Cauliflower Soup with Garlic Croutons

My hubby and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We headed out for a date night to a local French restaurant, and upon parusing the menu my husband immediately requested the cauliflower soup.
I was sort of appalled by this request. Nothing about cauliflower soup screams romantic! Decadent! Worthy appetizer to celebrate 5 years of marriage! But, I will admit, when the tureen of silky, pale soup arrived at the table I had a change of heart.

Turns out Justin has been loving this soup for far longer than he has been loving me. As seen in the hand written recipe card he wrote around age 8. He loved his grandmother's recipe so much he copied it down. If I had known he was carrying around this recipe card I would have whipped up a batch years ago, but he kept this love hidden away.

Going off of this recipe and what the chef at the restaurant suggested I came up with an extremely simple version of the soup. Don't let that fool you though, it is actually a very festive dish, worthy of any type of celebration. Even if that is just celebrating surviving a Thursday.

I topped the smooth soup with garlic croutons I made from leftover baguette. Any crunchy bit of bread would do, but the garlic made the soup pop.  Feel free to leave the cream out of the soup, it is still delicious without it.

Cauliflower Soup with Garlic Croutons
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4-6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 - 1/2 cup cream or half and half
salt, pepper

3 cups cubed stale bread
4 garlic cloved, finely chopped
2-4 tablespoons olive oil
salt

1. In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and let cook slowly, without browning for about 20 minutes.
2. When onions are soft, add garlic and cauliflower and continue the slow cooking about another 20 minutes until cauliflower begins to soften.
3. Add broth. Cover and simmer until cauliflower is soft.
4. Puree mixture either in a blender or with a stick mixer.
5. Stir in cream, if using. Taste and adjust seasoning.

To make croutons:
1. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Put bread cubes in, sprinkle with garlic and olive oil.
3. Toast, turning often, until bread begins to brown and the garlic smells fragrant. About 5 minutes.

To serve:

Ladle hot soup into a bowl and top with croutons and a drizzle of the fried garlic. 

Homemade English Muffins

I am going to preface this recipe by saying; yes, it is easier to buy a sleeve of english muffins from the grocery store. Homemade english muffins are a little different then the store's muffins and don't last as long. That said, they are fun to make, taste delicious hot off the griddle and would make a great addition to any morning routine.

I first made these on a Sunday night, when I realized I had nothing to eat for breakfast on Monday morning. The trouble with teaching and our early, early mornings, is breakfast must be fast and filling. I go from 7:30 - 11:00am without a break to snack (or take care of any other sort of business). An english muffin, peanut butter and an apple (and a mug of coffee) keeps me going until lunch.

This is a simple dough, which is easily whipped up in the stand mixer. It needs to sit for an hour or so to raise so plan a little bit ahead. I start the dough before dinner. By the time we have eaten and cleaned up the dough is ready to roll. Hot english muffins smeared with homemade caramel apple butter is a terrific dessert!

I cut these out with a large juice glass and cooked them on a cast iron griddle. You could use a large frying pan too, and or my favorite old standby the calphalon pan. Store any leftover muffins in the freezer, take one or two out the night before you want to eat it. Toast, top with something yummy, and enjoy!

(This looks like a lot of work, but I am just trying to articulate the steps clearly.)
Homemade English Muffins (adapted from the Joy of Cooking)

1 1/2 cup warm water
4 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt or 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast or 1 packet yeast
4 cups of flour, divided
3 tablespoons butter, cut into very small pieces.
2-3 tablespoons cornmeal (optional)
butter, oil, or cooking spray to grease the griddle

1. In a stand mixer combine warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble.
2. Using the dough hook attachment for the mixer, add 2 cups of flour. Combine slowly.
3. Let dough sit in a warm location for an hour to hour and a half. I put it on the back of the stove while I am cooking dinner or warming the oven. The dough should double in size.
4. Return the mixer bowl to the mixer. Mix in 3 tablespoons of butter and then the additional 2 cups of flour.
5. Beat in the bowl until smooth and the dough begins to climb the dough hook.
6. Sprinkle flour onto a clean countertop. Turn the dough onto the counter. Lightly knead a few times. The dough should be silky and smooth and feel wonderful!
7. Pat the dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Using a large juice glass cut out as many muffins as you can.
8. Sprinkle a baking sheet with corn meal. Put the cut out muffins on the corn meal and let rest 20-30 minutes.
9. Heat a large griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Grease with butter or cooking spray. Cook muffins about 15 minutes. 7-8 minutes on each side or until the top and bottom are browned.

Enjoy!

All Day Bread

Snowy days are great for all day projects that keep the house warm. This morning I mixed up a batch of No-Knead bread dough and let it sit above the fireplace all day. The only thing I changed with the recipe was to trade one cup of the liquid for some Papst beer. I read about it in Cook's Illustrated. It adds an extra yeasty flavor. It just came out of the oven and is crusty and airy. Dinner will be the bread, goat cheese, pickles and some wine. I love snow days!
We never did get around to making wontons, maybe later this week. It sounds like Justin and I will be housebound the rest of the week.

Today was sunny and icy. We took advantage of the pause in the storm to get out of the house. Our first stop was Powell's Bookstore. It is the perfect place to spend a few hours, combing the shelves for interesting reads. We got a few gifts for family and lengthened our library checkout list.

Next, we wandered down to The Nines Hotel, which is above the remodeled Macy's downtown. We had heard rumors of a new restaurant and went to check it out. On the eighth floor is the most amazing looking restaurant, called The Urban Farmer. I would love to eat there one day soon - it is definitely high-end- the menu has fabulous looking steaks, foie gras, and raw seafood.

We got there as they were setting up for happy hour so they let us explore. The tables are scrubbed wood surrounded by tall grasses. The effect is at once fancy and outdoorsy with the bright light shining from the sky lights. My favorite section was called "The Pantry". Wooden shelves surround a number of tables, the shelves are lined with mason jars filled with pickles, fruit, and veggies.

It is like my dream kitchen!