Red Pepper Soup
This is going to be a quick hello; my spinning plates are beginning to fall.
I suppose it’s Murphy’s Law that those weeks that hold the most promise, time-wise, end up being the ones that overflow. I have not touched the basement, nor the manuscript. My articles are unfinished, although I did manage to pull off a couple last-minute assignments this morning. And I had the best time covering traffic on the Homestretch all week.
By the third day on the job, I clued in to the fact that I didn’t really need a chocolate espresso truffle coffee to keep me lively through that chunk of the afternoon that I usually hit a wall, and I made a quick batch of sippable soup to bring along in my to-go mug instead. Four red peppers, an onion and some garlic, sauteed until soft. A litre of chicken stock and a splash of half & half, pureed. (Bonus: by hacking the peppers whole instead of using roasted ones, you also get their skins.) Although it was seriously lacking in the caffeine department, I’m sure it did me much more good.
I haven’t really eaten with the boys this week. Tonight, I walked in the door at 7 and was out again by 7:30, W in tow, to shop some more for this dinner party tomorrow. I’m cooking a birthday dinner for 10 for some folks I was auctioned off to at Ski for Heart (a fundraiser for the Alberta Heart & Stroke Foundation) last January. It’s quite the menu. Want to hear it?
Appetizers:
Prawns wrapped in prosciutto, with pesto for dipping
Gruyère Gougères
Balsamic Mushroom Crostini
Salad:
Something interesting and green
Soup:
Curried Squash with Apples & Pears
Fish Course:
Large Seared Scallops on Roasted Asparagus with Buerre Blanc & Caviar
Main:
Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon
Vegetarian Portabello Mushroom Bourguignon
Celeriac Mashed Potatoes
Haricots verts
Pattypan squash
Homemade bread
Cheese course:
Individual cheese plates with assortment of Quebec cheeses, pecans, etc.
Dessert:
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Hot Fudge Sauce and Chocolate, Hazelnut & Espresso Shortbread
Phew. Now, at 10pm, I’ve tucked W into bed and am starting to brown beef for bourguignon and roast squash for soup. I’m trying to do as much as possible tonight, because tomorrow morning I’ll be going to help cook for, and then attend a funeral for a wonderful little two year old boy.
There are no words.
Luckily, my amazing and talented pal Pierre has stepped in to back me up at the dinner party - I’m so grateful to have friends like him. So after tomorrow, I may not be around for a day or two. Maybe three. Sunday I plan to spend snuggling W as much as he’ll let me. Of course I may just want to come back here and hang out. I’m not sure. But just know that I haven’t disappeared.
I’ll be back.
November 20 2009 | leftovers | 24 Comments »
