Potato Leek Soup

What could be simpler than soup made from leeks and potatoes? After reading the book by Julie Powell (Think that was her name.) about cooking Julia Childs' recipes, I was inspired to try my hand at the first entry in Julia's cookbook - Potato Soup. I was surprised to discover that potato soup had lots of leeks in it and that it did not have any milk. Prior to this, my experience with potato soup was from a can with a red and white label to which was added a can of milk. Julia's recipe used water as the base, but Joy of Cooking suggests stock, broth, or water. I had some homemade poultry broth. Julia raves about the pure flavor using water, but that sounded like it might be weak. I must have used too much of the green parts of the leeks because my soup had a greenish tint, but tasted good. Next time I will buy more leeks and use only the whitest parts. The cleaning of the leeks took awhile, but luckily I had seen Rachael Ray cleaning them on TV so I knew what to do and we didn't have grit in the soup.

I agree with Julia, simple potato soup is something to rave about. Now, if only leeks weren't quite so expensive.

Asparagus with Orange and Hazelnuts

I made this vegetable dish back last November, but with fresh asparagus starting to show up in the stores again it seemed like a good idea to post it now. Fresh asparagus is great just steamed with a little lemon juice squeezed on at the end, but how many times can you eat it that way. The simple addition of some grated orange zest, juice, and a few chopped hazelnuts wasn't much work, but added flavor and made the dish seem more special. If you don't mind the added fat and calories, go for the butter too. Page 250

Baked Rice Pudding

As an experiment, I made some rice pudding using some leftover brown rice to see what it tasted like. I liked the idea that this recipe was baked because I was already baking dinner and I don't like to use the oven for only 1 thing. Seems like a waste of energy. This recipe tasted more like a baked custard than rice pudding made on the stove top due to the cooking method and the inclusion of eggs. The brown rice gave a more chewy taste than white rice, which I liked. The pudding seemed to have more body. I also added some cinnamon and raisins. I would make this again if I happened to have some leftover brown rice. See page 820.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Joy tells me that if I'm going to bother making a fresh lemon or lime pie, I should use fresh juice and grate the zest. So true, I found, after baking a drama queen of a pie, lemon meringue (p. 687). I had to bake one from scratch after I learned my husband had NEVER tasted lemon meringue.

I've never baked one from scratch and after doing so, I'm not sure why anyone bothers with the shortcuts or those horrid prepackaged pies, with their fake yellow insides. It's not that hard, and the results: WOW. Buttery crust, tart filling, sweet mounds of meringue. I used the Deluxe Butter Pie Dough (p. 665) and Soft Meringue Topping No. I (p. 798).

Probably the most difficult step was the dough, which wasn't that difficult. The filling took a few minutes to heat and stir on the stove top. The meringue I chose calls for the addition of a paste, made on the stove top with corn starch and water, that keeps the meringue firm in the fridge. I thought the extra step was worth trouble if you don't plan to eat the whole pie in one sitting.

One word of warning: Don't get impatient and try to eat this pie before it cools completely. The filling doesn't set until its cool. Plus it's worth the wait. My husband said it tasted the best cool from the fridge.