Supper club
Other than the car-related incident, I don't think supper club was an unmitigated disaster, so I'll post the recipes. Let me say before I get started that I do not remember what the wines were, other than a white from France and an Italian red. The lovely gentleman at Whole Foods selected them, so I will take no credit :)
(1) Zucchini-basil soup (serves 4-6)
2 lb zucchini, trimmed and cut crosswise into thirds
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups of water, divided
1/3 cup packed basil leaves
*Julienne skin (ony) from 1/2 of zucchini with a slicer; toss with 1/2 tsp of salt and allow to drain in a sieve for at least 20 min
*Chop remaining zucchini
*Cook onion and garlic with oil in 3-4qt pot over medium-low heat until softened, about 5 minutes; add chopped zucchini and 1 tsp salt and cook, strirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of water and simmer for 15 minutes
*Puree soup with basil (stick blender works best!)
*Bring remaining cup of water to a boil and blanch julienned zucchini for 1 minute and drain
*Season soup with salt and pepper and serve with julienned zucchini on top (this is where I kind of fell down--ADD more salt!)
(2) Green bean, pea, and chorizo salad (serves 12)
1 whole sweet onion or 2 bunches of 1" diameter new onions
1 lb fresh peas in pods, shucked (1/2-1 cup)
2 lb green beans, trimmed
3 oz Spanish chorizo, removed from casing
1/4 c EVOO
1/4 c sherry vinegar
*Cook onions in salted water, 8 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and shock with ice bath. Drain
*Boil peas for 2 minutes, then shock
*Boil beans 6 minutes, shock
*Brown chorizo in small saucepan; blot with paper towel and mix in with vinegar and oil
*Mix all ingredients together and chill in fridge for 1 hour
OK, Piper's up, so I will reurn later for the rest of the recipes!
And I'm back....
(3) Beet and brown rice salad with goat cheese (serves 6)
1c brown basmati rice
1 bay leaf
kosher salt
1/3c pine nuts
2 small onions, finely chopped
1TBS minced garlic
4 medium red beets (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
ground pepper
2tsp fresh lemon zest
1/4c chopped flat parsley and more for garnish
2oz soft goat cheese, crumbled
*Cook rice with bay lead and 1/2tsp salt in rice cooker
*Toast pine nuts w/ oil until brown (about 5 minutes); remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside
*Reduce heat to med-low and saute onions and garlic until translucent
*Add beets and 1tsp salt and cook until beets are tender (about 20 minutes)--add some water if the beets start sticking
*Mix rice, lemon zest, 1/2 of pine nuts, and parsley into beets
*Serve warm, topped with goat cheese, more parsley, and remainder of pine nuts