lettuce and potato soup

This is what the French do with the outer leaves of lettuce that are too tough for a salad. The soup is good hot or cold.


From The New York Times »

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 leek, white and light green parts only, sliced and rinsed well

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds (2 large) russet or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock, or water

A bouquet garni made with a cleaned leek green, a bay leaf and a few sprigs each parsley and thyme, tied together

Salt to taste

5 ounces lettuce leaves, washed and coarsely chopped (4 cups)

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives for garnish

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and leek. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes, stock or water, and bouquet garni, and bring to a simmer. Add salt to taste, cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.

2. Stir in the lettuce leaves and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. The potatoes should be thoroughly tender and falling apart.

3. Using an immersion blender, or in a blender or food processor fitted with the steel blade (working in batches and covering the blender lid or food processor with a kitchen towel to prevent the hot soup from splashing), blend the soup until smooth. If you want a smoother, silkier texture, strain the soup through a medium strainer, pushing it through the strainer with a pestle, spatula, or the bowl of a ladle. Return the soup to the heat, add lots of freshly ground pepper, taste and adjust salt. , Heat through and serve, garnishing each bowl with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Note: If serving cold, add a dollop of plain yogurt to the garnish.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Advance preparation: The soup can be made a day ahead and reheated. You can also freeze it for several weeks. Whisk well after thawing.

i am making pork tenderloin salad now

instead of brown sugar, I used florida crystals cane sugar and guava jelly, and i quartered and sliced a vidalia onion and roasted it alongside the pork. smells great in the oven. added a mango to the mix. david and mom loved it.
For pork
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 pork tenderloins (2 1/4 to 2 1/2 lb total)
2 tablespoons olive oil

For glaze
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Tabasco

For vinaigrette
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

For salad
3 navel oranges
5 oz baby spinach, trimmed (6 cups leaves)
4 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage (from 1 medium head)
1 red bell pepper, cut lengthwise into thin strips
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 firm-ripe California avocados

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer
Preparation
Prepare pork:
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Stir together salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon, then coat pork with spice rub.

Heat oil in an ovenproof 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until just beginning to smoke, then brown pork, turning, about 4 minutes total. Leave pork in skillet.

Make glaze and roast pork:
Stir together brown sugar, garlic, and Tabasco and pat onto top of each tenderloin. Roast in middle of oven until thermometer inserted diagonally in center of each tenderloin registers 140°F, about 20 minutes. Let pork stand in skillet at room temperature 10 minutes. (Temperature will rise to about 155°F while standing.)

Make vinaigrette while pork roasts:
Whisk together juices, mustard, curry powder, salt, and pepper, then add oil in a stream, whisking until emulsified.

Prepare salad ingredients while pork stands:
Cut peel, including white pith, from oranges with a sharp knife, then cut oranges crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss spinach, cabbage, bell pepper, and raisins in a large bowl with about 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Halve, pit, and peel avocados, then cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

Assemble salad:
Cut pork at a 45-degree angle into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Line a large platter with dressed salad and arrange sliced pork, oranges, and avocados in rows on top. Drizzle some vinaigrette over avocados and oranges. Pour any juices from skillet over pork.

Talerine Beef Casserole

Made this last week when Diana was here and 'twas quite the hit with everybody. Nothing fancy, but far superior to the 1970's similar deal with Kraft mac n cheese, ground beef, and spaghetti sauce. I used frozen gumbo vegetables (corn, peppers, okra)and spinach fettucine, which worked fine.

Talerine Beef Casserole Recipe


Ingredients

* 12 ounce bag egg noodles
* 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
* 1 bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, chopped fine
* 3 minced clove of garlic
* Grapeseed oil or olive oil for sautéing
* 1 1/2 pounds ground round beef
* Salt
* 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
* 1 28-ounce can tomatoes
* 1 1/2 cups frozen corn (can use canned corn or creamed corn)
* 1 15-ounce can of black olives, strained and chopped
* 1 pound cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1 Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the egg noodles.

2 Heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat in a large, heavy bottomed pot. Add the onions and bell pepper and sauté until softened. Add garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with your fingers or a knife, if you are using whole canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to warm.

3 In a separate skillet, heat to medium-high. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to the pan and brown the meat, working in batches. Break up about half of the ground beef into the pan. Do not stir, but let sit and cook for a minute or two until brown. Sprinkle a little salt over the meat while cooking. Once brown on one side, stir the meat a little to get the other sides browned. Once the meat is thoroughly browned, use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and put it in with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Brown the second batch of ground beef the same way.

4 Using the same pan that you had used for browning the beef, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining oil and beef drippings. Once browned, add the mushrooms to the beef and tomato mixture.

5 While the mushrooms are cooking, add the egg noodle pasta to the boiling water. Cook as directed, about 4-5 minutes. Strain when cooked, but still a little firm (al dente).

6 Add egg noodles, corn, chopped olives, and about two thirds of the cheese to the large pot of beef and tomato mixture. Gently mix in.

7 Transfer mixture to a large casserole dish, or to two casserole dishes if you don't have one that is large enough. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of casserole(s). Place in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes (can go as long as an hour).

Serves 8.