White Gazpacho

While it may be inadvisable to wear white after Labor Day, this pale, creamy gazpacho from foodandwine.com made with cauliflower is highly recommended (at least by me) all through the year. I substituted walnuts that I already had on hand for the suggested pine nuts and almonds to great effect, I thought. I would recommend (here I go again) that after blending all the ingredients together, to push the solids with the back of a wooden spoon through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and refrigerate the thinned soup then. Try it with toasty bread in the cooler months to take off the chill!

White Gazpacho
Ingredients
 1/2 medium head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets 
 2 slices of crustless white bread 
 1/4 cup pine nuts (1 1/2 ounces) 
 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped 
 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
 1 large shallot, coarsely chopped 
 1 1/4 cups blanched slivered almonds 
 1/2 medium seedless cucumber, peeled and coarsely chopped, plus 1/4 cup finely diced cucumber
 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
 Kosher salt

Method
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the cauliflower until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water until cool and drain well.
In a blender, combine 1 1/2 cups of cold water with the cooked cauliflower, bread, pine nuts, chopped garlic, sherry vinegar, chopped shallot, 1 cup of the slivered almonds and the coarsely chopped cucumber; blend until smooth. Add the olive oil and pulse just until incorporated. If necessary, add more water to thin the gazpacho. Season the soup with salt and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the remaining 1/4 cup of slivered almonds in a pie plate and toast for about 6 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden. Ladle the gazpacho into bowls. Garnish the soup with the toasted almonds and the finely diced cucumber and serve.

First published in part in Food & Wine. Thanks to contributor Joy Manning and photographer Hallie Burton!

A Vegetarian French Country Supper

In honor of my third year of blogging, I made another cassoulet in reminiscence of my first post. This version was vegetarian--in fact the dinner I pulled together was mostly compiled by epicurious.com and neglected any meat. My guests hardly noticed!

I find it such a meditation and very satisfying to set a beautiful table--I was so happy with this one. The last few weeks had been hectic and as my schedule was calming down, I found relief and respite in blissful out of pocket time, some days in advance, to create an appropriate setting for a Vegetarian French Country Supper. It took about three wonderful, solitary hours of creation to figure out, as I sorted through our things and considered what was going to be served, while listening to the soundtrack I had arranged to score the evening for inspiration.

This menu I found online thrilled me, as I imagined a picnic somewhere in a secluded wood.

Waddling ducks and strutting roosters played their parts in the brass fixture and napkin pattern outfitting our bread warmer alongside a few bottles of sturdy red wine.


Other curious carved wooden birds flocked about!



Bodum glass canisters filled with herbs such as ground mustard and chives anchored the table as the centerpiece, with an old paint-by-numbers woodsy scene underneath. Footed bowls with flour and eggs added farm-felt rustic touches while the birds looked on.

Place settings furthered the woodland country feel, in green-and-white checkered picnic napkins with a pine cone on each plate, antique British silverware, and water glasses colorfully embossed with curly vines and flowers. Amber Patrician Depression glass plates made amiable companions amidst the thicket of tall wooden Scandinavian candle holders.



Individual zucchini, lemon and ricotta galettes became a singular time saving tart created from ready made crust. Golden and gorgeous, isn't it? We dug in with abandon and I at least made it without a lot of fuss.

Baguettes glazed with honey butter were perfect for dipping into the cassoulet...


And here we are after the addition of toasted bread crumbs on top of the main event, our cassoulet!

I couldn't bear the thought of making the Milk-and-Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake suggested to finish out the menu--between the chocolate genoise cake and mousses it is practically an all day affair when tightrope walking across compromised counter space in a New York apartment. But it hardly felt like settling when it came to more quickly made Crepes Suzette from an issue of Food And Wine via master Jacques Pepin.

Behold the once flaming, now subdued Crepes Suzette resting in the hush of candlelight before the knives were quite bared to devour the dessert dappled with apricot jam, orange zest and butter!


Click here for the link to a Vegetarian French Country Supper from epicurious.com.

Thank you for reading Evenings With Peter! Happy Anniversary and do enjoy!

Soundtrack: Duke Ellington: The Great London Concerts; A Table For Two; McCoy Tyner, Nights of Ballads & Blues; Lounge Jazz, HMV Collection; Dexter Gordon, Ballads.

Play Reading and Chili Party

Bringing back a tradition of something my friends and I used to do years ago, as passed down by our respective parents, Baby and I threw a play reading party of The Bad Seed and served three kinds of chili. Over the course of the week leading up to the evening, I made and froze my usual Chasen's chili, made a riff of a Mexican posole (found as Swamp Chili in the pages of this year's Food & Wine issue from October) the night before with cans of Great Northern and kidney beans subbing for the chicken and pork, which was truly amazing. I also made an inspiring pumpkin chili--a new recipe for me that I'd recently been told about. It would be a fun surprise for Thanksgiving, don't you think? Baby made a basket of delicious mini cornbread bundt cakes, from a box of Jiffy mix with a can of creamed corn as a clever, secret ingredient. We all played our parts to the hilt and then dug in to the feast of chili!

Serve any of these over Fritos and put ramekins of sour cream, shredded cheeses, and chopped scallions all about your table.

Chasen's Chili

Swamp Chili (Poblano-and-Spinach Posole)

Pumpkin Chili
Serves 6
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground white or dark meat turkey
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Method
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.

Roasting peppers!

A Friend Writes...

About easy dinner recipes prepared in no time. Thanks, Melissa!

The majority of people try to do as much as possible everyday. When you have a very demanding career, getting through the task can be very demanding. With a list full of all that we have to do, getting home and immediately relaxing can be very tempting. Still, there's no escaping from having to prepare something to eat, especially if you have kids at home. Finding easy dinner recipes that can be prepared quickly seems to be the perfect solution!

Keep Pantry Foods
You can never go wrong when you stock your home with the most basic staple foods such as hamburger meat or macaroni and cheese. These classic favorites are available almost anywhere in your local supermarket and groceries. What’s the best thing about them? You can prepare them in a variety of dishes in a few minutes! It is common knowledge that hamburger meats are one of the most excellent protein-rich foods. Working and strenuous activities will drain your energy and spend all the calories of energy that you consumed. What’s good about having hamburgers around the house is that it takes less effort to prepare. They’re very convenient for moms who don’t have a lot of time. For more variety in preparing hamburger meat, try making meatballs, pepper cornbread, and hamburger stroganoff.

As for the macaroni and cheese, this one is a classic favorite among children and adults alike. It works like magic, especially if you try to experiment and add in different herbs and sauces. This can be rosemary, garlic, or pesto. If you prefer a healthier version of macaroni and cheese, try adding carrots as recommended by Food & Wine in order to trim down its fat content. You can also try adding hamburger meat, shrimp and scallops, hot dogs, and lobster.

Grocery Store Meals
If you would like to avoid the kitchen, you can always go check out your local grocery store and observe what sort of meals they have to offer. Sprouting like mushrooms almost everywhere, it is never hard to find a grocery store that offers a variety of products. It's easy to find mouth-watering and fresh food prepared on the spot as well as gourmet products on high-end stores.

When time is of the essence and there's not much of it to spend on cooking, pop into a local grocery store and buy a delicious rotisserie chicken. This goes well when accompanied with some green beans, potatoes, and pasta salad. In the mood for some vegetables? Salads are definitely a good choice. For dessert, serve some ice cream with sliced ​​fruit on the side. It won’t take a long time to prepare but it goes a long way! With grocery stores, just follow the aisles, buy, and serve.

You may contact Melissa at melissa@blogcontentguild.com