Tuesday, June 26

This was one of the days when we don't even try to do the whole mixed marriage thing. On the left is what turned into cream of asparagus soup, the right became a mushroom risotto. On the back burners are nearly identical pots of simmering vegetable stock, because it didn't occur to me that both dishes called for the same ingredient. I wasn't planning on pointing this mistake out, but my wife noticed it right away.

I'm surprised at how little dairy goes into cream of asparagus soup. Saute some onion, throw in some chopped asparagus. Add a bit of flour and then stock. Then pour the whole thing into a blender (important safety tip: make sure the blender is less than two-thirds full before turning it on. hot soup flying everywhere burns a little bit) and puree. Maybe liquefy. Either way, blender the crap out of it. Return to pot, throw in a splash of half-and-half. Pepper's a nice touch. Oh, and before you do any of this, remove and save the top bits of the asparagus. Blanche those, and throw them in after the rest of the soup gets blended.


The risotto came out very well this time, but I honestly don't have any idea why. In the past it's been hit and miss, but tonight it was creamy and delicious.