Sweet Pea and Lettuce Soup with Lemony Ricotta

What better way to end a warm summer day than with a chilled pea soup apéritif? This recipe was borrowed from Melissa Clark's, Dinner in French, and includes just a few modifications. Potage St. Germain (pea soup) was named after the Count of Saint Germain, minister of war under Louis XIV, who loved split peas and would always ask to have soup made with them. You can serve the soup hot on a spring evening or cold (which I prefer!) on a warm summer day. Ready? Let's begin!

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, divided

• 1 large leek (white and green parts only, cleaned) diced

• 3 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 large head of Romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped

• 3 cups of frozen peas (or fresh peas!)

• 2 cups of veggie/chicken stock

• 1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper

• 2 heaping teaspoons of sea salt

• 1 tablespoon of chopped basil leaves, plus more for garnish

• 1/2 cup of heavy cream

• 1 cup of fresh ricotta

• Zest of 1 lemon

1. To begin, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy soup pot over medium heat. Stir in the diced leak and cook and it is soft and translucent (about 6 minutes). Stir in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the chopped Romaine lettuce and sauté until the leaves are wilted, about 6 minutes.

3. Stir in the peas, stock, 1 cup of water, the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 heaping teaspoons of salt and the pepper, and bring it to a simmer. Continue to simmer until the peas are soft, about 3-5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to scoop about 1/2 cup of peas out of the stock and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside either in the fridge or the counter until you are ready to use.

4. Add the basil and cream to the pot and puree the mixture until smooth, either using an immersion blender or standard blender. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

5. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, lemon zest and salt together. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to use.

6. To serve, ladle into bowls, put a dollop of the lemony ricotta on top, then add a spoon of the peas along with a sprinkling of chopped basil or mint. Chill for at least 2-3 hours before serving. Bon appétit!

Swedish Braided Cardamom Bread

I just love the smell of cardamom when I bake! It brings back memories of trips to Sweden and spending time with family. I decided to bake a Swedish style braided cardamom bread today because we're just a couple days away from Christmas and even though we don't traditionally bake this around Christmastime, it does bring the family together as we celebrate new and old traditions.

For this recipe, you will need 2 cups whole milk, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 4 1/2 teaspoons or 2 packets active dry yeast, 6 cups all-purpose flour (divided), 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 2 large eggs (divided), 1 tablespoon of whole milk and 2 tablespoons of Swedish pearl sugar.

So light up your Swedish advent candles and let's begin!

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk and sugar, whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Add the butter and heat over medium low, stirring gently, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat.

2. Allow the milk mixture cool to the temperature of a warm bath, making sure it's not too hot, then add your yeast. Let the mixture sit for 5 - 10 minutes to let the yeast activate. Bubbles will form on the surface. Don't be alarmed if it's not super foamy!

3. In an electric mixing bowl with a dough hook attachment or in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, add the milk mixture. Then add 2 cups of flour and the salt, cardamom and 1 of the eggs. Mix until combined.

4. Add 3 more cups of the flour and stir until it is completely mixed in. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour a little at a time until the dough forms a ball and is no longer very sticky when lightly touched with your finger.

5. Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size for about 1 hour.

6. Once the dough has risen, knead it on a floured surface for 1 minute. Then let it rest for 10 minutes.

7. Divide the dough into six equal parts. Roll each portion into a skinny rope about 15 inches long. Line up three of the ropes and pinch the top of three of them together (like pictured below on the left), then gently braid the three ropes into a loaf and tuck the end under on both sides. Do the same with the other three ropes to make a second loaf.

8. Place both loaves on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with a tea towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.

9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

10. Make an egg wash by combining the other egg with 1 tablespoon of milk. Whisk together in a small bowl or cup. Then rush the top and sides of both braided loaves with the egg wash and sprinkle each loaf with a few pinches of pearl sugar.

11.Bake the loaves until browned on top, about 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool before slicing.

Varsågod!

Julia Child's Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine

A savory crepe cake stacked with layer upon layer of spinach filling and a mushroom cream sauce, topped with a buttery Sauce Mornay. This is possibly one of the most delicious savory crepe recipes that exists. I took this directly from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking"and this was only my second time cooking it. This recipe involves quite a few steps, the first of which is to make the crepes. I used a bigger pan which yielded 12 crepes but Julia suggests making the crepes 6 1/2 inches in diameter which makes about 24 crepes. It depends how tall you want your crepe mound to be. If you are prepared to try this recipe, I highly recommend it!

Let's get started!

Pâte à Crêpes

The first step to making the Gâteau de Crêpes à la Florentine is to make the crepes. For the crepe batter, what you'll need is 1 cup of cold water, 1 cup of cold milk, 4 eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 1/2 cups of flour and 4 Tablespoons of melted butter.

1. Put the liquids, eggs, and salt into the mixing bowl. Add the flour, then the melted butter. Cover and mix at the highest speed with the whisk attachment for 1 minute. If any flour is stuck to the sides, use a rubber spatula to scrape it down and mix the batter for a few more seconds. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. The batter should be like a light cream.

2. Making the crepes! Rub a little butter on a pan and set it over medium-high heat on the stove top. Once the pan is almost smoking, you're ready for your first crepe. The first one is usually the trial one to test the consistency of your batter. If it's too thick, beat in a bit of water. You can ladle the batter directly in the pan and slowly tilt the pan around so you have a nice, even and thin layer. Let it cook for about 60 - 80 seconds. You'll notice it will start to bubble up and the edges will be dry. You can jerk and toss the pan back and forth and up and down to loosen the crepe, then using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for 30 seconds on the other side.

Gently slide the crepe onto a plate on the counter. Continue making the crepes until all the batter is gone, then set aside your stack of crepes until you complete the next steps.

Sauce Mornay

Now it's time to make your Sauce Mornay! You will need 5 Tablespoons of flour, 4 Tablespoons of butter, 2 3/4 cups of boiling milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of pepper, a pinch of nutmeg, 1/4 cup whipping cream, 1 cup of grated Swiss Gruyere (I used the brand pictured below).

1. First, you're going to cook the butter slowly together in a small sauce pan for two minutes. Turn off the heat, then beat in some very hot milk and seasonings. Turn the stove back onto high and boil, stirring for 1 minute.

2. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir in the cream by tablespoons. Sauce should be thick enough to coat spoon heavily.

3. Remove from heat and correct the seasoning. Stir in all but two tablespoons of the cheese. To prevent skin from filming over the sauce, you can top it with a thin layer of milk.

Spinach Filling

For the spinach filling, you're going to need 1 tablespoon of minced shallots or green onions (I used shallots), 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 1/2 cups of blanched chopped spinach and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

If you choose to blanch your spinach yourself, you will need 1 1/2 pounds of fresh spinach, a teaspoon of salt and 4 quarts of water.

Blanching the Spinach:

1. In a large pot, boil water and salt. Slowly add spinach to boiling water one handful at a time. Cook uncovered for 2 minutes until spinach is tender.

2. Pour the spinach out into a colander and let it drain. Squeeze spinach a small amount at a time in your hands to extract as much water as possible. Then chop the spinach with a big knife. Set aside in a bowl.

Making the Sauce:

1. Begin by cooking the shallots or onions in butter for a moment in an enameled saucepan. Add spinach and salt and stir over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes to evaporate moisture. Stir in 1/2 cup to 2/3 cup of the Mornay Sauce.

2. Cover and cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Correct seasonings and set aside.

Mushroom Cheese Filling

For the mushroom and cheese filling, you will need 1 cup of cottage cheese or 8 oz. of cream cheese, salt and pepper, 1 egg, 1/4 lb. (1 cup) minced mushrooms, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 tablespoon of oil.

1. Mash the cheese in a mixing bowl with the seasonings. Beat in 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce and the egg.

2. Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in butter and oil for about 5 minutes in a skillet. Stir them into the cheese mixture and correct the seasoning.

Forming the Mound

What you'll need is a round baking dish (about 9 inches in diameter), 3 tablespoons of grated Gruyere and 1/2 tablespoon of butter.

1. Butter the baking dish and center a crepe in the bottom. Spread it with a layer of cheese and mushroom filling. Press a crepe on top and spread it with a layer of spinach filling. Continue with alternating layers of crepes and filling, ending with a crepe.

Cream and mushroom layer:

Cream and spinach layer:

2. Pour the remaining cheese sauce over the top and sides of the mound. Sprinkle with the 3 tablespoons of cheese and dot with 3 or 4 pea-sized bits of butter.

3. When ready to bake, turn the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the cake for about 25-30 minutes. To serve, cut into pie-shaped wedges. Enjoy!!!