The Accidental Epicurean

As the weather and the falling leaves turn crisp we naturally start to think of meals that are warm and comforting. Nothing fills that order better than a warm and hearty soup. Not only are soups a budget stretcher, but they are not as difficult to prepare as you may think. While canned soups may be a tempting convenience they are often loaded with sodium. I guarantee that the soup recipes that I am going to introduce you to will be so tasty that you will find yourself not be able to crack open that canned soup again. The first soup in this series is a creamy potato leek soup. I like to make it completely creamy, but if you prefer some potato chunks you can make it to your liking. In a large pot brown about a half of a pound of good quality chopped bacon. I like Boars Head peppered bacon myself. Once bacon is crispy remove bits to a plate lined with paper toweling. I mop up most of the bacon drippings from the pot with a paper towel, leaving only little brown bits. Melt about 2T of

Chilly mornings call for a warm breakfast and one of my favorites would be Herb Coddled Eggs. I like these eggs because not only are they off the beaten path, but they are easy to prepare and I almost always have the ingredients to make them in my fridge. Now I can’t take credit for the original recipe, that would go to Ina Garten, but I have modified it slightly. Preheat oven broiler. Chop herbs and garlic and mix with grated Parmesan cheese, set aside. Crack two eggs each into two small dishes and set aside (taking this step will insure no shells accidentally go into the gratin dish).In two small gratin dishes (or ramekins if you want only one egg per person) place one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of heavy cream in each and place on baking sheet under broiler until butter is melted. When melted gently pour two eggs into each gratin dish and top with herb and cheese mixture. Place baking sheet back under broiler and broil for about 5 or 6 minutes until egg whites are slight

I am not a southern girl. Unfortunately, I was born above the Mason Dixon line, but my heart and soul shout otherwise. I love the south and I would be a perfect southern girl. A house on the Savannah River with a long dock, fresh shrimp right off the boats, the smell of the salt marsh, the gardens......I would love it! One of my favorite dishes to make is Shrimp and Grits. It's really easy to prepare and something quite different that you just don't get to have too much up here in the North, unless you make it yourself. Come along with me and experience this classic taste of the South. First, let me say that I do buy shrimp with the shell on just to save some money, but you can always buy your shrimp already peeled and deveined for convenience sake. If you are like me and want more for your money, buy the shell on shrimp, wild caught preferably. It is always easier if you peel and devein your shrimp earlier in the day and just have it ready to go. I prefer to have my baco

With the chill in the air and the fall weather we experienced last week I naturally start thinking about warm meals of slow cooked goodness. Beef short ribs lend themselves beautifully to braising. Braising is a term used for cooking with both moist and dry heat, searing the meat first to give a nice caramelization then cooking slowly with liquid to allow the breakdown of the connective tissue. I have braised other meats before, but this was my first attempt at short ribs. I rubbed the ribs with chopped fresh thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper and let the ribs sit in the fridge overnight. The next day I seared the ribs on all sides in a heavy french oven. Remove the ribs to a plate and drain off some of the fat then add the Cabernet and brought to a boil. I added the ribs back to the french oven along with pearl onions and sliced cremini mushrooms and transferred to the oven. It cooked for two hours. I brought back to the stove top and added a two tablespoons of buerre manier to thicke

I know fast food is bad. It's not just bad because of the fat, salt, sugar and many other ingredients I can't pronounce, but because the beef or chicken comes from questionable sources. One burger can have beef from many different cows, and these cows are kept in deplorable conditions which is why they need to be injected with mega doses of antibiotics to keep them healthy. Chickens fare no better. I won't even go into what they do them. Despite knowing this information there are still times when I succumb to the rat race and feed my family fast food. Probably not as often as most families, but we still eat it. Why? Lack of proper planning and grocery shopping. We need to be responsible food consumers. Know where your meat market or grocery store gets their beef, chicken, milk, and eggs. Are they coming from commercial feed lots where the animals are being pumped full of antibiotics and steroids ? Are the chickens in cages so tiny they can't move and forced to lay eggs