Checking the veggie bin (always my first step), I knew I had two leeks and a head of cauliflower, a good beginning, so I started searching for a recipe to make the most of that. Here's what I found:
by chefsquig on Allrecipes.com
Roasting the cauliflower first is what hits this soup out of the park! I did read some of the reviews (highly recommended) and agreed with many who said that roasting at 275 degrees will not give a desired result so I bumped up the heat to 375. The problem with that is you really have to watch the finely minced garlic or it will burn (not a good thing!) Garlic which stuck to the cauliflower was golden, garlic which fell off onto the baking sheet was too golden (didn't get all the way to burnt but that's clearly where it was going). I think next time I make this soup I would just roast a couple of whole cloves with the cauliflower and then toss the cloves into the soup since I used my "boat motor" (aka immersion blender) to finish it off. I made my roux with flour which turned out to be perfect. Some reviewers felt it was thick enough without adding flour. I think that must depend on the size of your head of cauliflower. Mine apparently was on the smaller side and it definitely needed that thickener. Once I had the roux going, I used a splash of white wine to deglaze my pot and finished off with the balance of the directions. For serving we offered crumbled bacon (for a non-meatless version) and/or shredded cheese along with a rosemary version of my "go to" bread.
Throwing together something company-worthy for dessert (without making a stop at the store) usually involves pre-planning but this time I decided to try:
by MaryN at Sweet Little Bluebird
This is a classic recipe from the Depression when some ingredients (eggs, butter and milk) were not available and/or hard to come by and she has listed quite a few variations on her site. I opted for the basic Chocolate Crazy Cake and did just as told. I mixed the dry ingredients (in the cake pan), made the three depressions for the vinegar, vanilla and oil and then added the water. I'm not exactly sure why this couldn't have all been done in a bowl (except that I will say it was kind of fun to watch the vinegar react to the baking soda - something you don't really see in the bowl with this small quantities). Although NOT getting another thing dirty (in this case a bowl) was a plus, it was tricky to get into the corners of my 8x8 pan to make sure the flour and cocoa had thoroughly combined.
In any event, the cake was a success! Easy-peasy, all ingredients were found in my house first try and it produced a pretty tasty little cake.
~later, tw
(PS - Congrats to JK Simmons (UM alum) on his Best Supporting Actor win last night!!!
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