Thursday, July 7, 2011

A continuation of the Cheese Adventures

Well, who says I cannot combine my food adventures. Tonight we decided to go on a little journey to France in our culinary adventures and because there is CHEESE involved - yes, it's part of our cheese adventures as well. Tonight is also a vegetarian meal so for those of you doing the veg thing - this one's for you too! First up is Asparagus with bleu cheese and pinon nuts. I'm not sure this is really French but I figure with the Bleu Cheese, why not? EASY to make and the only things I can think of to make this EASY side dish better would be HOME made bleu cheese (maybe someday!) and HOME grown asparagus - again - maybe someday since I planted my first root stock this year. I roasted the asparagus with Olive oil and salt/pepper and then sprinkled pine nuts and bleu cheese on top right toward the end. see - EASY!

Next up is a lovely French Cucumber salad - again easy and oh so yummy. Funny thing is there isn't much difference between this salad and our favorite Cucumber Soup - except maybe a blender. This salad is nothing more than cucumbers, salt, pepper, 1 Tsp lemon juice and 1 C. Greek style yogurt. Also I added some mint leaves chopped up to make it have a bit more zing. YUM! IF you don't like mint leaves I bet you could substitute a myriad of other yummy herbs: lemon thyme, chives, or even dill.
Lastly is my family's favorite cold or hot soup - Potato Leek soup (hot) or Vicchisoise (cold) on a hot summer day - COLD is the way to go. make it early in the morning and refrigerate! After a long hot day, this will hit the spot! It is simple to make: 3 good sized leeks chopped up and washed, then sauteed in EVOO, Then peel and add about 5 - 6 good sized potatoes. Add stock - I used vegetable stock for this but you can use chicken also. Then cook until potatoes are nice and soft. Add Creme Fraische or milk if you don't have CF. Blend and add salt and pepper to taste. We are adding French Bread with Chevre cheese (ooh more french! more cheese!) and pickled beets. I think the only thing this meal is missing is Creme Brulee........



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