I’ve almost never fully understood what my currency has been at any point in my life. What a waste my twenties were in this regard and what a crappy thing to have silly things like ideals. I remember giving up an invitation by a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to attend the Oscars with him because I thought he was a little suspect and aged (I think I’m older now than he was then, by the way) and I didn’t like his hair much, because I was that nit-picky. I also thought that surely if an opportunity to go to the Oscars was being presented to me at 22, I would certainly have others-- I didn’t realize that it was youth and naivety that were my sources of power at the time (I thought it was just my plain ol’ ”badassness”). What giant lady balls I had! I would stomp on kittens to have any number of those lost opportunities now. Yes, I said stomp on KITTENS. Or even BUNNIES, though at this stage of the game I would try and use my feminine wiles to get the dude to cut his hair, which I am quite sure at this point he already has, or at the very least make sure he didn’t take Corey Feldman as his backup date, which he actually did, much to both my disgust and to my delight.
The only time that I can think of in my past when I did know what it was that was my source of advantage was my senior year in college. I was one of the few people (I think there were fifty of us total) that petitioned to live in off-campus housing and had a non Middlebury sponsored residence, which meant I had a nice kitchen and a wood burning stove, which was cozy, if not completely necessary, since this was Vermont and we were all semi-lame pseudo-hippies that smelled good. Anyway, because I wasn’t on the meal plan in the dorm and because there was a food co-op right down the street and because that co-op sold ramen noodles and Annie’s mac and cheese and because I washed down every meal with at least three cans of Milwaukee’s Beast (that’s not a typo), I had acquired quite the culo. My solution? Use whatever means at my disposal to lose the fat ass. And what was at my disposal, you might ask: why, my kitchen and my (sort of) ability to follow directions.
I went to the college fitness center, steering clear of the girls who ate nothing but granola and coffee and would program their Stairmasters on the “black hole” setting for forty-five minutes for not one session, but TWO, the second 45 minutes of which they turned away from the machine for more localized butt-toning. I’m not kidding. Those girls were scary...for a number of reasons. You never wanted to go into the community bathrooms for at least a half an hour after one of them went in. And as much as I wanted a smaller behind I wasn’t willing to do those things. No, I set my eyes on a very fit, very cool football player instead. Not that we really had much of a football team (no hate mail, fellow Panthers, please), but we had to have something for the kids from Massachusetts to do. I kid I kid.
I offered the guy a home cooked meal once a week until I was in shape in exchange for kicking my ass at the fitness center. Yes, in this one instance I knew what I had to bargain with, and it was little more that a set of Wusthof knives and the Silver Palate Cookbook (mock not, it still has the best recipe EVER for tarragon chicken salad). And that was enough to get my ass back, which was all I cared about at that moment... well that and getting a certain guy to dump the girl who would later rise to international fame as the Orbitz Gum Girl, and to date me in her place, of course. But that’s a story for another time...
But I digress. I guess making food holds a powerful place in me, even when it’s a disaster and I don’t know what I’m doing. It’s still food and we all have to eat. And at this very strange time in my life I need a different kind of ass-kicking, no less necessary, and food once again seems to be the thing that may actually prove to be my salvation. At the very least I have managed to coerce a lot of people into being my friend simply by feeding them; it’s almost like trying to pick up men by using your friend’s golden retriever puppy as a prop at Runyon Canyon. It’s kind of sneaky and a tad disingenuous, but it totally works.
This week it was not soup but soups. That’s right, because Legal Eagle once again made the delicious (one pistachio and one mint chocolate chip) ice cream, I had all kinds of time to make more soup. Actually, it was mostly because I really wanted to do something with pancetta and a few of my guests don’t dine on swine. Lord knows why since we’re all bacon Jews (for those of us that actually are Jewish and those of us who just wish we were) and pig is just so, well, delicious. But anyway I wasn’t about to make the sweet potato soup with pancetta without providing another option. So I made two options. I’m nothing if not ambitious.
The second set of soups were a duo: roasted yellow pepper and roasted heirloom tomato with a serrano cream to garnish them, equally poured together in one bowl, from opposite sides. It was a little 80s, presentation-wise, I’m not gonna lie. Semi-sweet Bitters suggested I make yin-yangs out of the soups, but I reminded him that I’m not dexterous enough to make it across the parking lot without falling over so he should feel lucky that I manage to ladle into a bowl and not onto the floor. Then someone else mentioned that California Pizza Kitchen does soup duos in the same vein and I was momentarily mortified, but the flavors were totally there, so whatever.
details, details:
Sweet Potato Soup with Fried Pancetta and Rosemary Croutons
Bon Appétit | November 2006
Yield: Makes 4 servings
ingredients
1 (3-ounce) package thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup (scant) sliced shallots (3 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary, divided
2 cups mashed peeled red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
3 1/2 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 cup (1/3-inch) cubes country-style sourdough bread
preparation
Sauté pancetta in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels.
Add 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to drippings in same saucepan; add shallots and reduce heat to medium. sauté until shallots are soft and golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon rosemary, then mashed sweet potatoes and 31/2 cups broth. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors, adding more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin soup, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Puree soup in blender or processor if necessary.
Meanwhile, melt remaining 11/2 tablespoons butter in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add bread cubes and remaining 1/2 teaspoon rosemary and sauté until croutons are crisp and golden, about 3 minutes.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with croutons and pancetta and serve.
Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup and Roasted Tomato Soup with Serrano Cream
Gourmet | March 1993
Yield: Makes about 3 cups of each soup, serving 6
ingredients
for the pepper soup:
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
6 yellow bell peppers, roasted (procedure follows) and chopped coarse (about 6 cups)
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth plus additional to thin the soup
1/4 cup heavy cream
fresh lemon juice to taste
for the tomato soup:
3 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
3 unpeeled large garlic cloves
3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth plus additional to thin the soup
1/4 cup heavy cream
fresh lemon juice to taste
for the serrano cream:
3 fresh serrano chilies or jalapeños, seeded and chopped fine (wear rubber gloves)
1 large garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste with 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
preparation
to roast peppers:
Using a long-handled fork char the peppers over an open flame, turning them, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the skins are blackened. (Or broil the peppers on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from the heat, turning them every 5 minutes, for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer the peppers to a bowl and let them steam, covered, until they are cool enough to handle. Keeping the peppers whole, peel them starting at the blossom end, cut off the tops, and discard the seeds and ribs. (Wear rubber gloves when handling chilies.)
make the pepper soup:
In a heavy saucepan cook the shallot, the thyme, and salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the shallot is soft, add the bell peppers and 1 1/2 cups of the broth, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the peppers are very soft. In a blender purée the soup in batches until it is very smooth, forcing it as it is puréed through a fine sieve set over the pan, cleaned, and whisk in the cream, enough of the additional broth to reach the desired consistency, the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. The soup may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated.
make the tomato soup:
Spread the tomatoes, skin side down, in one layer in 2 foil-lined jelly-roll pans, add the garlic to 1 of the pans, and bake the tomatoes and the garlic in a preheated 350°F. oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the tomatoes are very soft and their skin is dark brown. Let the tomatoes and the garlic cool in the pans on racks. In a heavy saucepan cook the shallot, the oregano, salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the shallot is soft, add the tomatoes, the garlic (skins discarded), and 1 1/2 cups of the broth, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 15 minutes. In a blender purée the soup in batches until it is very smooth, forcing it as it is puréed through a fine sieve set over the pan, cleaned, and whisk in the cream, the additional broth if necessary (both soups should have the same consistency), the lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. The soup may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated.
make the serrano cream:
In a blender blend together the chilies, the garlic paste, and the créme fraîche until the mixture is combined well. (Be careful not to overblend the mixture or the cream may curdle.) Force the mixture through a fine sieve set over a small bowl. The serrano cream may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and brought to room temperature before serving.
to serve the soup:
For each serving ladle 1/2 cup of each soup into 2 glass measuring cups, pour the soups simultaneously into a shallow soup bowl from opposite sides of the bowl, and drizzle some of the serrano cream over each serving.
I may never get invited to the Oscars again. Hell, I may never get invited to anyone’s house for dinner ever again after some of my recent shenanigans (and airing of those shenanigans in public), but at least I have some idea of the value of a good bowl of soup and the power any of us has in being able to make it. Especially when those powers are used for evil!
Soup On!
