Recipes
I like to cook. Over the years I've come upon a few recipes - some from memory, some stimulated by cookbooks or cooking shows, and some just plain made up - that seem to work really well. I decided to put them up here in case anyone else wants to try them.
Growing up, I was raised by a French nanny from San Remo, on the Italian/French border near Nice. We all called her Mémé, which means something like "Granny". She was an incredible cook, and left me with a real connection with the food of the French/Italian border area. Some of the recipes below derive from memories of what she used to cook. Nothing was ever written down, of course, so I've had to experiment - and embellish where I was able. I hope you try them out and see what you think.
Mémé's Potato Leek Soup
Really simple comfort food. This soup brings me right back, every time I eat it!
- 2 tbsp butter, or 1 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 medium leeks
- 1 lb potatoes (about 2-4, depending on size), peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 carrot, peeled & sliced
- 2 cans chicken stock (14.5 oz)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp salt
- few grinds black pepper
- grated parmesan cheese
Remove the tough green parts and roots of the leeks, slice once lengthwise, and wash well. Slice thinly crosswise. Melt the butter in a soup pot and begin sautéing the leeks while you prepare the potatoes. Add the potatoes and carrot and sauté for about 10-15 minutes, until leeks are soft and potatoes begin to look a little cooked. Add the chicken stock, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Use an immersion blender to blend everything until smooth. Add the milk and warm thoroughly. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some crusty French bread.
Variations
- Add other vegetables, like celery (cut small to avoid strings), green peas, spinach.
- For the milk, use skim milk, whole milk, or a mixture. I like to tune the richness using part skim milk, part half and half. 1/4 C half and half to 1/2 C skim milk works well.
- For a low fat soup, use all skim milk and substitute olive oil for all the butter. It will miss something with no butter at all, but it will still be pretty good.
- Try this: three onion soup. Instead of 3 leeks, use 1 leek, one medium onion, and 3-4 scallions.
Balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
This started with the salad dressing Mémé used to make, but I expanded it quite a bit.
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- few grinds black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 C balsamic vinegar
- approx. 2/3 C olive oil
Smash the garlic into a small mortar and pestle using a garlic press. Add the salt, thyme, basil and pepper. Use the pestle to grind into a paste. This is very important! Grinding the garlic and salt together has a magical effect on the flavor, and the dried spices also release their flavor amazingly. Add the sugar to a salad dressing cruet. Next add the mustard, the garlic paste, the lemon juice and the vinegar. If you do it in this order, you can use a single spoon without contaminating the mustard jar! Add enough olive oil so that the dressing is about 2/3 oil, 1/3 other liquid. Shake vigorously.