Taste With The Eyes: Gratitude Soup

12.03.2009

Gratitude Soup

Maybe you're a little bit tired of turkey by now? I didn't want to scare you away by posting another turkey leftover dish. But alas, that is what this is...and then some.

Roasted Turkey Soup

With Pearled Barley and Dinosaur Kale

As I made this soup, I reminisced about Thanksgiving week...

I took the turkey carcass and made a very flavorful stock. And rather than me go through the details, I would like to refer you to Cajun Chef Ryan's recent post, he details turkey stock perfectly. Cajun Chef Ryan's blog is awesome.

I added about 1 cup+ of pearled barley to the strained stock, along with a bay leaf, and simmered until al dente, a little over one hour.

Meanwhile, I browned quartered mushrooms in a small amount of olive oil. Also in a separate pan sautéed celery, shallots, and carrots in olive oil until tender, lastly added chopped garlic.

Dinosaur Kale

Remove the main rib from the kale, and tear into bite-sized pieces. Lacinato Kale, also known as Cavalo Nero, Tuscan Kale, and Dinosaur Kale - in honor of my nephews I am sticking with the DINOSAUR nomenclature.

I added the vegetables including kale to the soup. Simmered until the kale was tender, about 15 minutes Added salt and pepper to taste.

It was very satisfying and delicious! Especially so, seasoned with a big dose of gratitude:

I had a wonderful week with my family and friends. Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday, thank you Pilgrims, Native Americans and President Lincoln!

Thank you to my mother, Joyce, for well, just about everything, but today for being who you are - a very special lady, the family matriarch, and a wonderful role model. My grandparents aptly named you JOY.

Oh, Ma, and thank you for lending me your gorgeous antique Franciscan Apple dinnerware.

Thank you to my brother Don, there is absolutely no one in the world that has a more generous, smart, kind and fun little brother than I.

And to my sister-in-law Kristy, I could not ask for a better one. You are so dear to me, thank you for all your help, and laughter, and sisterhood. I love you.

And to my nephews, Stone who is now seven years old, and Jett who is now five. You are the light of my life. I adore cooking with you. Your visits to California are the highlight of my year. And boy oh boy are you both getting good at basketball!

Last year I installed a basketball court in my backyard, and we sure have great fun there. Any of you playing basketball during the holiday season, consider our good idea: We play T-U-R-K-E-Y instead of H-O-R-S-E.

A Savory Life Indeed

To my entire family and all my dear dear friends and colleagues. I wish you a wonderful upcoming holiday season. I am truly grateful for you all. Oh how very fortunate I am to have you in my life. Thank you.

Julia Child Quotes - TOUJOURS BON APPETIT!

“You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'"

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

"It's easy to get the feeling that you know the language just because when you order a beer they don't bring you oysters." Paul Child on speaking French

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. "

"Life itself is the proper binge."

"It was a Morsel of Perfection."

"I was in pure, flavorful heaven at the Cordon Bleu."

Julia Child sees herself on TV, July 1962, she saw room for improvement, and still she can say it was fun : "There I was, in black and white, a large woman sloshing eggs too quickly here, too slowly there, gasping, looking at the wrong camera while talking too loudly and so on...But it had been fun."

She has her own opinions on kitchen equipment: "Clairborne sniffed at our use of a garlic press, 'a gadget considered in some circles to be only one cut above garlic salt or garlic powder.' I happened to like garlic presses..."

Understanding Julia's captivation by French food: "This is the kind of food that I have fallen in love with: not trendy souped-up fantasies, just something very good to eat. It was classic French cooking, where the ingredients have been carefully selected and beautifully and knowingly prepared. Or, in the words of the famous gastronome Curnonsky, 'Food that tastes of what it is.' "

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made. Even after you eat it, it stays with you - always." Julia's instructor, Chef Bugnard at Le Cordon Bleu

"Oh, 'crise de foie,' that French sole was so delicious!"

Julia's passion comes through loud and clear as she describes a fish dish: "La Truite's true glory was the Sole a la Normande, a poem of poached and flavored sole fillets surrounded by oysters, and mussels, and napped with a wonder-sauce of wine, cream, and butter, and topped with fluted mushrooms. 'Voluptuous' was the word. I had never imagined that fish could be taken so seriously, or taste so heavenly."

Julia's unique way with words, on Crepes Suzette: "The creature named Suzette may or may not have been the mistress of the Prince of Wales, but whoever she was, she long ago inspired a magnificent dessert that is still one of our favorites."

"I am probably one of the few people around who saw the real Caesar Cardini making his salad. I was about 9 when my parents took me to his restaurant in Tijuana. They were so excited when big jolly Caesar himself came to the table to make the salad. And it was dramatic: I remember most clearly the eggs going in, and how he tossed the leaves so it looked like a wave turning over."

"With a handsome package such as Jacques's, you can neatly cut the top open at the table with a pair of scissors..." Julia on Salmon en Papillote

"There's no reason to be intimidated by the idea of making pâté. You can just think of it as meat loaf."

From Julia's dear friend Jacques Pepin, "You are what you cook."

"Understanding egg yolks will make you a master of hollandaise sauce."

Julia encouraging us not to be intimidated: "When you know how to saute your meat so it browns rather than steams, you're cooking. What's difficult about that? You heat the pan, you dry the meat, you don't crowd it into the pan, and you're browning it. Is that difficult?"

Food Quotes

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."

Orson Welles

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

"Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit."
Charlie Trotter

"Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore. "
Thomas Keller

"I love to make people happy."
Wolfgang Puck

"Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking as olive oil is to Italian."

The Little Saigon Cookbook by Ann Le

"I wish, I wish lunch could last forever...waiter, bring us one more bottle of wine..."

Jimmy Buffett

"My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis."
Emeril Lagasse

"Gordon Ramsay makes me laugh because he knows that I'm not a chef."
Nigella Lawson

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else."
Mario Batali

"I always knew the importance of it, since I was three or four years old my mother used to feed me wine and water. I grew up with wine as liquid food."
Robert Mondavi

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at his/her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers."
Laurie Colwin

"Food is a central part of our lives. It provides the body with fuel and raw materials for maintenance, growth, and repair. It draws together family and friends, anchors celebrations and rites of passage, and sometimes soothes the soul."
Ethan Becker