out of the kitchen

I'm still here!  I'm just not baking much this week (unless you count those boxed brownies on Sunday... No, definitely can't count those.).  I'm at home in New York for a few days and taking a baking break.  I'll be heading down to NYC this weekend, so maybe I'll have some interesting food news later.

But I thought I'd share with you some photos of my trip to Greece last year.  I only went for nine days-- the most beautiful nine days ever!-- but Greece is always on my mind.  Especially this time of year, when I'm yearning for a vacation.  I don't have anything planned, but I'm hoping to make it out west (to Oregon or northern California) this spring or summer.  Once you go abroad, the travel bug just grabs you for good.  Now for those photos...

Athens is lovely in May, and the Temple to Olympian Zeus is lovely any time..

Artsy little street in Mykonos.

Just one of the many gorgeous outdoor cafes throughout Greece.  Wish I could have stopped by them all.

From atop the acropolis at Lindos, Rhodes.

Santorini's beautiful lagoon and volcano... taken from my seat atop a mule!

Santorini again.  Fantastic, yes?

the carolyn project

I love to read.  Mostly nonfiction-- travel books, cooking memoirs, biographies of interesting people... I'm all over it.  One of my unofficial goals in life (why stress by making it official?) is to consistently read a book a week.  It happens as often as not, and it always happens when I have a good book.

I just finished Julie Powell's "Julie & Julia" yesterday and thought I would share it with you since it's food-related.  It's a kitchen memoir of an unhappy secretary who decides to cook every recipe from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in one year.  That's 524 recipes in 365 days.  The book, based on her project's blog, covers many of her culinary struggles and successes, as well as how Powell's life changed that year.  It was fun to read!  Her adventures in the kitchen with Julia Child's old-fashioned recipes are so different from my experiences in the kitchen... and can you imagine having to cook that many recipes??  I can barely manage dinner from scratch three times a week.  Okay, let's be honest-- two times a week.

Also, in Googling this book, I've just discovered that it's going to be released as a movie this year, starring Amy Adams.  Yes, she was the one from "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day", which I loved.

Of course, this book was published in 2005, so this all might be old news for you.  In that case, I better start reading faster in order to keep up...

wednesday night russian tea cakes

Every Wednesday night, about seven of our friends come over to watch Lost.  Most Wednesday nights, Ken brings over a grocery bag packed with his homemade popcorn maker, corn kernels, and spritz-on butter.  Some Wednesday nights I manage to think ahead and actually bake something for everybody.  Once it was chocolate chip cookie bars.  Last night it was those addictive little cookies known as Russian Tea Cakes.

It's hard to believe a cookie that consists of just butter, powdered sugar, and flour can taste so good.  Russian Tea Cakes have a delicious crumbly, shortbread-like texture, and a simple yet totally satisfying buttery vanilla taste.  And that's really all there is to say.  Any time something is delicious and totally satisfying, not to mention easy to throw together, I'm in.

Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

sprinkle of water

extra powdered sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix in the flour until dough holds together-- sprinkle in water if needed.  

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar while still warm.  Let cookies cool, then roll or sprinkle again before serving.

Makes about 36.

spiced and roasted potatoes

So it's been some time since I last wrote, but I think it's important to clarify here that I do post every time I cook something worthy. (Read: I only cook something worthy about once a week.) Sad, sad, sad, right? The rest of the time, it appears I just make spaghetti and meatballs.

I did have the best intentions of baking a pie this week, but all plans were shot because I, like everyone else I know, succumbed to the death illness that has been circulating Burlington. I spent THREE HOURS at the doctor's office on Wednesday to get medicine. I hope you understand that by that point, all I was able to do was come home, pop my antibiotics, eat a handful of my roommate's cheetos (thanks, Megan), and crawl back into bed. I am as upset about my lack of culinary attempts as I am shamed by my pathetic life this week.

That being said, look for the pie recipes soon! So excited to make them today with my friend Adam (and ye-es, they ARE for our valentines! how fun!).

Last night I was finally feeling well enough to cook up a little dinner, and luckily I had just the recipe-- thanks to my week in bed, perusing the food blogs. I made these spiced, roasted potatoes from smittenkitchen, and I will just refer you to the recipe there. It seems I tried to halve (or maybe quarter?) the recipe, meaning I didn't actually measure much of anything for this dish. I just estimated.

Still, my gourmet red potatoes came out wonderfully: they were perfectly soft and tender on the inside, but the outsides provided a crisp, roasted texture full of buttery, mustard flavor that I found very appealing after eating cheetos and toast (not together!) all week. I can't wait to make these alongside a real dinner.

Soup Update

It thickened up overnight!  The soup was good yesterday, but now it's on a new level.  And I didn't even have to do anything...

Everlasting Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This recipe makes so much soup that I'll be living and breathing it for a looong time.  Good thing it had such a good comfort-food flavor!  (Not to mention that it's another 10 degree day in Vermont... perfect for hot soup.)  Broccoli cheddar has always been my favorite, so when I decided to make my first soup, I knew that's what I would attempt.

I found this recipe on bread & honey, one of my favorite food blogs, and it looked so good I had to try it.  I made a few changes, but nothing major.  Maybe it's because I'm inexperienced at soup-making, but this didn't thicken as much as I'd hoped.  I like a really thick soup, Panera-style.  I think next time I'd add less soup stock or more flour to thicken it up... not sure yet which way I'd go on that.  But I thoroughly enjoyed all the chopping that goes into this recipe.  You really have to work for the soup, which makes it that much more rewarding when you finish and finally get to EAT.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

1 pound cheddar cheese, finely grated

1/2 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 1/2 tablespoons butter

2-3 tablespoons flour

2-3 cups vegetable stock

1 cup milk

2 heads broccoli, chopped into bite-sized pieces

basil

cracked black pepper

Begin by lightly steaming the broccoli.  Drain and set it aside.

Melt the butter in a big pot on medium heat and saute the onions and garlic.  Add the flour and stir contantly for a minute.  Gradually pour in the stock, still stirring, and turn the heat up to medium-high.  Add the milk, a small sprinkle of basil, and pepper to taste.  Stir in the cheese gradually as it melts.  Add broccoli and let it sit, heat up, and thicken (hopefully!).  Serve hot.