White Bean Soup

I have a new cookbook called The Family Chef by Jewels and Jill Elmore. They are two sisters who've been cooking their whole lives and they work as personal chefs in Los Angeles. What I like about this cookbook is that they try to incorporate a lot of vegetables into their recipes. We all know we want to do this and sometimes it's hard and takes more effort. Their mantra is "A salad a day keeps the pounds away."

This soup recipe was also featured in the October 2009 issue of House Beautiful. It's easy and not too many ingredients which is my mantra! This is supposed to make enough for 6-8 people but I found that I had to add some chicken broth and it fed my family of four each a hearty portion. I only had a little bit leftover. The kids even asked me to make this again.

3 15-oz. cans cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed (can probably substitute navy beans or Great Northern beans too if you can't find cannelloni

6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water (I used chicken stock)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T olive oil

1 med. onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into small pieces (or can of chopped tomatoes)

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

grated Parmesan

Place beans, stock, garlic in a large pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and continue cooking for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat a large skillet over med. high heat. Add olive oil and saute the onion and celery for 5-6 minutes until translucent. Add tomatoes and salt and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add veggie mixture and parsley to beans. Cook for 15 minutes more to meld flavors. Serve with parmesan sprinkled on top.

I served this with a big green salad and sourdough bread crisps. These are good to make with sourdough that is a 2-3 days old.

Sourdough bread crisps:

4 slices sourdough bread cut lengthwise in half

olive oil

parmesan

Flatten the sourdough pieces in a heated panini press. Remove and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Brush each piece with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until slightly brown and crispy. If you don't have a panini press, then flatten with a mallet and follow the same steps. You may need to turn the bread in the oven and cook it a little longer to get crispy. More on the panini press in the next blog!

Grouper Fillets

Finally, I saw the movie "Julie & Julia" which I loved. (Sorry friends at lunch last week. I know we talked about going together, but oops, already saw it!) If that movie can't get you in the mood for cooking, then nothing can! I couldn't get over the delicious fish that Julia Child ate at a French restaurant at the beginning of the movie. So the next day at the grocery store, I scanned the fish selections. The fish butcher (I guess that's what you call him) steered me toward the grouper which was flown in that morning from northern Mexico. The intact fish stared at me from the refrigerated case. Not a very pretty mug, but nonetheless, the butcher offered to fillet the fish on the spot for me. (Took about 15 minutes, by the way.) I've had mixed results cooking grouper before, but after making this recipe, I realized it's all about the freshness of the fish. I adapted this recipe from one that I found on a blog called Sugar and Spice with Celeste. Coincindentally, she had a quote from Julia Child on her page.

Ingredients:

4 grouper fillets (these were on the thin side)

lemon butter (melt 1/2 stick with squeeze of half lemon)

kosher salt

pepper

garlic powder

paprika

flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

Place a piece of foil across a broiler pan. Brush lemon butter on top of the foil. Place fillets on foil, then dribble lemon butter and season with spices and parsley. Turn filets over and repeat. Cook at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until the fish flakes.

I served these fillets with store bought HEB mashed potatoes (my kids die for these), steamed broccoli (where the lemon butter sauce did double duty) and warm sourdough bread. You should always serve bread with fish just in case there is a bone here or there. Fortunately, these fillets had not a bone in sight. Good job HEB fish butcher!

Vietnamese Beef Lettuce Wraps

This is a refreshing dinner on a warm summer night. The lettuce wraps are crunchy and the beef is tender. I usually serve these with store bought potstickers or rice on the side . The recipe for the Oriental Flank Steak comes from the Houston Junior League Cookbook, Stop and Smell the Rosemary.

Ingredients:

1/2 c soy sauce

2 1/2 T brown sugar

2 T lemon juice

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 lb. flank steak

1 head green leaf lettuce

cilantro sprigs

fresh basil, mint (optional)

shredded carrots and/or sliced cucumbers

crushed peanuts or cashews

1 jar of Asian peanut sauce (any brand)

Combine marinade: soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger and galice salt in shallow dish. Place steak in dish, cover and marinate for 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before cooking.

Wash lettuce and keep in whole pieces. Wash other vegetables. Arrange veggies on a platter and place in the center of the dining table. Put peanut sauce in a small ramekin for each person at their place on the table. (You might want to water down the peanut sauce just a tad if it seems too thick.) Place the crushed peanuts in another small bowl and set on the dining table.

Heat the outdoor grill on high. Cook steak 5 minutes on each side or until done. Can also be cooked in the oven on the broiler setting. Slice meat diagonally and serve it alongside the platter of vegetables. To make a lettuce wrap: lettuce, meat, veggies, peanuts, and peanut sauce. Roll the lettuce leaf together like a taco and take a bite. Crunchy and savory!

Banana Muffins with Glaze

I found a banana muffin recipe in O Magazine but I changed it up a little bit and added a yummy glaze. These are really delicious, fairly healthy, and perfect for a harried morning breakfast (made the night before, of course!)

Banana Walnut Muffins

1 c whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c brown sugar

1 stick butter softened

3 very ripe bananas mashed

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

1/4 c chopped walnuts

1/4 c mascarpone cheese

1 T honey

Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin tin. (I use a Kitchen Aid muffin pan that has these removable rubber muffin inserts. It is so easy to pop out the muffins once they are done.)I still spray them with cooking spray first.) Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside. Pur sugar and butter into a second bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add bananas, applesauce, zest, vanilla, and egg to the sugar/butter mixture. Beat until combined. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, stirring well. Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into muffin tin and bake abou 25 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes about 12 muffins.

Before serving, combine mascarpone cheese with honey and spread on top of muffins. Microwave for 20 seconds. The glaze will dribble over the sides. Yum!