the world (writ large) as dinner party

Normally I stick to a ratio of one recipe per blog post, but looking through the photos of a recent dinner party I thought I might create a post about the series of recipes I put together for the occasion.

let us just say that none of my pots, pans or dishes felt lonely that night

This is in part because I think it was a nice sequence of dishes that came together and partially, I must admit, because I am not sure there was a single dish that I actually photographed from start to finish (my apartment was such a mess that I had to clean while cooking, so the camera was a bit of an afterthought this time round). So I’ll just have to present the meal as a whole and charge you to use your imagination.

For the details (including a few recipes) about a six-course trip around the world (yes I realize this makes me sound like a latter-day Betty Draper. No apologies) featuring tidbits like eggplant bruschetta, a hot & cold soup course, reimagined manicotti, couscous served in acorn squash and a dessert salad (among other things), read on…

shorbet eama: tomato soup with meatballs (lebanese style)

Indian summer is winding to a close in DC. The days are beautiful but there’s a nip in the night air, and a tomato soup with meatballs is the perfect thing at the end of the day. This recipe from Lebanon is the perfect solution – adapted from a recipe from Shahiya.com, a great recipe site for all foods Middle Eastern. It’s featured on their Cook Lebanese: 101 Recipes app (get it here).

Full disclosure: I was given a copy of said app to review. There is a free version, however, with a little over a dozen recipes available, in addition to the $3 version with the full 101 recipes. Either way it is nice to have a set of great, portable, always-with-you Lebanese classics…the app version of these being especially handy in a small kitchen or while you’re in the store trying to figure out what ingredients to buy for dinner. Shahiya itself is even better – a great one-stop shop for recipes from Iran to North Africa.

But I digress…

warm, comfort, spice

boozy tomato soup

The other day I was invited to a speakeasy-themed potluck dinner party. The only requirement: bring a dish made with alcohol.

I had to throw something together at the last minute, so based on the cold winter weather and whatever happened to be lying around my kitchen, I came up with a boozy tomato soup. Cause when you’re making soup you can never go wrong with a little leftover wine and beer…

comfort food

fall colors & pumpkin pie soup

farmstand = lifesaver

The air smells like knowledge and sweaters and Woody Guthrie, for some reason.

Inspired by a recent dinner party that prominently featured the best pumpkin pie I think I’ve ever tasted, I set myself the task of making a pumpkin pie-inspired soup so I could have pumpkin pie for dinner every night without suffering the consequences of eating too much dessert. Last week squash were the most prominent feature of the local farmstand (you know it’s almost Halloween when…) so I used a butternut squash as the base of this soup. But you could definitely use pumpkin if you’ve got one lying around. I’m pretty sure this soup will be tasty no matter what. Just as long as whatever you use doesn’t come out of a can.

the last soup of summer/the first soup of fall

squash and red bell peppers: meant to be together, but sadly not for long

Before you say Anny, get your eyes checked because nothing is in focus, let me tell you that due to poor planning I’ve been shooting food only under compact fluorescent lights and very late at night, so for the sake of color I’ve been taking blurry photos and calling it artistic (and before you ask, yes I have a tripod and no it is not in the same state as my camera right now). All this will change soon, honestly. For now just relax and think of it as Impressionism-food-portraiture.

This soup is the kind of thing you can only make one or two weeks out of the year – when the butternut squash starts showing up at the market and before the red peppers leave the scene (or retire to the $3 a pepper bin at the fiscally unrealistic menu choices section of the grocery store’s produce department). The peppers make it sweet and the squash keeps it smooth, and it’s complex without being too rich. I made a ton of it and have frozen most of it to eat on winter nights when I need a summer soup to warm me up again.

Squash & Pepper Soup

a farmer’s market diary

For the past month or so I’ve been enjoying a lot of local produce, thanks to DC’s many farmer’s markets (so far my favorite is a small farmstand by my building, near the intersection of Massachusetts & Wisconsin, but the Foggy Bottom one is pretty swanky. Gorgeous heirloom tomatoes…gorgeous and expensive). Below are a few dishes I’ve been making with what’s out there right now (think tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and some delicious early apples).

red & green, late summer days

First of all, a new approach to cucumbers: Almost-Pickles

I got the idea for these from a small cafe near Harper’s Ferry (whose name I don’t know! If you do please tell me). I don’t really like pickles, but the green accoutrements served with their sandwiches looked like they hadn’t deviated too far from the state of nature. I asked how they made them, and was told that they’re pickled – but only for an hour or so. They have all the best parts of pickles and the best parts of raw cucumbers, plus you don’t have to think very far in advance to make them!

Take 1 cucumber, sliced in medallions which are then quartered or halved.

Soak in vinegar, sugar, salt, and allspice for about an hour.

Serve with sandwiches or as a tart & delicious appetizer!

the best chicken i can think of

Inspired by Morocco and cooked just this afternoon, this is simply the best chicken I could think of. It is cooked with orange juice and olive oil and many spices, simmered with fresh broth, stuffed with stuffed dates and rice and almonds, and served with cinnamon and sugar.

hello lovely

when on a winter’s night you make a soup

…there are a few things you should always remember.

One is to make your soup heartier and more interesting by adding some bits of fried chicken, skins and all. That’s what we did with our traditional Moroccan harira and let me tell you, I’ll never make it any other way.

dinner on a cold windy foggy night

The other is to follow my dear friend Mia’s advice and make grilled cheese croutons for your soup. Make an extra cheesy, extra crispy grilled cheese sandwich and slice it into small cubes.

not your mother's crouton

Soup will never be the same.