It's the Little Things

I have to start on a bit of an unusual note.  I have a lot of readers and tons of traffic to this blog but I only have a few followers so I notice when I get new followers.  I would like to take a moment to welcome my latest follower, Quay Po Cooks.  I haven't had time to fully explore her blog yet but she travels, is a great writer, and has some very interesting recipes.  Check her out if you have a chance.

So....................

After launching the Online Store (www.bpspice.com) and three weeks of back problems, the LSU-Bama is tonight and I haven't posted in a while, sooooooo.... I guess it's time to feed the Herds, tinker in the kitchen, and write a little.  Also, a very good friend of ours has just learned that her Father is very, very ill.  As it is our habit to cook for those that are in need of a break, I decided to put a few things together to help out.  No one wants to be saddled with cooking for themselves, let alone, cooking for a family.  In my usual fashion, I went straight for the comfort food.

Pig and Potato Soup
Bacon Pate
Asparagus.

Pig and Potato Soup

This recipe is quite large as I was making it for our friends Father.  It was dinner for us but I needed to make sure it was dinner for a few others as well.

Potato Soup goes so far back for me that its hard to find it's roots in my culinary digest.  My Father made it for us kids, my Step Dad made it for my Mom and I, and it has always been a staple of Northern Folks since time immemorial.  The best thing about Potato Soup is that it is simple, to be sure, but it offers the serious chef and the most basic cook the chance to sign their work.  Potato Soup is a blank canvas that allows for the addition of simple, complex, tasty, and odd combinations that express a persons culinary desires as well as being so simple as to be nearly impossible to screw up.  This is simply my version of it.  As always, my version does NOT define the recipe.  Take, add, alter, and arrange this to be yours and yours alone.

Pig and Potato Soup

1 large Shallot, very finely diced
5 cloves Garlic, chopped fine or pressed
6 tbsp bacon drippings or butter
1/2 cup (give or take) Potato Flour
1/2 gallon Whole Milk
1/2 Vegetable Stock
4-6 cups diced Potatoes
1 lb ground Breakfast Sausage
1 1/2 lbs. diced Ham
Green Onions and Bacon crumbles for garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste

Quite the list, right?  Let's get to work.  In a large, heavy bottom pot sweat the shallot and garlic until translucent.  At the last minute, turn the heat up and caramelize the edges just slightly.  Add potato flour and whisk to combine.  If it's a little thick, add just a touch more fat (see the "Roux" post).to loosen it up.  Let this cook for just a minute and slowly add the milk to thicken, whisking as you go.  As always with these things, you may need a little more flour or you may need a little more liquid to get it to your desired level of thickness.  The texture of expanded potato flour does, admittedly, look a little grainy compared to the same product with wheat flour.  To defeat this, I like to puree the soup (before adding the meat, of course) with a stick blender.  It also eliminates the texture of the shallots and garlic, leaving behind a thick, smooth soup base.

While the saute was going on was the perfect time to brown the sausage and crumble it up fine.  When done, drain off most of the grease leaving about 3 tbsp behind to brown the cubed ham.  Make sure all sides are browned.  Add sausage and ham to the pot.  The sugars from the ham will have caramelized on the bottom of the frying pan.  Deglaze this with the vegetable stock, scrape all the tasty bits up, let reduce by half, and add to the soup.  This step isn't critical but I can promise that it takes a creamy, milk based soup and launches the flavor.  You don't have to do this step, but you definitely WANT to.

When it comes to adding the potatoes, I take a bit of a different path than most.  I like to fry the diced potatoes like french fries.  This accomplishes a couple of things:  1) The potatoes are cooked when they go into the pot so there is no waiting. 2)  I've always had trouble with the potatoes sticking to the bottom and this defeats that.  Fry the potatoes and drain on paper towel and when lightly cooled, add them to the pot.  The fried potatoes will float on top for a bit but after about 15 minutes of simmering, they will begin to settle in.

Finish by sprinkling crispy bacon crumbles and fresh chopped green onion on top.

Bacon Pate

In getting ready for any good football game, one must make sure to have quality snacks.  Just so happens that I am a Cheese and Crackers kinda guy and I had a small rasher of bacon left over.  Time to get creative.....

10 strips crispy fried Bacon (get the good stuff for this)
1/2 Shallot, finely diced
1 clove Garlic, finely diced
6 tbsp Bacon drippings
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
1 pack quality Cream Cheese, soften to room temperature
1/4 cup crushed Pineapple, well drained on paper towel to remove all extra moisture
1/4 cup finely chopped Green Onions (green ends only)
Salt and a heavy pinch of course ground Black Pepper to taste

Saute the shallots and garlic until translucent in bacon drippings.  Add bacon, shallots and garlic (including the bacon fat), and cream to a food processor.  Pulse a few times to break up the large bits then turn on high and puree.  Add the cream cheese and continue to puree until there are no detectable chunks left.  Remove from food processor and add green onions and pineapple and mix in well.

This mixture is going to be quite loose and will need to spend some time in the fridge.  You can put it in a form or, do as I do, place the mixture on a sheet of cling wrap, make a ball, and place it in the fridge.  After a couple hours, the flavors will have come together and the ball will have solidified to a spreadable consistency.  The bacon fat may seem a bit over the top but it lends to the stiffness when cold.

Asparagus

The friend I spoke of earlier asked her Father "What do you want to eat that you never get?"  Given that we live in the South, we were both surprised to learn Asparagus was the answer.  There really isn't much to making good Asparagus as long as things are done in a particular order.

1 bunch Asparagus
3 Tbsp Quality Olive Oil
1 clove Garlic, thinly sliced
Heavy pinch course ground Black Pepper
Heavy pinch course Sea Salt

Saute the garlic for just a few minutes to flavor the oil, then remove.  Turn heat up to medium high, add pepper, and toss asparagus in the oil.  Let sit for a minute or two so that some scorch marks develop, then cover with a lid and let steam, tossing occasionally.  When the asparagus has softened just a bit, remove from the pan, plate, and sprinkle with course sea salt to finish.

Ok, sounds really simple, right?  There are a couple of reasons I posted this in all of its simplistic splendor.  One reason is that I have told people how to do this and everyone comes back to me claiming they just can't get it right.  The trick is to add the salt as the absolute last step as it does soften the asparagus.  To me, it should be somewhat soft yet remain crisp and somewhat crunchy.  Mushy asparagus has all the personality of an under cooked french fry.  The salt also lends to the crunchy texture.  If I can, I like to finish it with a course Himalayan Pink salt or even Black Hawaiian sea salt.

LSU won last night.  I'm told this because after a day of cleaning, cooking, and more than one bottle of wine, I was off to bed.  The funny thing is that I did a great deal of cooking for our friend and her Father but her husband is a Die-Hard Bama Fan.  It was good to see her, tell some stories, and laugh a bit...because her husband probably won't allow her to come back to our house until the pain wears off.  Oh well, that just gives me time to come up with new stuff and get my wine act together for when they do return.  Oh, and I'm told the soup was a hit with her Father...and the nurses...and our friend since she snuck some out of the bowl before delivering it.

Party Well, Eat Better
Rob