink we consume we can all make a difference, for good or not so good. We hope you enjoy reading about what we are eating, peruse the pictures we take of our food, and tell us about what your eating and drinking. In the future we will be linking this blog to a new blog called Your Food Choices where we hope to get some lively discussions about food and how it affects us all. Cheers! Steve & Jason

Potato Leek Soup w/ Sandwich and Salad

Potato Leek Soup

It’s winter and the air has been cold. We’re expecting a rainy week and I’ve got a feeling we’ll be eating a lot of soup to keep us warm. When we make soup, we like to make a big batch so we have extra to freeze for another day. This potato and leek soup never made it to the freezer. It was just too good and with the weekend upon us, leftovers mean easy lunches. The heavy cooking can wait for evening.

Potato leek soup is a simple, hearty meal made all the better with the added rich flavors of bacon fat and savory homemade chicken stock. An enriching dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream, a grind of black pepper and a dash or five of Tabasco round out the steaming bowl of thick, savory yum.

The stock used for this beauty was made from the leftover bones of a Limon Rotisserie chicken be brought home for an easy takeout meal. We love the restaurant’s Peruvian take on roasted chicken and we love what the extraordinary mix of herbs and spices used to flavor the birds adds to the stock we create with what most folks would discard (a terrible waste, in our opinion).

With a small sandwich (goat cheese and prosciutto on our no-kneed loaf pictured) and a romaine salad with a simple bleu cheese dressing (bleu cheese, a bit of sour cream, mayo, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper whisked together) made for a perfect after-run lunch this afternoon.

The Recipe:

2 slices of bacon

3 leeks washed and trimmed of darkest green parts (save them for stock!), chopped

1 lb. organic Russet potatoes, peeled and diced

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 bay leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat large straight-sided frying pan over medium high heat and add bacon strips. Fry until crisp to render fat. Remove to a plate to drain on paper towels. (The bacon can be put aside for another use or crumbled on top of the hot bowl of soup at serving time.)

Add leeks to pan and sauté in bacon fat until wilted. Add stock, potatoes and two bay leaves. Cover and simmer on low until potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

Remove the bay leaves. In batches, puree the potatoes, leeks and broth in a blender. Pour each blended batch into a clean pot and continue to puree until all of the soup has been well blended.

Serve soup in warmed bowls and top with your favorite condiments – crème fraiche, sour cream, plain yogurt … you get the picture.

Love these simple, sweet or savory treats! The Yorkshire Pudding is a savory, meaty little puff of crusty bread baked in deep tins and plenty of meat fat. Today, we bake popovers in butter or bacon drippings, flavor them with sugar and sweet spice or savory herbs and cheese. They’re served at any meal as the perfect “mop” for syrups or sauces. The only thing I can think of to complain about is just how darned easy it is to eat too many of them. Fortunately, they keep very well in a plastic bag stored in your refrigerator. Just pull them out as you need them, re-warm them in the oven/toaster oven and snack away. They’re easy to make as evidenced by the recipe that follows. If you have a favorite modification or pairing, please leave a comment. We’d love to know.

Cheers,

Steve & Jason

Popover Recipe:

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter or bacon drippings or beef drippings

Preheat oven to 425. Divide fat into medium dozen-hole muffin pan. Place muffin in preheated oven to melt/heat fat while mixing the batter.

In a blender, add eggs, milk, flour, salt and sugar and blend until smooth. Pour batter into hot muffin pan dividing evenly. Batter will come to just a little half way up the sides of each muffin hole. Place the muffin pan back into oven and bake for 15 minutes. Check the popovers after 15 minutes and rotate pan. Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes or until popovers are nicely browned but not dark. Pull the pan out of the oven and remove popovers. Serve hot.