Mr. Hawthorne Makes Carrot Soup.

I cleaned out my fridge the other day and realized I had over 10 pounds of carrots in there. You read that correctly. Over.Ten.Pounds. I hate to run out of carrots and when I buy carrots I buy the 5-lb. bag since it's only twice the price of a 1-lb. bag. So, I've been threatening to make carrot soup ever since this discovery. Mr. Hawthorne got tired of asking me everyday, "You making carrot soup today?" "Nope. Don't feel like it today." So today, he took it upon himself to make carrot soup.

While I was busy doing my birthday blog post, or as he calls it, my "blaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhggggggg" like he's hacking up a fur ball, Mr. Hawthorne peeled and trimmed about 2 pounds of carrots.

Then he sliced the carrots into coins.

Added in a box of chicken stock and cooked until the carrots were tender.

I love my immersion blender!

Then we started tasting and adjusting. It needed about 1/3 to 1/2 stick of butter. Probably more, but I ain't Pauler.

Freshly ground salt and pepper.

Big glop of my creme fraiche. You could use sour cream or heavy cream.

Mr. Hawthorne decided it needed about a cup of V8 juice.

Here's my bowl. I decided it needed a zesting of orange and a sprinkling of fresh dill and a little plop of creme fraiche and some oyster crackers.

Excellent soup, Mr. Hawthorne. Now what do I do with eight more pounds of carrots? Suggestions? Anybody?

Cauliflower Soup Turns Into Moreover Oyster Soup.

We've been enjoying the pureed Creamy Cauliflower Soup I made the other day, courtesy of Justin and Johanna Lachine of Cafe Lachine, who conducted our cooking class at the Roanoke Island Aquarium last week. But now we want to put a bit of a twist on the soup. Remember, Rosie doesn't do leftovers; Rosie does moreovers.

In this case, we're taking the Cauliflower Soup, and adding a few vegetables and a mollusc and turning it an Oyster Soup.

And if you're lucky, you might be adding some extra protein.

Chop a carrot and a stalk of celery. No need to peel the carrot.

Add a small tiny-diced potato. Mr. Hawthorne peeled this since the skin was somewhat iffy.

Saute diced potato, carrot, and celery, until potato is tender.

Here's a Rosie tip to easily open oysters: Nuke 'em. A dozen or so take about 4-5 minutes in our microwave. Some will pop open; the rest will be easy to open. Microwave times will vary due to different strengths.

Pretty little plump oyster.

Slide oysters and the juice into Cauliflower Soup.

Add in the crabbies!

Add in the veggies and heat through. And Cauliflower Soup is now transformed into Oyster Soup. I like to add some scallions and parsley.

I use the shells for accenting pathways in my garden.

Rosie Wants Seafood Soup.

It was one of those cold, gray Spring days and Rosie wanted seafood soup.

And if you know Rosie, you know she's going to start at the very beginning.

 Rosie will show you how to make a shrimp stock, which will then be used in a rich seafood soup with a triumvirate of shrimp, cod, and clams.  It's gonna be good.

First, let's make the shrimp stock.

 Shrimp Stock

shrimp shells from a pound or so of shrimp

1 onion, skin on, coarsely chopped  (More flavor in skin.)

1 carrot, coarsely chopped

1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped

herbal bouquet (a bunch of parsley, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves all tied together)

1 TB peanut oil

1 TB unsalted butter

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Pour a tablespoon or so of oil into hot pan over medium high heat.  Add in butter and melt until sizzling.  Add in shells, squishing with a wooden spatula, until they turn pink.  Add in vegetables and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring.  Season with maybe 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Pour in water to cover - about 2 quarts - and add in bouquet, pressing down to submerge.  Bring to boil, reduce heat to bare simmer, and cook about 20-30 minutes.

Let cool, then pour through cheesecloth-lined sieve.

Refrigerate until ready to use, within 2-3 days, or freeze it.

 Coarsely chop the vegetables and tie up the herbs.

 Cook the shells, vegetables, and herbs in butter and oil.

 Pour in water to cover, bring to simmer, and cook down a bit.

  

 

Shrimp stock!

Now, I'm ready to make my seafood soup.

Rosie's Seafood Soup

unsalted butter 

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 onion

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 quart homemade shrimp stock
2 1/2 cups cream
1 cup skim milk
sherry to taste
1/2 pound cod filets
10 oz. baby clams
8 oz. shrimp

Prepare equal amounts of chopped carrot, celery, and onion. About 1/3 - 1/2 cup each.
Sauté vegetables in 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Add another tablespoon of butter and 3 TB flour.  Cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes, until flour is cooked and you don't have that raw taste.
Turn heat to medium low and add about 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.  You want bare bubbles going on here.
Add in a cup of cream.  Simmer and let thicken, about 3 minutes.
Immersion blend.  If you don't have an immersion blender, do batches in a regular blender until smooth.

 Add in rest of cream and milk.

Season cod and shrimp with a sprinkling of pepper and a dusting of paprika and Old Bay seasoning.
Heat 1 TB each peanut oil and unsalted butter over medium high heat until butter sizzles.  Add in cod and shrimp and cook 30 seconds or so.  Pour into soup mixture.

 Deglaze skillet with 1/4 cup sherry.  Pour in the sherry with the pan off the heat.  Return to heat and tilt pan to flame it.  I love a good flambé!
Pour deglazing mixture into soup.  Pour in clams and juice.  Heat through.  Taste test.  Add a splash of sherry.  Perfection.











Serve with sliced scallions and thyme sprigs from the garden, a sprinkling of paprika.
Slice some toasted slices of homemade ciabatta.

Jauntily erect toast slices in the soup bowl.

The next day, I reheated my seafood soup and added some sautéed mushrooms in it.

Throw some croutons on top and you're good to go.

And Rosie used store-bought croutons!

Good soup!

Rosie Makes A Beer And Cheese Soup, Courtesy Of Evil Shenanigans.

It's been raining solid, all day long, for the past 4-5 days. It's been solid gray. Even though it's not cold outside, it feels like it is inside. I want some soup. And I found it. One of my favorite food bloggers, Kelly, of Evil Shenanigans, recently made Apple Oktoberfest Cheese Soup. I thank you, Kelly, for a delicious soup recipe which, I admit, I tweaked a bit. But I know you'd be disappointed if I didn't tweak.

Here's my version of Kelly's soup. It has onion, carrot, and celery, like Kelly's, and then I added some chopped portabello mushrooms since I had them. Kelly used chicken stock; I used some of my frozen homemade turkey stock. Kelly pureed her soup. I'm a chunky type of gal. That's just the way I roll. And I added my cayenne and paprika-infused oil to the mix. I topped it off with bacon, and served it with toasted baguette slices.

Measure out 5 ounces of cheddar cheese.

And 3 ounces of smoked Gouda.

Ingredients for the soup:
 2 slices bacon, chopped
 4 TB butter
 1 medium onion, sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced
 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
 1 celery stalk, chopped
 5-6 Portabello mushrooms, chopped
 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
 1 cup homemade turkey stock
(You can use 1 cup of chicken broth. Except for you, Mar.)
1 cup beer
 1 cup whole milk
 (Whenever a recipe calls for whole milk,
I use 1/2 skim and 1/2 heavy cream
since that's what I have in my fridge.)
 5 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
3 oz. smoked Gouda
Hot sauce, to taste
 For the hot sauce, I used a paprika and cayenne infused oil. Heat spices in a dry pan until smoky, then add oil into pan and heat. Let cool, then pour into squirt bottle and refrigerate. Heat up when ready to use. Destructions: Hee. When Middle Hawthorne was 3 or 4 and fascinated by Captain Comic on my computer, he would always excitedly and breathlessly ask me, "Mama, what are the destructions?" It was a construction of directions and instructions. And he was the only one who could get Captain Comic to fly. I only got as far as the castle. But beautiful views were to be had. Never made it to the end. Remember that, XKT? Good times.

 OK, back to the destructions: In a pot over medium heat, add in the chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and reserve fat. Add 2 TB butter to pot and when it foams, add in carrot, celery, onion, apple, and salt and pepper. Cook about 3 minutes, then add in dry mustard, smoked paprika, and cayenne. Cook a few more minutes, then add in the minced garlic. Cook about 1 more minute. Add in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes to get rid of the raw taste. Reduce heat to low and slowly add in turkey stock, stirring. Add the beer, slowly, constantly stirring. Finally add in the cream/milk, stirring, and allowing to thicken. Bring to a simmer. Lower heat and add in slices of cheese, stirring to melt. Ladle soup into bowl. Top with bacon pieces and squirt in some paprika-cayenne infused oil. Accompany with toasted olive-oiled and buttered baguette slices. This was divine. Let's go to the step by steps.

I had exactly 2 slices of bacon left in my fridge.
 Wish I'd had 4.
But bacon is expensive now.
I usually have bunches of packages of bacon in the freezer.
Now?
 None.
Ain't on sale.
And hasn't been for a long time.

While I was chopping the veggies, I left it up to Mr. Hawthorne to be in charge of the bacon.

Extra crispy I asked for.

And extra crispy is what I got.

Chopped carrot, celery, onion, Portabello mushroom, apple, and garlic.

Add two tablespoons butter to the bacon grease and heat until foamy.

Carrots and celery in.

Onions in.

Shrooms in. Apples in. Cook about 3-4 minutes.

Add in garlic. Here's a Rosie Tip #21: Be careful when sauteeing garlic. You never want to burn garlic. It will impart BITTER to your whole meal. Add the garlic at the end.

Next, the seasonings.

1/2 tsp cayenne flakes

Action shot!

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder I want to ask you something. What does dry mustard powder add to anything? Is there any flavor? I can't figger this out.

Action shot of dry mustard!

Whoot! Smoked paprika.

I'm erring on the side of caution. 1/8 tsp of smoked paprika.

I added in 2 more TB of butter. Medium heat.

Add in the flour.

And cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring. You want to cook the flour. Get out the raw.

Slowly add in your homemade turkey stock. Very slowly. Scraping up from the bottom.

Yeah. I know. Not pretty now. But just wait.

Gradually, pour in the beer.

I love the smell of this right now.

I taste-tested.

And decided it needed some more smoked paprika.

That's the ticket.

I found a leftover end of a Schwann's baguette in the fridge. Drizzled some OO over top.

Toasted the slices, then put a little buttah pat on top.

Add in the milk/cream, slowly. Bring to simmer.

Then add in the cheese. Turn to low heat.

Let the cheese melt. Easily. Slowly. Gently.

Serve with a toasted baguette and paprika-cayenne infused oil. Loved all the flavors here. The apple was a very nice, subtle touch. Thanks again, Kelly. We enjoyed this tremendously.