Cookbook Club Roundup - March 5th, 2016

Cookbook Club RoundUp! 

Our Cookbook Club members didn't disappoint with a wonderful selection of "Soup and Salad" dishes and recipes at this week's meeting. Here's what was shared:

Orange Blossom Special (a fruit soup), from Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread Cookbook, by Crescent Dragonwagon.

(Kubbeh) Hamustaahatar, a soup, from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Ezogelin Corbasi - Spicy Lentil and Bulgur Soup, shared from a cooking class taken at 'Cooking Alaturka', in Istanbul, Turkey.

Curried Zucchini Soup, from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser.

Beets, Apples and Ginger with Clementine Vinaigrette, from Cooking for Mr. Latte, by Amanda Hesser.

Here are some recipes that were shared:

Endive and Watercress Salad with Walnuts and Roquefort Cheese

2 endive
1 bunch watercress
1 firm Bosc pear
6-8 cherry tomatoes
½ cup walnut pieces
½ cup Roquefort, crumbled
Extra virgin olive oil,
Balsamic vinegar

Core and slice endive thinly. Core and slice pear thinly. Wash and stem watercress.  Slice cherry tomatoes in half.

Make vinaigrette, using ½ olive oil and ½ balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Toss endive, pear and watercress with vinaigrette.  Pile on shallow bowl and surround with cherry tomato halves. Sprinkle with walnuts and Roquefort cheese. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Honey Grapefruit with Banana Salad      

Prep: 5 minutes. Yield: 3 servings (serving size: 1 cup) 

1 (24-ounce) jar refrigerated red grapefruit sections (about 2 cups) 
1 cup sliced banana (about 1) 
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint 
1 tablespoon honey 

Drain grapefruit sections, reserving 1/4 cup juice.

Combine grapefruit sections, juice, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Toss gently to coat. Serve immediately, or cover and chill.

German Potato Salad

4 potatoes
4 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Boil large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm about 15 minutes, drain cool and chop.

Place bacon in a large deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.  

Add flour, sugar, water and vinegar to the skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until it is thick.

Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm.

For more information on our Cookbook Club, and to register, please email Barbara Davis at bdavis@nrpl.org or call (914) 632-8254.

Remy's Soup

Remy's Soup

Chef D'Amour Giovanni Green from Break Bread Not Hearts had a lot of help in making a wonderfully hearty vegetable soup. Here's Giovanni's simple recipe. 

Ingredients

Potatoes – three medium sized
Parsley – one bunch
Carrots –three medium sized
Portobello Mushroom – one to two large caps
Baby Spinach – ¼ pound
Scallion – three stalks
Garlic – 4 cloves
Diced/Crushed Tomatoes – one 28 oz. can
Coconut Milk – one 14 oz. can
Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Love

Directions

1. Begin by being thankful and excited for the meal you are about to prepare.  
2. Rinse potatoes and cut them into small bite sized cubes, mince the garlic, and remove the gills from the portobello mushrooms.  Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.
3. In a saucepan or stockpot drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil or the butter over medium heat.  You can now add the potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir constantly until the garlic turns light golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.
4. Add the can of diced tomatoes, can of coconut milk, a healthy dash of salt and pepper and increase the heat to medium high until the soup begins to boil.  Once boiling reduce the heat back to medium-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Slice carrots into any shape and drop into the soup and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.  If you want the carrots to be soft cut them into smaller pieces.  If you like them with a bit more crunch cut them into larger pieces and cook for a shorter period of time.
6. Once the potatoes and carrots are cooked through the soup is ready to be served.  Thinly slice the scallions and the spinach.  Place the spinach at the bottom of a bowl, ladle the soup on top, and garnish with scallions and thyme.
7. Enjoy with love!


This recipe in the film comes together based on the ingredients available at hand to the characters.  Allow your imagination, taste buds, and the rest of your senses to guide you when preparing this soup or any other meal as a team.