Eat Boutique

My local organic farm CSA brings in a variety of organic vegetables during the winter. Each week, I pick up a few bags worth of goodies. Some are old standbys, while others are new to my kitchen. I’ve tasted blood oranges before, but never really cooked with them. That said, I endeavored to search the Web, learn all I can about them and get to cooking. I learned so much over at The Food Section, and started searching food blogs. Here are some great recipes I discovered during my online travels. I hope to try a few in the next week and report back here.

Roasted Beet and Blood Orange Salad with Spicy Greens Recipe - A recipe Heidi posted back in 2005

Blood Orange Sorbet - Such a lovely photo.

Blood Orange Tart - Inspired by a Bon Appetit recipe.

Blood Orange Tapenade Citronette - From Chef John in San Francisco.

Blood Orange Margaritas - From a food blogger in Baltimore, Maryland.

Blood Orange Jelly - Looks so delicious and so easy.

Blood Orange Chocolate Cake - Chocolate goodness over at Eat Drink.

Blood Orange Curd - This looks absolutely divine. This may be the first recipe to attempt.

Blood Orange & Blackberry Gelees - I made gelees similar to this in December.

Blood Orange & Fennel Biscotti - Figs Olives Wine in NYC made these biscotti, and I may have to follow suit this week.

Lychee Rose Parfait and Orange Blossom Macaroons - I could never make these myself, but they are so darn cute.

Chocolate & Zucchini is one of my favorite food blogs. Ever. The photos are lovely and the tone is very conversational, kinda like talking to a friend. I actually met the blogger Clotilde Dusoulier last April at her book signing at Chez Henri in Cambridge, MA (a lovely boutique restaurant you absolutely must try). She was so humble and sweet and very friendly, not at all what you would expect from a young French woman who has become famous practically over night, cooking on The Today Show and meeting fancy celebrity pastry chefs.

Clotilde’s most recent entry is Potato Leek Soup. I happened to have a huge pile of organic leeks in the fridge and 2 potatoes in the cupboard, so I felt karma was pulling me to this recipe. I am also trying to eat as healthy as possible - I mean, who isn’t at the start of a new year, right? (Don’t worry, give me a few months and I’ll be back to IV-ing cookies and candy. After all, Easter is only 2 months away.)

I did edit this recipe slightly. All Clotilde’s measurements were lovely and though I liked the soup, I wanted a touch more depth tonight. To do this, I added 2 tablespoons of light sour cream to the pot once I had pureed the entire soup. It added a touch of tang and creaminess, without adding cream or creme fraiche. I did plop a little more light sour cream upon serving, but that’s totally unnecessary. Unless your a dairy-addict like myself. Then go ahead and plop it on. By the way, I also did not add the super green pieces of leeks back into the pot. My husband has texture issues, and I didn’t want to give him the rope with which to hang me. Speaking of…

I’m not sure how many times I’ve stated that the husband hates vegetables. But he loved this soup. I think that his Irish family placed so many too-well-done-and-mushy veggies in front of him as a kid that he hates ALL veggies now. I’m slowly trying to re-educate his palette, introducing old veggies in new ways. He loved the soup, and had two servings.

Lunch Bucket Bento is so talented. (This is her photo.)

I hate chocolate mousse. I hate chocolate ice cream too, and chocolate fudge and chocolate pudding. I hate any sort of overindulgence in that flavor. Please, don’t flame me. For me, chocolate is just too strong and needs to be enjoyed in small quantities or with other flavors (like orange).

So when I stumbled upon a recipe for Chocolate M-o-o-usse with Olive Oil over at Delicious Days, I was about to move on… but then thought, “Hmm… if it tastes more like olive oil with a little chocolate, then perhaps I’d like it…” Since it was just a few ingredients and even fewer steps, I gave it a shot.

Oh my gawd. OH MY GAWD. My husband will be lucky to get a small serving when he makes it home tonight. I’ve been licking every bowl, spoon and surface used during the making of this luscious dessert. I am in love. It actually tastes like olive oil, with a rich chocolate flavor added in. I did happen to muss up the measurements slightly. I always get thrown when converting grams to ounces. But it was yummy just the same.

We’re in the midst of more snow right now up in Boston, and I plan to stay home most of the day. I have 4 pretty white cups of the m-o-o-usse in my fridge. Hubbie, I wish you the best in getting home, and getting a taste. Good luck to you, sir. Good luck.

I’m not shy about my passion, love, obsession for Nigella Lawson. I’ve watched Nigella’s Christmas Kitchen over and over and over again this past week. I found a recipe for her pistachio fudge via Glorious Food and Wine. It’s from her latest cookbook, Nigella Express, which I have yet to receive for Christmas yet… which is why I found this recipe on a fellow blog and not while sifting through the actual book… hint, hint, hint!

I need to say that I am not a huge fudge fan. My mom and aunt made fudge every chance they could, and we’d overdose on it at the holidays. They spoiled me for future fudge recipes, so I rarely eat it nowadays. Not the same for my husband, though! He likes fudge and I wanted to make a small batch for him to dig into over the holiday season. Alas, he hates nuts in food. He thinks it’s an Irish thing but I’ve only ever witnessed his mother have the same aversion. Like mother like son…

So I made one batch of this very easy recipe - VERY EASY - and pressed it into a tin foil wrapped baking sheet. (I pressed it fairly thin, though others may like a big thick nugget of fudge, I can only take a little thin sliver.) I then pressed some pistachios into a long sliver of the sheet, so that I may taste it as Nigella originally intended. I like it. I like it a lot. I don’t think I’m ready to overdose on it this season, but it will be sweet to grab a little bite every time I want to feel a bit closer to Nigella.