Foodweek

The abscess may have thrown off my Tday plans, but I have managed to make some culinary hay over the last week or so.

The big winner was the Potato Leek Soup from Bittman's How to Cook Everything. Dirt simple and really delicious. I threw in half a cup of cream at the end and worked it over a little with the immersion blender, the result was about halfway between rustic & pureed. Next time I'm doing a double batch, the cup or so that was leftover tasted epic after resting in the fridge for a few days.

The other winner, which occasioned my first documented moment of culinary satori, was a simple chicken with roasted vegetables from Cook's Illustrated. I made a batch as directed (dice the veg, roast 15 minutes, top with chicken brushed with melted butter, roast another 30 or so minutes) and it was tasty enough, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the vegetables.

We've been watching the first couple of seasons of The F Word (thank you Netflix!) and a tiny Gordon Ramsey appeared on my shoulder, urging me to "brown the fucking things in a skillet before roasting, yes? Stop cooking like a twat!"

The next night I made a modified half batch, sauteing the mushrooms & potatoes until nicely browned before laying on the chicken and roasting them as directed.

MUCH better.
Slightly more work (one extra pan to clean, a bit more attention required), but a tremendous boost in flavor.

And last night we had a round of Cowgirl Creamery's Pierce Pt seasonal with a crusty loaf- heavenly. I'm still debating which of their 'gift' packs to pick up for our Christmas feast...