Friend Discovers Potato Leek Soup Not From a Can; Surprising Results Ensue

So I'm continuing with this whole Vegetarian Soup Week idea, and tonight's winner was Potato Leek. Never having cooked with leeks before, I wasn't sure how things would turn out, but easy was the name of the game. My friend Adrienne came over to sample, and she asked how such a soup was made--apparently she asked her mom once to make it, and she refused cause it seemed difficult. NOT SO, MRS. ANTONUCCI!

1) Cut up leeks and new potatoes.

2) Saute leeks in butter with some salt until soft. Don't be afraid if you aren't moving the leeks at every waking moment...the brown residue on the bottom of the pan contributes FLAVOR!


3) Add potatoes and vegetable stock; let simmer for about 45 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked throughout.


4) Turn off the heat, add cream and some buttermilk, and season to taste.

I used Alton Brown's recipe, and I would definitely suggest reducing the buttermilk to 3/4 cup at most (unlike the 1 cup recipe measure). I wound up throwing in some more cream and stock at the end to circumvent the sour cream taste I was picking up on. If anything, I'd probably rework the proportion to 1 1/2 cups cream to 1/2 cup buttermilk.

The end result?

Harris Teeter also made a wise move and packaged four lemons and four limes together for $1.00, so I jammed on that and made lemon angel food cake and limeade. The cake was a total "I don't know how this'll turn out," seeing as I don't bake with as much regularity as I cook. I'm a sucker for sauces, and with an extra lemon left, I made this one. I should have just gone ahead and made lemon curd, as I had grandiose dreams of making a layer cake. However, the genius that I am, I totally forgot to give the cake a once-around with a knife before I unlatched the springform pan, so of course the cake began to rip as I freed it. At any rate, it wouldn't have worked anyway, for the sauce was much too runny and I ended up putting a little in a separate bowl with some cornstarch and throwing that back into the saucepan to thicken it further. I don't find the whole "add the cornstarch from the get-go" process so be that successful. And the butter isn't necessary in the sauce--at least for the cake I made. But the sauce was especially tasty when soaked into the cake for a bit...reminded me of tres leches cake. I should try making THAT some time...

Highlights:

Kitchen-Aid white beater.

Mixing the whites into the batter:

As Martin Short's character would say in Father of the Bride, "CAAAAAAAAAAK"

And the limeade.

Now I'm used to cooking for (and eating the results by) myself, so I'm not going to lie, it's a bit hard to take compliments for what I do. I don't really see what I do as anything out of the ordinary since I enjoy the process of making. Adrienne was surprised to hear that had she not been there, I would have still prepared the same things. Also, I find that I experience some sort of weird out of body sensation/"feeling that it doesn't taste the same as why I've tried in restaurants" when I taste the final result. I see it as some sort of placebo effect, seeing as I know that I've made it and I'm free to nitpick the final product. If I were served it in a restaurant, I'm sure I'd think it was fine, but since I MADE IT, surely there's something I could improve for the next round? God this sounds like I'm taking a trip to perfectionist city.

And word to the wise, if you ever eat something I've made, don't bullshit me with IT'S DELICIOUS! If it's not, I probably wouldn't serve it to you in the first place, but don't lie to me, you scoundrels! (This didn't happen to me tonight, just a tangent).