A Daily Dinner: Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Prosciutto Toasts

Jul 19, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Food, Living 5 Comments Tags: cucumbers, daily dinner, soup, summer, vegetarian

The ingredients for this dinner might not look like much on their own—two cucumbers, a homely avocado, some plain yogurt, and dill—but once they’re whizzed together in the blender, everything changes.

I find that to be true for most recipes involving summer produce; just think about those ugly, beat-up heirloom tomatoes that make beautiful salads, for example. Even a plain vegetable like a cucumber (admittedly not my favorite) can be transformed with just a bit of seasoning and complementary herbs.

The soup involves little more effort than chopping the cucumbers and dumping the rest of the ingredients in a blender. While the soup itself is vegetarian (and could be made vegan), we chose to eat ours with a few triangles of toast, piled high with salty prosciutto.

Cucumber-Avocado Soup with Prosciutto Toasts
Adapted from Real Simple

2 English cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1/2 c. plain low-fat Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. fresh dill, plus more for serving
1 tsp. grated lemon zest, plus 3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 slices multi-grain bread, toasted
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 oz. thinly-sliced prosciutto

1. In a blender, purée the cucumbers, avocado, yogurt, 1 tbsp. dill, lemon zest and juice, 1 c. of water, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper until smooth. Adjust consistency with more water as needed and season to taste.

2. Spread the toast with butter and top with prosciutto. Sprinkle soup with remaining dill and serve alongside toast.

We’ve been having a terrible heatwave, which was finally mitigated by a powerful thunderstorm yesterday afternoon, but on Tuesday, when we ate this, the mere idea of turning the oven on caused my body temperature to rise by about 10 degrees.

Luckily, this soup was the perfect antidote and the leftovers were just as great yesterday, before our cooling storm arrived.

- Laura

A Daily Dinner: Beef Stew with Cornbread

Jan 19, 2012 By Smith & Ratliff in Food, Living 6 Comments Tags: a daily dinner, beef, beer, cornbread, soup, stew, winter

Originally, I was going to call this dish a chili. Then, I realized that if I called this dish a chili, I would probably never be allowed to return to Texas.

You see, Texans are adamant that chili should never contain beans. Ever. If it has beans, it’s a stew, not a chili. And thus, this is a stew.

This recipe is an adaptation of a few different recipes, most of which were slow cooker recipes. We don’t own a slow cooker—they’re just not conducive to life in a Manhattan apartment—so I adapted to create a stew that is made on the stovetop, but still has the same depth of flavor as one that spent hours cooking. Like a slow cooker recipe, you basically throw everything in the pot and wait.

In the meantime, we enjoyed the rest of the lager we opened (the stew calls for some), and whipped up a batch of cornbread muffins, cooked to perfection in a cast-iron pan.

Beer, Beef and Bean Stew

Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb. beef stew meat, cut into 3/4″ chunks
2 can kidney beans, rinsed
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
12 oz. lager (Preferably Sam Adams Winter Lager.)
2 tbsp. tomato paste
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. chopped chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
Kosher salt
Crème fraiche, red onion and grated cheddar cheese, for garnish

1. In a large pot or Dutch over, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, stirring until fragrant and onion is soft, about 3 minutes.
2. Add stew meat to pot and cook until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
3. Add beans, tomatoes, beer, tomato paste, flour, chili powder, chipotle chilis, and 3/4 tsp. salt.
4. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about an hour or until stew is thickened and beef is tender.
5. Serve, topped with sour cream, chopped red onion, and grated cheddar.

Cornbread Muffins

1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. melted lard, shortening or butter
1 c. buttermilk
1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, then mix in lard.
3. Beat egg and milk together and fold into dry ingredients. Add a bit of water if batter is too thick.
4. Bake in greased cast-iron muffin tin for 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

The cornbread finished before the stew, so we snuck a few muffins while they were still piping hot and slathered them Vermont Creamery’s cultured butter.

Then, once the stew was finished, we piled our bowls high, topping them with fresh red onions, a sharp cheddar cheese and a little dollop of crème fraiche, which balanced out the intense smoky flavor from the chipotle chilis. It was the perfect meal for a gray, rainy day.

- Laura

What We Used: 11-Mold Seasoned Cast Iron Muffin Pan

A Daily Dinner: Kale, Sausage and Potato Soup

Dec 8, 2011 By Smith & Ratliff in Food, Living 8 Comments Tags: daily dinner, kale, potatoes, sausage, soup, winter

We safely made it to Dallas, but I have one small complaint: it’s FREEZING here! Not that New York is a tropical paradise, but I at least thought that venturing 1,500 miles south would warrant somewhat warmer temperatures.

Fortunately, this dinner we made last week is perfect for chasing away the chill. I foresee myself making it at least once during my stay.

The inspiration for this soup came from a post on Hummingbird Tongues.

I love using kale in soups and stews and all of the other ingredients work together so seamlessly that I knew I needed to give this a try. I can never get enough kale!

Kale, Sausage, and Potato Soup
Adapted from Hummingbird Tongues

1 lb. Italian sausage
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced
2 lb. potatoes, sliced into rounds
3 tbsp. flour
4 c. chicken stock
1 large bay leaf
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
1/2 c. heavy cream
Salt and pepper

1. Remove sausage from casings and form into medium-sized meatballs.
2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the garlic, cooking until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Reduce heat to low and add the meatballs. Cover the pot and let steam for 3-4 minutes, or until firm.
4. Once the meatballs are firm enough to stir, increase the heat to medium-high and brown the meatballs for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the flour and potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until it smells toasty.
6. Pour in the chicken stock, add the bay leaf and stir well well, scraping the bottom of the pot. Bring soup to a boil.
7. Once the soup boils, reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pot, cooking for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
8. Add crushed red pepper and kale, cooking until kale it is just wilted.
9. Remove from heat, stir in cream and season to taste.

After cooking, I also used a fork to mash a few of the potatoes, creating a chunky, creamy stew. The results were incredibly rich and like most soups, even tastier the next day. It could also be made with vegetable broth and no sausage for an easy vegetarian dinner.

If you’re planning on heading home for the holidays, consider adding this soup to your menu!

- Laura