Cream of Celery Soup

Celery is a vegetable that, I think, is often underestimated. It is surprisingly good for you; regular consumption may reduce inflammation markers. It may naturally lower your blood pressure, reducing the strain on your heart.  Eating it daily, as I do, provides you with a steady supply of vitamin K that supports bone density and strength. Imagine! All of these benefits, and it’s relatively low in cost as well.

When the late Mr. O-P and I were working in Dublin, we would take an early afternoon break to meet up at a local pub for lunch. It became our favorite dining spot not only because the food was quite good, but also because of the fascinating characters that we would run into along the way. One thing of theirs that I particularly liked was the cream of celery soup. I would get a cup of that as often as possible, vowing to try to replicate the recipe when we got home. One day I asked Mr. O-P if he would like to taste it. He did. I asked him how he liked it, and he said (I could not believe this response), “It sets my teeth on edge.” I grappled with that comment, I can tell you. I don’t think I have ever eaten anything that has actually set my teeth on edge. Suffice it to say, I never pursued my interest in replicating that recipe. Now that I’m on my own, and inspired by a recipe that I saw in The Cozy Christmas Cookbook, I decided to give it a shot. Am I ever pleased with the results! This is warm, soothing, and delicately delicious.

Cream of Celery Soup
Inspired by The Cozy Christmas Cookbook

¼ c. butter
1 large head celery, washed and thinly sliced
2 6-oz. pkgs. Melissa’s cleaned and sliced leeks
2 small Melissa’s celeriac bulbs (about 10 oz. total after peeling)
½ lb. Melissa’s baby Dutch yellow potatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 c. vegetable broth
½ c. chopped fresh parsley, plus more to garnish
2 c. half ‘n half
½ t. sea salt
½ t. freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, leek, celeriac (a.k.a. celery root), and potatoes. Sauté for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and lightly caramelized.

Add the garlic; stir for 30 seconds.

Add the broth, and turn up the heat. Bring to a boil, lower the heat a simmer, and cook for 15 more minutes until the celery and potatoes are fork tender. Add parsley and stir to incorporate.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until creamy. Stir in half-and-half. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately garnished with slices of fresh celery, and chopped parsley.

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My 2024 Christmas Card

 

I know that due to the expense it’s become less popular to send cards. That’s a shame. I don’t think there is anything better than getting something personal in the mail. When you think about it, that someone will come to your home, pick up a card or letter, and take it anywhere in the country that you desire for only 73¢, has to be one of the best bargains in the world. For me, a good part of the joy of Christmas is designing my own Christmas cards, decorating envelopes, writing notes, and putting them into the mail. I got a bit nostalgic this year, using a picture of vintage salt and pepper shakers that belonged to my mother on the cover. Every card I design has a special meaning for me. I suppose I should gather them together into a book of sorts because, combined, they tell a story of my life.I decided to do something different with the envelope this year and do an open collage. I’m not sure that I like it. I’m also not sure that it’s going to get through the mail intact, which is why I’m including a photo of it here so that, should the recipients receive something a bit battered, at least they’ll know what it looked like when it began its journey.

If you’d like to take a look at what I’ve done in the past, here are cards from 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

Santa in the Snow Tablescape

 

This will be my last tablescape for 2024. It will not be the last table that I set, but with the holidays coming up, and all of the activity that surrounds them, I won’t be able to share any more. 

This one is a lot of fun. It started with the fabric that I absolutely fell in love with. I bought 2 yards of it, put it over the table, and went from there.

The “placemats,” for lack of a better word, I found a number of years ago at Pier One. I’m sorry that I only bought four of them because I love them so much. The nubby-edged red plates are also from Pier One.

The holly leaf salad plates I got from Pottery Barn last year. I really like these because, with such a simple design, they can be paired with almost anything, and yet they have a big impact.

On top of them is a Fitz and Floyd Santa mug (that you last saw here), doing double duty as a candle holder. It was a snap to put this together. I used a bit of floral foam in the bottom to hold the candle in place, then it was just a question of adding some dried Spanish moss, some greenery, a few berries, and I was done. I think it makes a nice impact considering the minutes it took to put together.

 The script greeting at each place setting I found here. The clear snowflake Irish coffee-style mugs that I fell in love with are new this year. I found them here. They will get a lot of use this year holding hot drinks and boozy coffees.

 

The wooden snowflakes are favorites, and are used all over the house during the holidays, including on the tree.

 

The deep green stemware makes a nice impact here. When you have a table covering as bold as this one, you have to have equally bold dinnerware.

I found the red napkins here, and struggled to decide which type of flatware to use. I tried, McKenzie-Child’s “Courtly Check,” gold, and ultimately ended up with this very versatile black flatware that makes a statement while being understated.

The Santa in the center riding the bicycle I inherited from my mother. She used to collect Santas of all kinds and had them running down the center of her dining table. I have all of them, of course, but tend to use just one at a time. The tree I’ve had forever, it is illuminated with tiny string lights.

 

I hope this finds you all thoroughly enjoying your holiday prep. Don’t wear yourselves out!

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 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Beef Daube

 

“Marianne, One of a Kind,” [France] is a TV show featuring French actress, Marilou Berry as outspoken and unorthodox investigating judge, Marianne Vauban, who loves a quirky crime, and her food. It was through the viewing of this series that I became acquainted with Beef Daube, more or less a Provençal French stew, a dish she enjoyed most gustily in Season 1, Episode 2 “Truckers.”

Photo MHz Choice

 As she savored every bite she had this to say, “Oh, my! The sauce!” and “The baby carrots are amazing!” She was not wrong. I honestly don’t think I have ever tasted better carrots. The beef itself was superb!

As you can see the list of ingredients is lengthy, and I’m not going to lie, it took me a bit of time to do this. But, it is well worth it because it is absolute heaven. Marianne was right.

Beef Daube

Adapted from thekitchn.com

 3 lbs. boneless chuck roast

2 T. olive oil

1½ t. kosher salt

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 1-lb. bag baby carrots

4 lg. cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 T. tomato paste

1 T. Dijon mustard

2 T. flour

6 Melissa’s French Echalion Shallots, peeled and halved

3 whole cloves

1 orange

1 (750-milliliter) bottle Burgundy

1 small bunch Melissa’s fresh thyme

1 small bunch Melissa’s fresh rosemary

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving, optional

Cooked wide egg noodles or fresh pasta, for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 325° F. Arrange the racks such as to be able to accommodate your Dutch oven with the lid on.

 Cut beef into 2-inch cubes.

 Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dry the meat with paper towels and season with the kosher salt and pepper. Sear the meat, undisturbed, in batches for 6-9 minutes until the underside develops a dark brown crust. Transfer the meat to a clean bowl as it is seared. When all the meat has been seared, deglaze the pan with a half cup of water.

 Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrots and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring often, until the carrots are glossy and the garlic is lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, Dijon mustard, and flour; stir to combine.

 Stick 3 whole cloves into the flesh of a shallot half. (This will make the cloves easy to remove before serving.) Add to Dutch oven, then using a vegetable peeler, peel 2 large strips of zest from 1 orange into the Dutch oven.

Add all the meat and any accumulated juices then add the entire bottle of burgundy. Tie 1 small bunch fresh rosemary and 1 small bunch fresh thyme together with a small piece of kitchen twine then add to the Dutch oven; stir to combine.

Bring to a simmer, about 5 minutes, then cover and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat will easily pull apart with a fork, 3 hours. Check at 2 1/2 hours. If the meat has started to go dry, add more wine to cover. Put lid back on Dutch oven, put it back into the oven and bake another half an hour.

Remove the bundles of herbs, strips of orange, and whole cloves before serving. Taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper if needed.

 If desired, finely chop leaves and tender stems from 1/2 bunch fresh parsley. Serve with cooked egg noodles and a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley.

Photo MHz Choice

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Parmesan Peppercorn Salad Dressing

 

With few exceptions, I make my own salad dressing. Having more than once read the ingredients on bottled salad dressing, I tend to shy away from those. There’s really nothing to making your own salad dressing, particularly if you have a mini food processor to blend everything together for you. It emulsifies salad dressing like nobody’s business, even better than those you buy in the store that will occasionally need a good shaking. You just have to make up your mind that you’re going to do it, and once you do, not only will you enjoy it, but you’ll start to experiment like I did with this dressing. Give it some thought. It’s economical, the quality control is unbeatable, and the taste and freshness is phenomenal.

 Parmesan Peppercorn Salad Dressing

½ c. buttermilk
½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
Juice of ½ lemon
1 t. Dijon mustard
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
¼ t. kosher salt

Combine all ingredients with either a mini food processor, or by whisking to within an inch of your life. Cover, refrigerate. Keeps 7 to 10 days.

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Santa All the Way Tablescape

 

This is a riff on last week’s Christmassy non-Christmas table. Many things remain in place, I just swapped out a few to get an entirely different look. If you are hosting a number of parties over the holiday season, there’s no need to go crazy digging out all of your dinnerware when a few changes can make such an impactful difference.

The hunter green tablecloth is the same, as is the yardage that I used as a runner. Similarly, the chargers and dinner plates are the same. I have come to learn that while placemats and chargers make up the overall look, people pay less attention to these background items than they do the specialty pieces. Because of this, it is so easy to change a table by only removing an item or two.

I kept the bold lime green napkins the same, as well as the Milano red flatware by Ginkgo International in the Le Pris pattern, but swapped out last week’s apple napkin rings for these Santa napkin rings that I inherited from my mother.

Instead of the apple items that made up the focal point of my last table, this one is Santas all the way. The same nubby-edged red plates from Pier One are in place, but I topped them with these darling Santa salad/dessert plates that I inherited from my mother as well. On top of those are these wonderful “Ho! Ho! Ho!” soup bowls that I also got at Pier One, and I love them! I was lucky enough to get these two, as these sold out almost immediately.

The Fiestaware pitcher from last week has been replaced with a Fitz and Floyd Santa pitcher that does double duty as the centerpiece. He sits on top of, and is surrounded by a variety of faux greenery (I used this and this) and berries.

 The coffee mugs match the pitcher and so are also by Fitz and Floyd. This set is very early Fitz and Floyd, and one of the first things of theirs that I collected. I still remember buying this at a gourmet shop (The Second Story at Plaza Frontenac for locals) in an upscale mall here in the area back in 1978. I guess that makes this vintage.

Finishing up the table I used simple black candlesticks filled with these wonderful battery operated pine tree candles.

This whimsical and colorful table is surely one that will delight young and old.

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Texas Roadhouse Roadkill, my version

 

Have you noticed, like I have, that all of a sudden there seem to be a lot of recipes for Texas Roadhouse Roadkill all over the Internet? I’ve been to Texas Roadhouse only once. It was about 13 years ago, and I honestly have no idea what I ate. It had just opened locally, was jam-packed, and the only impression I got from the place was that I just wanted to get out of there. I will admit to being intrigued with this recipe, so much so that I decided to make it myself, altering it so it met with my standards. I did so by adding the additional step of dipping the patties into an egg wash and then into Italian breadcrumbs. I think that makes beef patties cooked on top of the stove so much better. They seem more like a chopped steak than they do a hamburger. Try this recipe and let me know what you think. The end result does look like a plate of roadkill, but it is awfully good.

 Texas Roadhouse Roadkill, my version

2 lb. ground chuck
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. Montreal steak seasoning
½ t. freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
½ c. Italian breadcrumbs
2 T.  butter, divided
1 T. olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 8-oz. pkg. crimini mushrooms, sliced
1-2 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a large bowl, combine ground chuck, Worcestershire, steak seasoning, black pepper, and mix until well blended. Shape mixture into four oblong potions about ½” thick.

Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water until frothy; pour into a shallow bowl. Put Italian breadcrumbs into another shallow bowl. Dip each patty into the egg mixture, and then into the Italian breadcrumbs, turning to coat. Place coated patties on a plate.

In a 10” – 12” skillet, melt 1 T. butter. Add oil, heating until hot. Sauté onions and a sprinkling of salt for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms to the skillet and sauté for another 3 to 4 minutes. Turn out vegetables into a bowl.

Place pan back over heat and melt remaining tablespoon of butter until sizzling, but not brown. Put the crumb-coated patties into the pan and cook for five minutes. Flip to the other side and cook five minutes more. Pour sautéed onions and mushrooms over the top of the burger patties. Cover each one with a generous amount of shredded Monterey jack cheese. Put a lid on the pan and cook until the cheese melts.

 Serve immediately.

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Parmesan Baked Cod

The tasty fish recipe of the week is this wonderful baked cod. It was so good that I was sorry I had only made one piece for myself because I quite easily could’ve eaten two. This recipe will not work with dried herbs, so don’t even think about it. It’s fresh herbs, or nothing. In the doing, and following the instructions carefully, this is company worthy.

Parmesan Baked Cod

Adapted from laurenslatest.com

 2 cod fillets

¼ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ c. freshly grated Parmesan

 2 T. minced fresh flat leaf parsley

 2 T. minced fresh basil

 1 clove garlic, grated

 Sea salt to taste

 Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

A whisper of Old Bay

  Preheat oven to 450°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat. Place fish fillets onto the prepared baking sheet; set aside.

In a small bowl stir together mayonnaise, cheese, fresh herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper until combined. Spread evenly over the top of the fillets. Sprinkle lightly with Old Bay.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until fish starts looking opaque and flakes.

Switch oven to broiler and brown the tops of the fish until lightly golden, about 1-2 minutes, watching it carefully so it doesn't burn.

 Remove from oven and serve warm with wedges of lemon.

Serves 2

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