Monday, March 9, 2009

A LONG WEEKEND AND A RECIPE

I didn't get back as soon as I planned. What a weekend!
On Saturday, we went to Plaquemine, a sleepy little town across the Mississippi River. Go across that dreadful bridge, carefully driving through Bruly and Addis, because they are speed traps, and then happily into Plaquemine. Right? Wrong. There had been a chemical spill earlier that morning and traffic was being re-routed. We rode by many, many sugar cane fields, past many, many police and National Guard guys, and getting more stressed by the minute. We had to go to a funeral-yes, another one. One of DH's clients died and we were going to pay our respects. We finally rolled into the funeral home just a few minutes before the procession to the church was to start. Well, because of the spill, the service was at the funeral home. No Mass. Just a short service. But the best part came afterwards.
We went to his house for the repast. WOW. He was a big game hunter--literally--so the living room was filled with LOTS of stuffed animals: giraffe, grizzly bear, gazelle. You name it, it was there. Whatever floats your boat! Their daughter had been in 3 Mardi Gras krewes, so her costumes were on display in a large case. Absolutely beautiful. I still don't understand how the ladies wear those LARGE headpieces.
The best part was the food. No one can cook like South Louisiana Cajuns. There was everything you could want, even meat pies. And some real home-baked ham. Anything you wanted to drink. And the desserts! I always thought an Irish wake would be the way I wanted to go. Now I've changed my mind.
Sunday was slow. I'm not an early morning person, so the time change nearly did me in. I woke up every hour during the night, so afraid I would be late for the Early Service. I wasn't, but yawned through the first service, poured in the coffee between services, and made it through the last service. Came home and took a long nap.
On the sewing front, I actually picked up the petit etui and did some stitching. Same for the Bea Potter SAL. I got an email from Robin, saying that some charts I ordered came in. I know one of them I want to start right away, so I'll get a little fabby, too. That's on tap for tomorrow.
Well, now for a recipe. I think my favorite holiday to cook for is St. Patrick's Day. Maybe it's the little bit of the Irish mixed in with the Scot. My favorite is Leek Soup. Sometimes I even make it during the year. Here goes:
CREAM OF LEEK SOUP
4 medium leeks (white and pale green portions only), cleaned and trimmed NO SAND!
1 Tbs. butter
2 tsp. olive oil
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
3 Tbs. AP flour
2 2/3 C. Chicken stock (or Swanson's broth)
1/2 C. milk
nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C half and half (or heavy cream)
1. Quarter leeks lengthwise and cut into 1/2" long pieces. Makes about 2 1/2 C.
2. Melt butter with olive oil over medium heat in large saucepot. Add leeks and garlic. Cook about 2 min., stirring often. Don't let garlic burn.
3. Mix flour with milk. Add to leeks with stock and seasonings. Stir and bring to simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.
4. Spoon into blender and puree well. Put into saucepot. Add half and half and heat slowly. Garnish with chopped chives to serve, if desired.
I have another recipe around here that is Leek and Potato Soup. It's good too. Just what we need in this 80 degree weather.

4 comments:

Autumn said...

My mom wore one of those head pieces and she said they're built kind of like a backpack and they're about as heavy as a full backpack. It's just making sure you don't hit things in your wingspan.

Donna said...

The recipe sounds good. I wish I had it when we had our one day of cold weather.

Julie said...

I love leeks, this sounds really nice, Dh grows them in his veg patch.

Not sure i would have liked the 'game' on the wall!!!

Anonymous said...

thanks for the recipe for the soup, it sounds lovely, i definitely will try to make this at the weekend