Martha Mondays: Roasted Fall Vegetable Soup

I am still nursing wounds from this week's recipe. That's right. I cut myself and burned myself twice while making this soup and, yet, it is really an easy delicious soup so don't let my clumsiness deter you from trying this recipe. Pru from Perfecting Pru chose this delightful soup as this week's project. I was a bit bummed at first because I had just made a butternut squash soup and thought this might taste the same. I was wrong. This is sooooooooooo much better.

The recipe is very simple. Basically chop some fall vegetables. In this case, onions, garlic, carrots, butternut squash, and potatoes. Don't cut yourself. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast. Don't burn yourself. Puree with a bit of water. Serve. Martha tells you to put it through a sieve first. I didn't bother. I figure I can use the extra fiber!

This soup was really so good. Roasting the vegetables gives them a richness that is almost meaty. And it is so filling. One bowl with a slice of whole wheat bread was enough to fill me up. This recipe is definitely going into my recipe box!

Martha Mondays: Latin Steak

I am in love. You know how it is, girls, you go out on a date and you just know. You know whether the guy is a dud or whether he is a keeper. Well, recipes can be kind of like that. And, let me tell you, Martha Stewart has a lot of duds. But, like a good single girl who keeps on dating just in case, I keep on trying the recipes in her magazines because every once in a while I come across a keeper. This is it, folks. This is a keeper.

I am the lucky gal who got to choose this recipe for all the Martha Monday folks to try. In the September issue of Living, Martha's food editor Lucinda Scala Quinn introduces us to an easy way to flavor and grill steak. Cheap steak, that is. We could choose a Mediterranean marinade full of garlic, rosemary, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Or we could choose the Latin one made from garlic, fresh oregano, lime juice, and olive oil. I chose the Latin one. I marinated my beautiful $8 skirt steak for 7 hours and then slapped it on the grill. Five minutes each side. High heat. Let it rest for five minutes. Slice across the grain.

I served it up with tortillas, chopped cherry tomatoes, sliced lettuce, homemade refried beans, avocado in lime juice, and sour cream. We inhaled it. And guess what? I did it again the next night. Know what? I'm tempted to cook it again tomorrow night. See what I mean? This is love.

Martha Mondays: Panna Cotta

It's a good thing I'm not in school anymore. I would most certainly fail. I can't seem to get a single Martha Monday entry posted on a Monday. I remember taking a philosophy class my first year of college. A paper was due in lieu of a final exam. I was busy working on it when the phone rang. It was my professor wondering why I hadn't turned my paper in. Ooops! Somehow I'd gotten the deadline wrong. Imagine how fast I churned that thing out! And, amazingly I got a B in his class. Needless to say, I did NOT end up majoring in philosophy.

But back to the panna cotta. I did actually make this dessert on Monday but planned to serve it on Tuesday to friends. As I assembled my ingredients I realized that I was missing half a teaspoon of gelatin. The recipe called for two but I only had one and a half. Did I really want to run to the store for half a teaspoon of gelatin? Nah! So I made the dessert with what I had.

It was really easy to make. Heat cream and sugar. Soften gelatin. Stir together and pour into ramekins. Oh, I did add a teaspoon of vanilla too. But, I learned that following directions is very important, because my panna cotta would not come out of its mold. I placed it in hot water. I ran a knife around the edge. I whacked it and whacked it. It wouldn't come out. I finally tried to free it with a spoon and it splopped out, falling into three separate pieces. I guess that 1/2 teaspoon of gelatin WAS important, after all. I served myself the ruined one and served the others in their cups with a spoonful of the yummiest Maple Blueberry Spoonfruit in place of the vanilla syrup originally called for.

Final Grade: B!

Daring Bakers Challenge: Baked Alaska

In our house we firmly believe global warming is affecting our environment. We try to do our part, though. We use cloth diapers. We bring our own cloth bags to the grocery store. We keep the thermostat warmer than we'd like during the summer months and end up sleeping naked . . . oops. Did I just share that? And we make Baked Alaska! Well, actually, this is the first time I made Baked Alaska but certainly not the last.

If this had NOT been a Daring Bakers challenge it would have been REALLY easy. But, of course, in true Daring fashion everything was made from scratch. A brown butter poundcake encircled the bottom. A generous, generous, generous portion of homemade butter pecan ice cream hunched atop the cake. And the whole thing was swathed in cool, creamy, Swiss (or should I say Alaskan) meringue whereupon it was torched with a borrowed blowtorch until it resembled a perfectly toasted marshmallow. It took us two whole days to finish our servings but the verdict was, "Will you make Baked Alaska again, Mom? Without the nuts?"

It was really good and impressive. My advice, though, if you plan on making this homage to global warming in your home is to make a chocolate cake bottom, something strong and bitter, because the flavor gets really muted in the freezer. Definitely take the time to make a homemade ice cream or use something really decadent and creamy like Ben and Jerry's or Haagen Daz. And, finally, if you aren't scared of raw egg whites make a simple meringue because you'll get a stiffer meringue and can make pretty designs out of it. My Swiss meringue was a bit gloopy. Tasty but gloopy. I'm adding a link to the Daring Bakers' website if you want to look up recipes or join. But I'm also posting a recipe below for the Swiss meringue in case you feel the need to make some for your Baked Alaska! Happy Global Warming folks!

Swiss Meringue

Ingredients:

4 eggs whites

1 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk until mixture reaches 150 degrees. Remove from simmering water and place on stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high for 10 minutes or until glossy and stiff. You can tell it is done when you pull the whisk out of the meringue and it looks kind of like a bird's beak. Here's a picture to give you an idea. Use immediately.