For the Love of Old Bay

If you are from Maryland, as Trevor is, it is a requirement that you love Old Bay. This salty, spicy seasoning is most recognizably paired with crab, but it can add some kick to other dishes, too.

Trevor recently found a recipe for Tilghman Island Stew in our Moosewood New Classics cookbook and decided we needed to make it. Tilghman Island is in the Chesapeake Bay. And not surprisingly, the recipe called for 2 tablespoons of Old Bay Seasoning.

And also not surprisingly, this veggie-packed stew was delicious. It called for eight different vegetables. We used Persephone Farm zucchini, kale and green beans. It’s one of those meals that makes you feel good after eating it.

We rounded out the stew with homemade cornbread. I’ve used the Albers recipe from the side of the box for as long as I can remember. And it’s always good. I’ve tried other recipes with diced peppers or fresh corn, but I think this recipe stands out in its simplicity. All you need with it is a pat of butter.

We loved this Chesapeake Bay-inspired meal. It’s one we will be making again soon while the zucchini and green beans are still in season. And it goes to show you can take the boy out of Maryland, but you’ll never take away his love for Old Bay.

P.S. Thanks to my mom for the beautiful quilted table runner she made for us that's in the first photo.

Links:

Old Bay Seasoning

http://www.oldbay.com/

Albers Cornbread recipe

http://www.alberscorn.com/recipes/cornmeal/AlbersCornBread.aspx

Golden Bowl

Trevor and I first made Sheila Lukins’ Elegant Butternut Truffle Soup for Christmas 2004. We’d traveled east to spend the holidays with Trevor’s family and decided to make a feast with the help of his brother and sister. The soup was one of the dishes included in the “Extremely Merry Christmas” menu in Lukins’ Celebrate! cookbook. The other parts of meal included endive salad with Roquefort vinaigrette, a standing rib roast with horseradish cream, chanterelle risotto, Apple Brown Betty, and her wine suggestions Grand Cru Chablis and Pessac-Leognan. Lukins was right, it was an extremely Merry Christmas.

And the meal was a real group effort. Because we were flying in on Christmas Eve, Trevor’s parents bought all the groceries in Maryland and drove them up to Massachusetts in two large coolers. Trevor’s dad even made up menu cards that read “Denise and Trevor present Christmas dinner 2004 at Chez Carolyn” and listed the courses.

The butternut soup is the one recipe from that menu that I’ve made over and over. As soon as butternut squash is in season I remember this soup. It’s relatively simple to make (especially if you use an immersion blender instead of a food processor). So when I was down to my last butternut squash from Persephone Farm, I knew what to do with it.

I think what sets this soup apart from other butternut squash soups is the use of mace and the dab of truffle oil used to garnish. The unbelievable earthiness of the oil plays so well against the sweetness of the squash. Truffle oil can be tricky to find, but a gourmet shop, or well-stocked grocery store will have it. And it’s pricey, but a little goes a long way, and it adds extraordinary dimension to your dish.

And of course for me, each spoonful of this soup reminds me of that memorable evening.

Links:

Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins

http://www.amazon.com/Celebrate-Sheila-Lukins/dp/0761123725

New Favorite

Looking at the wealth of Persephone onions we had in the root cellar, i.e. garage, I knew I had to try out Mary Ann Esposito’s recipe for Roasted Onion Soup. The soup had a couple things going for it. One, when onions are slow-roasted they transform from bitingly sharp to sweet and mellow. And two, lots of red wine.

I followed the directions and oven roasted the assortment of red and yellow onions, leeks, and fresh thyme from my garden. Then added the two cups of red wine to the rimmed cookie sheet. The smell in my kitchen was heavenly. After most of the wine reduced, I added the onions to a soup pot with beef broth and few seasonings.

I did modify the recipe slightly. It called for each serving to be topped with a slice of bread, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and broiled. I wasn’t sure my bowls could go in the broiler.  So I tossed some bread cubes I had stashed in the freezer with olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt and toasted them in the oven until they were golden and crunchy. Then I topped each bowl with the croutons and cheese. It definitely worked and the croutons added a nice crunch. This soup of very simple ingredients was incredibly savory and rich. I think it’s my new favorite.

Links:

Roasted Onion Soup

http://www.ciaoitalia.com/Recipes.aspx?id=1258

Soup Belly

Earlier this week I made a very satisfying soup from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook: Spanish Bean Soup. It was the first real day of fall weather in Portland, so a comforting bowl of soup and warm-from-the-oven bread sounded like the perfect dinner.

This meal was a great use of Persephone Farm's produce. It called for collard greens, garlic, onion, celery and potatoes. I did modify the recipe a little. It originally asked for soy sausage, but I used a mild Italian turkey sausage instead and decreased the amount slightly. Spicy Italian sausage would be equally good.

I had the soup for lunch the past couple of days and have not grown tired of it. The flavors married and intensified — and it tasted even better as a leftover. Another winner from our Moosewood cookbook!