Lauren’s Potato-Leek Soup à la Julia

This soup is a perennial favorite with the kids, and it's very good to make on a rainy or cold day because it's so rich. There's enough substance in the bowl, so it's a meal by itself. If you'd like to pair it with other foods as a first course, try using smaller bowls, or simply serve it in smaller portions. At our house, this soup is usually the main event, so we've never actually paired this with other foods.

Ingredients
5 medium potatoes (appx. 4 cups diced)
2-3 large leeks (ends up appx. 4 cups diced)
3-4 cups of milk
1 cup of “Light” sour cream
1 package of pre-cooked bacon (15 slices)
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons of salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon ground pepper (or to taste)

Start by filling a large pot ½ full with water and getting it to boil. While that is heating, start prepping the ingredients. There is a specific way to prepare the leeks à la Julia and it's the only part of the recipe you should follow to a T. Like much of life, everything else is quite negotiable.

Leeks
Cut off the tops of the leeks right below where they start to fan out in its stalk-like leaves. Be sure to leave the roots on the leeks until after you wash them. What will be left is primarily the white part of the leek, along with some of the tender light-green part. Cut them in quarters, but not all the way down to the roots so they stay together while you fan them out to wash out the dirt. Do not skip this step because the dirt is a guarantee, but trust me – it is worth this little bit of extra work. No need to dry the leeks, so just chop off the roots at this point. Slice the quarters into half-inch pieces and drop them into the boiling water.

Potatoes
These are certainly much easier than the leeks, but still some work to peel them. Once peeled, chop and dice into 1-inch chunks and boil them with the leeks until the potatoes break apart with a fork (like making mashed potatoes). It usually takes them about 10-12 minutes to reach that point.

Here is where Lauren departs from Julia’s original recipe. Julia drains the leeks and potatoes and keeps the liquid and adds it back in to make the soup. Lauren simply drains them, puts them in a blender in batches with sour cream and milk and purees it until a rich, creamy consistency. Then pour each batch into the original pan until all of the leeks and potatoes have been pureed. Generally, it takes 2-3 batches with our standard-issue 6-cup blender.

Once the pureed soup is back on the stove, stir occasionally as it warms up and add salt & pepper to taste.

Serve it in bowls and crumple the bacon bits onto the soup, finishing with some shredded cheddar on top. Serve with warm bread and your favorite beverage.


Give this one a try and let me know what you think, especially if you think of a new way to prepare or serve it.

Bon appétit!

Grapefruit Frozen Margaritas

Ever since our friends Johnny & Whitney invited us over for margaritas a few weeks ago, I have been obsessed with an idea - making frozen margaritas with grapefruit juice (instead of lime juice). Lo and behold, Lauren (my faithful accomplice on all of life's great adventures) found the key ingredient this past week at the store (see picture - it actually exists, like frozen orange juice).

Yesterday was the end of another productive but l o n g week at work, so I emailed Lauren halfway through the morning about the grapefruit margaritas and whether or not we should invite some of our friends over for Friday dinner. Aside from simply liking to entertain, I think it's more fun to share food adventures so we can have multiple testers.

(FULL DISCLOSURE: Yes, if I invite you over there's a good chance you will become another guinea pig for my cooking adventures).

Anyway, they turned out as delectable and refreshing as I hoped for, so here's how we did it using our trusty standard-issue 6-cup blender:

• 1/2 can of frozen concentrated grapefruit juice (6 oz.)
• 2-3 cups of ice (just fill the blender until 2/3 to 3/4 full
• 1/2 cup of tequila
• 6 packets of splenda

Yes, it's really that easy. The splenda is key because it cuts the sourness of the grapefruit. If you prefer, you can use sugar. For us, the splenda was within reach when we tested the first batch and it turned out WAY too sour without a sweetener.

The consensus was all positive except for Lauren, who prefers regular margaritas. Our testers included Johnny & Whitney and our other friends Glenn & Eileen. Everyone brought a little something, so we had cheese and baguette rounds as appetizers, then a really nice tilapia with olive oil and cayenne. Then we had a mixed grill of beef shortribs, chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, turkey smoked sausage and yellow squash medallions all served up with a tossed salad.

¡Buen provecho!