Red Thunder Clan

i've found after cooking with tons of wine.... that you save the good wine for drinking. all you're doing is imparting the specific flavor the wine has to the dish

i keep a box of red and a box of white
specifically merlot and chardonnay

and have a bottle of port for special cooking occasions

and sake. lots of sake.

not for cooking though. for drinking and thinking i know karate

Since its really cold in Wisconsin soup seems like a good thing to share-

Old Timey Potato Leek Soup

you'll need:
Potatoes, i like Russets best but its totally your preference
Leeks, peeled and cleaned
Chicken Stock
Salt Pork or Bacon (optional, if you want a vegetarian soup substitute chicken stock for veggie stock and bacon for something thats not nearly as good as bacon)
Heavy Cream
White Pepper
Cheap white wine
Garlic (fresh is best, if you know how to roast it and make paste thats even better better)
some time...not thyme..ok maybe a little thyme

so anyway if you're making the vegetarian kind ignore the first steps and use oil or butter instead

cut up bacon or salt pork and throw it in a hot stockpot until it starts rending a little fat
if its really lean add a bit of olive oil or butter
chop garlic to desired garlicness (too finely cut and it will burn)
cut up potatoes into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes
cut ends off leeks and chop (make sure they're clean.. and i only use the white part and some of the newer green parts, they have better flavor)
combing leeks and potatoes and garlic in stockpot and cook them in the mix a little.
when the mixture is hot and crackling add 1/2 cup or so of white wine and stir. this deglazes the pot and makes sure its delicious
when the alcohol has cooked off add the chicken stock, depending on how much soup you want you adjust your ingredients...
add your spices at this time, little bits of pepper and salt here and there for taste...

here is where it gets difficult for my recipie, but i have all sorts of kitchen gadgets and doodads...
i have an immersion blender, its kinda like a blender blade on a stick.
i stick it in and puree my soup up. what it does is thicken the soup up and give it a different consistency
you dont' have to puree the soup at all, but when you do it makes it a little different.

after the broth is hot and simmered for a while (make sure potatos are tender and leeks are limp and slimyish) add the heavy cream
you'll generally want about one part heavy cream to two parts broth.
when the cream is mixed in add the smallest bit of nutmeg, just so you can barely taste it when you eat the soup.

its really friggin good!

Quote from: Zatanku on January 20, 2009, 01:22:33 PM
I send/recieve 4 texts a month.  The following is an example.

me> I need another bag.
him> Ill get back to you.


Hour later.

him>Got it.
Me> OMW.

That is literally the extent of my text messaging....

That is literally word for word also the only 4 text messages i deal with, except i usually repeat that conversation at least one more time during the month. world of warcraft fuel it is!