A Little iCandy

There is a grand old website, maybe you have heard of it, called www.dailycandy.com. You can register to your local region or city (LA, Seattle, NYC, Miami, etc...) and get regular emails of interesting goings on in that city. They send emails about big sales at local stores, concerts, and other events. What I love most about Daily Candy is that it has introduced me to some of my very favorite restaurants in Seattle when they opened.

It seems Daily Candy had gotten ahold of my last grocery shopping list, because I was planning on making potato-leek soup the other day. Sadly, I could not find a recipe that turned my crank. Lo and behold that very same day, Daily Candy sent me an email with a very nice sounding recipe. Now, normally I would not pass a recipe on to you without trying it first. However, this one seems simple and low risk enough, and I don't know how you could go wrong with the ingredients. Warning: it's a pretty girly recipe (I'm making it tonight, since Raj is at school). I am going to use milk instead of cream. I'll let you know how that goes.


This Spud’s for You
Scott Lent’s Leek and Potato Soup

Is there anything cozier than being home for the holidays? Yes: a pot of Bin Vivant chef Scott Lents’s creamy comfort soup.

Leek and Potato Soup
Serves eight

Ingredients
1 tbsp. butter
2 bunches leeks, sliced thin crosswise
1 sprig fresh thyme
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
2 c. vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
2 c. cream
½ c. goat cheese

1. Melt the butter in a heavy casserole dish or stockpot.

2. Add leeks and thyme. Cook over low heat until soft.

3. Add potatoes and vegetable stock.

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. When the potatoes are soft, add cream and bring to a boil.

6. Transfer contents to a blender in batches and carefully blend until smooth. (Make sure to cover the blender lid with a kitchen towel.)

7. Add goat cheese to the last batch of soup to be blended.

8. Strain soup to remove lumps.

9. Add more salt and pepper if needed. If soup is too thick, thin with water.

10. Garnish with lemon zest and lobster meat. Other possible garnishes are black truffles or sliced smoked duck.

11. Pair with a chardonnay (Bin Vivant wine tender, Yashar Shayan, suggests the 2006 Buty from Columbia Valley).

12. Prepare for things to get steamy.