Category Archives: Soup

Mini snack cakes – and an extra note

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First things first, as I write this, I’m eating my orc stew, from the previous Hobbit post.  It’s decent, but I still have some ways to go with the seasoning.  It’s got a nice zing to it thanks to some habanero and sriracha, but it needs a bit more body to it.  I wanted to try leaving out bay leaf, thyme, and sage, but they’re in damn near everything for a reason – the earthy flavors of the soup are quite strong on their own, and they need a good compliment.  On the other hand, using celery root instead of celery was an excellent move, particularly as the celery root itself also is texturally much like potato pieces.  Overall, it’s a decent soup that only needs a few more tweaks to be amazing.

Now, for the coming new year, I found that a local sci-fi bookstore is doing an all-night gaming event.  Can’t say no to that, right?  So I’ve been going over in my head as to what to make for that.

In terms of bold and creative, I think I’ll actually make snack cakes – just pour some cake batter onto a lined pan, and then fill them with some frosting.  It’ll be like whoopie pies… except, of course, that I’m going to try to take these to a new level.

For the cake itself, I’m thinking of a luxurious Amaretto cake.  I’m hoping it’ll be a modern spin on pandoro (that Italian cake that I see so often around this time of year), with a moistness that calls to mind good times by the fire – be it the fireplace of grandmom’s house or the hearth that you imagine your characters meet in front of in a Dungeons & Dragons game.  The goal is to be satisfying and blend many things at once – even the line between yourself and fantasy.

Along those lines, the filling is quite important.  The cheap answer would be chocolate; after all, everything’s better with chocolate.  But being experimental means going off the beaten path, so I think my filling will actually be a combination of maple syrup and fresh vanilla – powerful and bold, yet using flavors familiar and warm for everyone.  I want it to be inviting and new without alienating folks who like something traditional.

Regardless, this should be a fun way to celebrate the new year.

And finally, for those who realize who I am now – go back over everything I said.  And more importantly, what I didn’t say.  For all that you realize how I may have misled you, I never once lied.  So I hope everyone had fun, continues to follow what I have to say, and enjoy a slice of bacon cake.  You’ll see me in a better forum for non-food questions soon enough.

On various experiments

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As I didn’t want to recommend dishes without having tried them first, I made the soup that I had previously mentioned, inspired by Christine from Phantom Of The Opera.  Perhaps I should have done that before recommending it, but such is life.  Or, at the very least, I should have waited to try it when others were going to be over, because the soup was strong.  Perhaps too strong – while it was an incredible flavor, the various flavors didn’t muddle at all, and it everything came through as bright as day. Having a whole bowl of this was probably not my best move; it overpowered a bit and I ended up wishing I only had a cup of it instead.

Even though I actually added extra stock and wine to the soup, it also came out with roughly the same consistency as mashed potatoes.  Now, it occurs to me that this is still a delightful side dish with that consistency, and I would whole-heartedly recommend it for that purpose.  I just was hoping that, when I recommended a soup, it actually had the consistency of a soup.  Anyhow, as I said at the beginning, not everything is going to work.

It kind of reminds me of when I tried to make cheesy oatcakes.  My idea was to make steel-cut oats, mix in some cheddar cheese, and then fry on a griddle (like pancakes) until they were firmed up.  I discovered that oatmeal doesn’t really firm up when baked like that – gluten plays a much bigger role in the process than I had anticipated.  It resulted in a loose pile of buttery, cheesy oatmeal. I did consequently discover that it meant that you could produce a savory oatmeal that works much like polenta/grits for a side dish to an entree, but it wasn’t exactly what I intended.  I think that’s what I’ve managed to do with the squash “soup”.

Requested recipe – Phanton of the Opera dish

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I got my first request for a dish online yesterday – Dryunya wanted to know if I could come up with a dish inspired by his recent viewing of Phantom of the Opera.  I suppose I should have asked which version, but I was too caught up in the idea to really bother (sorry, Dryunya).

I decided that it should be a meal, and the meal should have three parts – one representing the Phantom, one representing Christine, and one representing Raoul.  It’s not necessarily the fanciest meal, but it’s one that I feel fits the feel and theme of the story.

Phantom: Dusted steak with bleu cheese.

The Phantom feels like a rare steak to me – perhaps not the prettiest to look at, and bloody  when the truth is revealed, but dark and mysterious, something you can’t pull away from even with all that blood.  I think the proper coating is about a teaspoon of cocoa powder (not the Dutch stuff; we want the acidity) mixed with about a tablespoon of ground coffee.  This will develop a very rich and dark flavor that will go well with the caramelization of a  rare steak.

The mask of the Phantom is represented by the bleu cheese, which can be turned into a sauce by melting about 2 ounces of bleu cheese in about 1 tablespoon of milk or cream. Any variety of such cheese would work – in fact, if not for the fact that the story is French and is screaming for a French bleu like Roquefort, I’d probably use Gorgonzola.  At any rate, I would specifically wait until it was done cooking, then put the cheese on one half of the steak and then cover it while it rests, to create sort of a half-mask effect as it melts from the steak’s heat.

Christine: Champagne squash soup

Christine was tricky at first, because I needed her to be able to accompany both of the other dishes well.  Moreover, given her status as a rising star of the opera, she needed to have an ingredient that screamed glamor.  This idea came to me, since it all seemed to come together.

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded
4 shallots
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup white wine (preferrably champagne)
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Cut the butternut squash, shallots and apples into medium-sized cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil and salt. Divide the squash mix between 2 sheet pans and spread it in a single layer. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, until very tender.

Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock and white wine until it starts to simmer. When the vegetables are done, put them through a blender. (Alternatively, you can place the roasted vegetables in batches in a food processor with some of the chicken stock/wine and coarsely puree.) When all of the vegetables are processed, place them in a large pot and add the chicken stock/wine mix, stirring well.

Raoul: Mustard dill potatoes

Poor Raoul, the boring part of the love triangle.  That said, he’s a solid, dependable guy, and just as the story wouldn’t be complete without him, a dish feels incomplete without a starch.  Also, since we’re going with a bit of a French theme here, it’d be a shame to not involve Dijon mustard, one of France’s greatest culinary gifts.

I prefer to use Yukon Gold potatoes whenever possible, but you may want to switch to a different cultivar if you prefer something else (or you just don’t have Yukon Golds in your area).  One or two potatoes is enough for a single person.  For the baking, merely make large cubes of the potatoes, toss with some oil, and roast at 425 for about a half hour.

When the potatoes come out, toss them in a mixture of the following:

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons dill (preferrably fresh)
1 teaspoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

Mind you, I’ve not actually made this dish yet; I cannot vouch for how well the experiment will work.  But I do plan on giving it a spin soon – thanks for getting my mind working on it, Dryunya.