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the kitchen
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the drop me a line part
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soupapalooza!

the stories
the kitchen
the market
the proof (party pics!)
the food porn
the recipes
the about
the drop me a line part
the resources
the full list
jewelry alchemy

honey almond bee cake: a boozy baby shower for the bomb of a great friend

Miss Maria Hold-the-Eggs did not, as her pseudonym suggests, actually “hold the egg”, and went and got herself all kinds of up the duff. As in preggers, mit kinder, knocked up, in a family way, riding the baby train, all blowed up on baby... in any event, she failed the rabbit test, all right, in a big, bad kind of way.

Which is great for a lot of reasons, the least important of which being that it gives me a fabulous excuse to stop with the dour posts about OCD, antidepressants & other mental mishaps not otherwise specified/diagnosed. So it’s a win-win for you, dear reader, too; A soft pink palate cleanser to wash away the existential soup pain.

Because Miss Maria Hold-the-Eggs is one of my all-time favorite people on this planet, her pregnancy gave me a great excuse to co-host a Sunday party-- like I’ve ever needed an excuse to do that-- and with a tremendous amount of help from her lovely sisters, we threw the parents-to-be one really fun fete. No games, no crustless cucumber sandwiches and no estrogen-only requirements for admission, oh no. It was rock and roll, a burger bar, a boatload of beer and champagne punch and boys and girls from all sorts of creative provenance. In short, it was a really fun party to welcome our newest future ‘poloozian to her fold...and we all seriously cannot wait to meet her.

I’ve been asked before how it is that I throw parties for large amounts of people without killing myself (and, more often, the cat), and I think this party made for a really great template anyone can follow to have an easy time of it. Here is a list of some of the things I have on hand and some of what I have learned from a year and a half of steady on-the-job training...

Read more …
PostedApril 19, 2011
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesparty planning, gear and miscellany, desserts & sweet treats
Tagsit's a girl!, special pan, mit kinder, boozy baby shower, williams sonoma, party tips, nutty, burger bar, baking, honeybee almond cake, Maria-Hold-the-Eggs, baby shower, honey bee
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purée of carrot with toasted almonds: beets and cabrales and dried cherries... oh my!

Alright, I am a bad girl.

I put off writing this post for so long that the leftovers had time to actually spoil. So in the interest of cutting one’s losses (as I seem to have done on three separate occasions this week, personally speaking) I’m going to post some pictures from Sunday’s event and the recipe for the soup and then move on to THIS week’s soupapolooza!

And let me just say that the rest of the menu (wild arugula salad with roasted beets, cabrales, toasted walnuts and dried cherries, and for dessert: maple vanilla roasted pears with greek yogurt sorbetto) was pretty spectacular, too...

So here are the soup details, lazy and all:

 

Carrot with Toasted Almond Soup

Gourmet | November 2006

The secret to this simple recipe is using the best carrots you can find; taste them to make sure they are sweet and full of flavor.

Yield: Makes 4 (first course) servings

Active Time: 25 min

Total Time: 45 min

 

ingredients:

1 cup sliced shallots (about 4 large)

1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Rounded 3/4 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

1 small boiling potato (3 oz)

1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)

1 cup apple cider (preferably unfiltered)

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

 

preparation:

Cook shallots, bay leaf, ginger, curry powder, and thyme in butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened and pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Add potato to shallot mixture along with carrots, broth, cider, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender until smooth, transferring as blended to a large bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to saucepan to reheat if necessary. Serve soup sprinkled with almonds.

Cooks' notes:

•Soup can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat over low heat. Thin with additional water if necessary.

•Almonds can be toasted 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

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I definitely added more curry (in fact, I easily doubled it) and put in less cider than called for-- and added cider vinegar. And as for potatoes, I used several fingerlings in place of a boiling potato to great result.

Soup on!!

PostedJune 22, 2010
Authormelissa mcclure
Categoriesvegetarian, soup
Tagsbad blogger, recipe, almonds, carrot, soupapalooza!, nutty, purée power, vegetarian, soup, curry
1 CommentPost a comment
 
 
goldsmith, sometime costume designer and badass cat owner. 

goldsmith, sometime costume designer and badass cat owner. 

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Why? Because soup is cheap, delicious and easy. Kind of like me.

a weekly attempt to eat well and to savor life. or to see how much food I can get on my clothes.

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