Spiced Baby Carrot Soup

Baby carrots. They're so cute. Teeny. Tiny. Fun size.

And far easier to cook with than regular size carrots because you don't have to peel or chop them.  So right there you're saving yourself two steps worth of elbow grease. You have to save that for the whiskey pouring!

No that there's any whiskey in this recipe. But there are a handful of spices. Cardamom, cinnamon, fresh ginger. (Is ginger considered a spice? It's definitely spicy.) Check it out here, courtesy of Aria Kagan, one of the favorites of the sixth season of Food Network Star.

I've found that most recipes I come upon call for far too little of whatever spice is listed. Even when I halve recipes (which is just about always), I leave the spices alone. Spice is good. At least that's what my taste buds tell me. Your mileage and/or taste buds may vary.

This go-around, however, I actually needed to futz with the spice mixture completely. Cardamom, the main spice in this dish, is very strong. I found that using just half was still too much. So I added more cinnamon. And then even more cinnamon. And then some turmeric, because it fights cancer. (Really, there was no other reason.) And then some dried dill weed. And celery salt. Then some garlic salt. And then I let it simmer. The recipe also called for some orange juice and apple cider vinegar later in the cooking process, and I didn't want to create a completely disconnected Frankenstein dish, so I left well enough alone. Though this probably would benefit from some nutmeg too.

A quick note about sweet potatoes: I don't care for them. I might be confusing them with yams (they're not the same thing), but I do know that I'm over the hoopla of sweet potato fries. Had them once and decided they're gross. I like my fries golden brown, and smothered in cocaine, or whatever it is that McDonald's does to them to make them so damn good. (Note: I never eat at McDonald's because that will kill you, but they're fries are pretty much the best of any fast food chain.)

As such, there were no sweet potatoes or yams in this soup. Just plain ol' Yukon Goldies.

So what do you get when you throw sweet onions, garlic, random spices, freshly squeezed orange juice, and apple cider vinegar together? A soup worth slurping.

This whole recipe experiment was a treat for me because I finally put my immersion blender to use. It's so much easier than lugging the blender out. And less to clean! Again with the time- and elbow grease-saving!

And then, you get this:

Eat it hot or cold!

Another note: I've been cooking with coconut oil of late. It's supposed to be healthier than just about any other fat out there, especially for high heat cooking. No, the food doesn't taste like coconut. But that would not be a bad thing!

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Spiced Baby Carrot Soup

by August-8-2011

Best hot or cold. Adapted from Aria Kagan.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion, choppped
• 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• Celery salt and garlic salt, to taste
• 1/2 pound baby carrots
• 1/2 pound potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
• Water, to cover
• Juice of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche or crema
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and sauté the onions, garlic, grated ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, and dill weed. Stir to combine and sauté until the onion is translucent (about 6 minutes). Add a bit of water if the spices start to stick. Add the remaining vegetables and stir to coat with spices. Sauté for another couple of minutes.2. Add enough water to cover all of the vegetables. Bring the mixture to a simmer, add the salt(s) and cook until the carrots and potatoes are soft (about 40-45 minutes).3. Remove the pot from the heat and using a handheld immersion blender if you have one (!!!), or food processor/regular blender if you don't, puree the soup until smooth, and then strain through a sieve into a new pot. This will give you silky soup.4. Place the pot over medium-low heat and stir in the orange juice, apple cider vinegar. Simmer the mixture for 15 minutes.5. In a small bowl, stir the creme fraiche/crema and cilantro together.

This can be served immediately or prepared a day ahead. Hot or cold, add a dollop of the cilantro cream. It's very pretty presented this way, but if you mix it all up, it takes on another whole dimension of flavor!

Details

Prep time: 20 mins Cook time: 1 hour 10 mins Total time: 1 hour 30 mins Yield: 4-6 servings

An Attempt At Samosas

I love Indian food. I used to live around the corner from Samosa House, which was recently featured on the Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate. The adorable food blogger turned network star, Aarti Sequeira, mentioned it and its namesake samosas as the best thing she's ever eaten.

They are absolutely delicious. And when I lived a mere 3 minutes away, I would binge on them every Wednesday night. I don't know how or why Wednesdays became samosa night, but it was my weekly treat.

Samosa House is actually a wonderful little Indian market with a small selection of cooked foods, all vegetarian. This is where I was turned on to jackfruit, which is a story for another time, but suffice to say it is also delicious.

I'm a big fan.

And one day, after Aarti's own recipe for baked samosas ended up on my Facebook stream, I decided to get fancy and try making my own. She made it sound so easy. I had everything in the kitchen except the dough, and I figured I'd used Erika's paprika chicken for an additional spice kick. So off to the market I went to hunt down some frozen pastry dough.

I didn't pay attention to the fact that what I actually picked up was phyllo dough instead. I was distracted by my excitement for homemade samosas, apparently. But you can tell where this is going.

I could tell right after I tore open the package that something was wrong. And that's when I finally read the package. There may have been some curse words at my own expense. I could have gone right back to the store, but I was hungry, the filling was ready, and I decided I was up for a challenge.

It was the single most maddening kitchen experience I have ever had.

The potato and chicken mixture was divine (I left out the peas because I don't like them). But trying to spoon said mixture into an ultra-thin, delicate sheet of phyllo is the stuff of culinary nightmares.

For your consideration, what samosas from Samosa House actually look like:

and my sad attempt to create a baked version:

But this was not a complete failure because even though they don't look as pretty, my samosas were damn good.

I'm going to attempt these again in the very near future, and this time, they will be perfect. Both inside and out.

Chopped-Inspired Dinner Party

Chopped is a Food Network show that pits 4 cheftestants against each other and a basket of mystery ingredients. I watch the show to take notes on the different ways the chefs prepare their various ingredients. Some of the baskets confound even the judges (one of whom is Aaron Sanchez, who we partied with on Quatro de Mayo). That's when you know it's good.

So fascinated have I been by the idea of "mystery ingredients" that I decided to host my own dinner party styled after the show. I've finally gotten comfortable enough in the kitchen that I think I can whip up something on the fly. Thankfully my guests didn't make it too hard on me.

Erik, Katie & Adrienne

The instructions to them were simple: each would bring either a protein, fruit/vegetable, and wild card item, and my only restriction would be that the wild card be gluten-free. The Chopped chefs only get 30 minutes to make an entree, but I told them I was giving myself an hour just to be safe. Adrienne arrived first with a bag of cooked baby shrimp. I had expected seafood, so I was relieved. Up next was Katie with herbed goat cheese and a polenta loaf. Finally my brother Erik arrived with oranges.

The goat cheese was camera shy.

My very first reaction to the oranges is not appropriate for young eyes. Suffice to say I panicked for a half-second.

While I loaded them up on wine, cheese, and strawberry jellies, I set to work in the kitchen. Inspiration came from the buns I had anticipated using if ground meat had come through the door (hey, even burgers can be sexy!). I grabbed my favorite kitchen tool (the mini chopper attachment on my stick blender) and set to blending the shrimp, goat cheese and orange zest together. I didn't know what it would taste like, but it sounded like a good idea. My brother wandered in at that point to shoot some video and ask if we were having shrimp shakes. He was slightly disappointed when I said no.

Appetizers

At first I thought I'd make shrimp pâté burgers with the polenta rounds as the bread. Then I thought about doing Napoleons. But something was missing. We had yellow bases topped with orangey-pink goop. It needed greenery. And bacon, because everything is good with bacon. So out of the fridge came the bacon and a bag of spinach. Bacon fried up and then the spinach sautéed nicely in its drippings.

Finally it was time to plate. A diced Roma tomato added the final touch.

I waited cautiously for everyone's reactions. My brother was the first to speak up, saying he thought the orange zest added a really good, interesting flavor. The girls agreed and we all dug in with gusto. Erik went on to eat four Napoleons. So at the very least I know he really liked them.

It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to do it again. Maybe will become the new Saturday Night Test Kitchen! (As I was writing this, I realized that Napoleons are supposed to be stacks of repeated layers, and these weren't exactly that. But that's why artistic license exists, right?)

Polenta & Shrimp Pâté Napoleons
yields approximately 5 servings

1 pound of cooked baby shrimp (250-350 per pound)
3 ounces of fine herb goat cheese
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 pre-made polenta tube
1 tablespoon of sunflower oil
8 pieces of bacon
1 six-ounce bag of baby spinach
1 roma tomato, diced

1. In a food processor, blend together the shrimp, goat cheese and orange zest. Pose for pictures.

2. Cut polenta into 1/4-inch rounds and sauté in the sunflower oil until a slight crust develops on both sides.

2a. Answer questions for the camera man when he wanders in asking about shrimp shakes. Give him more wine.

3. While the polenta is sautéing, cut the bacon in half cross-wise and fry in a separate pan. Remove to a dish lined with paper towels and reserve the pan drippings. Wilt the spinach in the drippings. Sauté just until the leaves wilt and turn slightly dark.

4. To serve, place the polenta in the center of the dish. Top it with the paté, spinach, a slice of bacon (or cut in half again to make the decorating process easier). Add a couple pieces of chopped tomato and serve.

5. Drink more wine.

My brother's funny little video of the night is available on our new Facebook page. Click here to Like Girl+Fire and watch a two and half minute recount of our Chopped-inspired night (Kevin Bacon may or may not make a cameo in the video...).

Birthday with a Chef

My mom and I are both fans of Aarón Sanchez, the resident Mexican chef on The Food Network. And it just so happened that Food Network Magazine was hosting a pre-Cinco de Mayo event in LA the same night as mom's birthday.

The event was held at The Spanish Kitchen in West Hollywood. The place was not overwhelmingly packed, and everyone was very friendly as we shared tables over nouveau Mexican food. But the crowning moment of the evening was getting to meet Aarón and his wife Ife.

The stereotypical chef ego was nowhere to be found here. Aarón and Ife are two of the most down to earth people I've ever met. They were so genuinely nice and gracious throughout the evening, Aarón even went around to all the tables thanking everyone for coming. He then ended up at our table for about 10 minutes chatting about Puerto Rican cooking with my parents and joking with my dad about how in New York, Puerto Rico is considered the sixth borough.

It was a great way to celebrate mom's birthday.

Saturday Night Test Kitchen: Chocolate

For the first official [Saturday Night] Test Kitchen, the theme was chocolate. 

The menu:
- Chocolate with Peppers
- Chocolate with Scallops
- Chocolate with Profiteroles

The challenge: not getting chocolate all over the place. It's such a pain to clean up. (Spoiler: it got all over the place. Fail.)

The three judges were close friends who I trusted not to lie to me avoid hurting my feelings. Because what was the point if I couldn't get a real critique?