Gutsy Cooks - Vichyssoise



Raymond of Your Just Dessert has chosen Vichyssoise along with Coronation Chicken Rolls for the Gutsy Cook's Club.



I experimented a little and changed the recipe up, adding to the cream and deleting celery.

 My variation:

3 cups peeled, sliced potatoes
3 cups sliced white of leak
1 1/2 quarts of chicken stock
salt to taste

(simmer the vegetables and stock for 40 to 50 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Puree the soup in the blender and then pour through a fine sieve.)

3/4 cup heavy cream
salt and white pepper to taste
2 to 3 Tablespoons of chives

(Stir in the cream.  Season to taste and chill.  Serve in chilled soup cups and decorate with minced chives.)

Fun, easy, and delicious!  Thank you for the great choice Raymond! 

Gutsy Cooks - Spanish Lentils and Rustic herb and cheese bread

Cynthia and Sam of Edible Adventures chose the month of April's menus for the Gutsy Cook's Club and what a great start! Spanish Lentils and a Sachertorte.

My first try at lentils and I could not believe how fast this dish can get put together, cooked, and be ready to serve. I did add a twist to mine because there was a ham bone in my freezer screaming to get used. The sachertorte was passed up for this week, sorry, but a homemade blueberry crisp needed to get finished off. I also baked a rustic Cheddar and Fontina cheese and herb bread to go with the lentil soup. Dinner was spectacular!

The recipe was changed up a bit:

3 ounces slab bacon, cubed

2 medium onions, sliced

2 medium carrots, sliced

1 cup sliced celery

1 ham bone

1 16-ounce package of lentils

1/2 t. pepper

1 t. dried thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

8 cups of hot water

salt to taste

2 T. lemon juice

Directions:

In a Dutch oven (pan I am addicted to for making soups) over medium-high heat, fry bacon until lightly browned, push to side of pan.

Add onions, carrots and celery and over medium heat, cook until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add ham bone, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves, hot water and 2 teaspoons salt.

Cover; simmer over low heat 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Discard bay leaves.

Remove ham bone to cutting board and cut off any meat; cut into small pieces.

Stir in meat, lemon juice and salt to taste into soup.

The blueberry crisp is partnered with homemade vanilla bean custard, bourbon, and spiced pecan ice cream. I can see the dessert should be a post all its' own =). Looking forward to next week's menu of zucchini sticks and Hungarian goulash!

French Fridays with Dorie ~ Mushroom Cappuccinos with Dorie's Golden Gougeres

Food Blog Grand Opening!!! Confetti Everywhere!!!! French Friday's with Dorie Greenspan is finally here! Dorie's brilliant cookbook "around my french table" is packed full of over 300 recipes and waiting for fresh new food markers to appear on each and every recipe. Whip out your mixing spoons, dust off your Dutch ovens, bring your appetite, and start cooking!

Amazon is just a click away to buy "around my french table"!

Dorie is just too cute! So are all her friends who created the French Fridays with Dorie blog site! A warm and enthusiastic Thank You to Rachel, Joel, Alison, Travis, and Laurie for creating and achieving the bright, easy to navigate, informative, and fun site!

Dorie is just as excited as the rest of us who have just tried our very first recipe. She picked our opening 4 dishes for the month of October and we are baking her first choice, one of Dorie's favorites to share with friends: gougeres!

Starting with a cream puff pastry dough, adding Gruyere and a spot of sharp cheddar;

baking into round puffs of golden, crispy perfection;



served with steaming hot cups of mushroom cappuccinos (Bouillon de Champignons Comme un Cappuccino, recipe by Michelin 3-star chef Alain Chapel);

and filled with a family recipe of Pacific shrimp salad.

The anticipation wrapped around being a part of an excited group (more like blogging family) of people like myself who cook from the heart, always excited to share with family and friends, just tickles me. Many of us have been baking together out of Dorie's "Baking from my home to yours" and have become friends along the way.

We are excited to welcome new members and Thank you Dorie for letting us share in your spotlight with the newly published work-of-art: around my french table.

Thank you!!!!! =0)

What a warm and fuzzy feeling to have on an early Friday morning.

Mushroom Cappuccinos

(recipe by Alain Chapel; printed in Oct./2010 Saveur magazine)

(Project Foodie website will also have the recipe)

"To foam the broth, use the steamer attachment on a cappuccino machine, or froth it in a blender." (Alain Chapel, Saveur, Oct. 2010; pg. 98)

Ingredients:

6 T. butter

1 lb. button mushrooms, halved

8 oz. mixed mushrooms, such as oyster, shiitake, and blue foot, thinly sliced, trimmings reserved

1 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Kosher salt, to taste

Cayenne pepper, to taste

12 crayfish tails, cooked and shelled, or 4 oz. cooked lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces

4 sprigs fresh chervil or tarragon

Directions:

Heat 3 T. butter in a 3-quart high sided skillet over medium heat. Add button mushrooms and mushroom trimmings and cook, stirring often, until they release their liquid, about 10 minutes. Add 3/4 ounce dried shiitakes and 4 cups of water; boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid has reduced to 3 cups, about 10 minutes. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a 2-quart saucepan. Strain broth, pressing mushrooms with the back of a spoon to extract liquid; discard solids. Add cream to mushroom broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until flavors meld, about 10 minutes. Season broth with salt and a pinch of cayenne and set aside.

In a spice grinder, grind remaining dried shiitake mushrooms to a fine powder. Transfer mushroom powder to a small skillet over medium-high heat and toast, swirling pan constantly until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushroom powder to a small bowl; set aside.



Heat remaining butter in the skillet over medium heat. Add mixed mushrooms, season with salt, and cook, stirring gently, until tender, 4-5 minutes.

Add crayfish, season with salt, and cook until hot. Remove pan from heat and set aside.


To serve, foam reserved broth on high speed in a blender or with the steamer attachment on an espresso machine. Mound crayfish mixture in 4 teacups or small bowls, and ladle in broth. Spoon foam on top, dust with mushroom powder, and garnish with chervil.

Heavenly Bakers - Two Seperate Desserts plus Dinner

The Heavenly Cake Baker

What a fitting Name!

Recipe: Chocolate Layer Cake with Caramel Ganache

My "for real" first week with the Heavenly Cake Baker. I adore Rose Levy Beranbaum and her cakes amaze me in what looks like simple perfection. I love baking and I feel the push to always want to be better. I strive for those feelings of elation over finishing my project and/or admiring a new decorating skill, taking the first slice and realizing how moist the layers are or how silky, creamy the frosting lays, taking the first bite (or as in my case, running to get hubby to take the first bite) and realizing this is what I spent precious time assembling: Heaven!

An important point to add is I always take the second bite. Part of the cooking/baking addiction is watching expressions. Larry's facial expression when he first tastes any dish is usually spot on with what he says afterwards. He is my sounding board for input; although there have been moments when his honesty has almost gotten him hurt =). Almost. Especially when I am tired and all I want to hear is thank you for feeding me.

Love, love, love this cake. I was dreading making the recipe because I knew extra time would have to taken for the caramel ganache and boy was I right. My first batch of sugar syrup ended up burnt. The syrup is suppose to be taken off the stove just under temperature because the syrup continues cooking until the heavy cream is added. Thank goodness for air vents above the stove. Burnt sugar smells terrible!

My second batch of syrup had me gun-shy. I took the syrup off a little too early, about 10 degrees under and was worried the ganache would not thicken up. In fact, Rose stated the caramel may harden before pouring into the processor to melt the chocolate. Mine was liquid. I was thinking "this is not a good sign".

After 3 hours, I had thick soup. Refrigeration was in order. I refrigerated the ganache in 30 minute intervals until I had the right consistency. The flavor and texture of the caramel ganache was silky smooth with a chocolate caramel flavor holding depth without being overpowering. Another words, all I could say while tasting was uhmmmmmm. So Good! Then the first bite of cake. Crazy moist with a flavor that seemed to match the frosting. A wonderful crumb without being overpowering in flavor. Sophisticated and simple. Delicious!

Moving on but a week back.

Last week's recipe: Marionberry Shortcakes with Whipped Creme Fraiche

The little cakes were adorable using Rose's Shortcake recipe and my miniature bundt pan molds. The marionberry syrup is created by sugaring down the marionberries while in a strainer over a bowl. The collected juice is combined with a little sugar and a splash of raspberry liqueur. The color variation from painting the miniature bundt cakes with the syrup is beautiful. A pile of marionberries (mine were previously frozen; marionberries are past season here) were carefully placed on top along with a Large dollop of whipped creme fraiche.

I was worried the berries were going to lack fresh flavor but we were pleasantly surprised. The syrup, marionberries, shortcake and creme fraiche pull the dessert together into a pretty little package with a nice flavor and texture combination. We enjoyed the dessert but not extremely excited. Fresh berries would make this Heaven.

I accidentally dropped a few dots of marionberry juice on my kitchen rug and the color is here to stay. Marionberry makes a great dye. The dessert was a wonderful place to start in Heavenly Cake Baker. I tried getting this posted on time but 4 days later I actually was able to bake and assemble so my solution is to combine the two desserts in one post.

If you are looking to widen your horizons in the cake baking world, Heavenly Cake Baker is the place for you. If you are looking for teaching aides and a larger layer of understanding for putting together ultimate flavors, texture, crumb density, silky smoothness and consistency; this is definitely the place for you. If you are worried about a lot of dirty dishes over the idea of baking perfection, you may just want to peruse our Beranbaum desserts as we bake our way through heavenly cakes.

Will this post ever end? Almost. I thought I would also share an easy dinner recipe using a rotisserie chicken. The recipe is called Creole Chicken Soup and my family enjoys this for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I enjoy the recipe because about 30 minutes is needed from start-to-finish.

Creole Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
2 T. vegetable oil
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. red bell pepper (or yellow or orange)
1 c. frozen whole kernel corn
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups of chipped cooked chicken (using a grocery rotisserie chicken)
1 1/2 t. Creole seasoning
1 (32-ounce) carton Swanson low-sodium chicken broth
Sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro for garnishing

Directions:
In a heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, corn, and garlic, and saute until tender. Stir in tomatoes and chicken. Sprinkle with seasoning, and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Top with sour cream and cilantro.

Appetizer: Hot Lobster Dip; Dinner: Asian Shrimp Bisque with Shrimp Toast

Dinners. What comes to your mind when you think about dinner? Does each day bring about a different thought on what dinner should be?

Me? Dinner Monday through Wednesday means cook something lighter, easier and quick for clean-up. The beginning of the week always means work, schedules and unexpected events. Thursday is looking closer to the weekend so I want to cook fun dishes, usually requiring more effort. Friday, well, its' Friday! Weekend . . . Anything GOES . . .

The Hot Lobster Dip and Asian Shrimp Bisque with Shrimp Toast is my Friday dinner menu. I do make my menus for each week and know what is possible and what is not. Fridays, I let myself leisurely make dinner, sip wine and talk about whatever makes us happy:

Hot Lobster Dip
8 oz. cream cheese
1 T. milk
1/2 lb. lobster meat, diced
2 T. onion, grated
1 t. cream style horseradish
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/3 C. almonds, slivered and toasted

Directions:
Soften cream cheese with milk. Add all other ingredients except almonds. Blend well. Spoon into oven proof dish. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake 15 minutes at 375.
Asian Shrimp Bisque with Shrimp Toast

Serves: 2 quarts soup serving 8, 8 pieces Shrimp toast for garnish
(adapted from Emeril Lagasse)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup small diced onion
1/2 cup small diced carrot
1/2 cup small diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped leek
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 to 3/4-pound shrimp shells and heads (if possible)
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup sake
6 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground white pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 cup sushi rice
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 recipe Shrimp Toast, recipe follows
8 sprigs cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons diagonally cut green onion tops

Directions:
Set a deep, wide pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, carrots and celery. Saute, stirring, until the vegetables are lightly caramelized, about 7 to 8 minutes.

Add the leeks, ginger and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste to the pan and cook until the vegetables are well coated about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the shrimp shells and heads to the pan and cook until the shells are pink and well caramelized, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the brandy and sake and ignite.

Continue to cook the brandy and sake until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute. Remove the shells and heads. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf and thyme and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

Season with 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and the paprika.

Add the rice to the soup and cook until the rice is tender and beginning to burst, about 45 minutes.

Use an immersion blender (or in small batches in a bar blender) to puree the soup and then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pot. Return to a simmer and add the coconut milk and cayenne pepper.

Heat through but do not allow the soup to boil after adding the coconut milk. Adjust the seasoning and serve while hot with the shrimp toast. Garnish with the cilantro leaves and green onion tops.

Shrimp Toast:

Ingredients:
1/2 pound peeled and deveined shrimp (about 9 ounces unpeeled)
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons minced green onions (green parts only)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 slices brioche, or home-style white bread
1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted clarified butter

Directions:

Combine the shrimp, egg, egg white, green onions, cilantro, garlic, salt and white pepper in a food processor and process until blended but still slightly chunky. Add the cream cheese and pulse until smooth and thick. Add the cream and pulse just until blended being careful not to over-process. Spread 1/4 cup of the shrimp mixture on each slice of bread, spreading it to the edges and smoothing the top. The remainder can be used within 2 days or frozen for up to a month.

Heat the vegetable oil to 360 degrees F in a large deep skillet. Add the shrimp toast, in batches, coated side down, and fry until golden on first side, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Turn and cook until golden on the second side, about 1 1/2 minutes. Drain on paper towels. To serve, cut each toast diagonally into quarters, and serve one quarter in each bowl of soup.

Cream of Mushroom Soup and Braised Cucumbers~Julia Child Style

Days Left: 265
Recipes to Go: 579
Julia Child (Volume I ~ Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

Cream of Mushroom Soup; pg. 40-41 and Baked Cucumbers; pg. 499-500

Julia Child said her Cream of Mushroom soup is a fine, rich, mushroom soup to be served for a grand occasion or for the main course as a Sunday supper. Times sure have changed. Don't get me wrong; Julia's cream of mushroom soup is scrumptious and creamy with sauteed in butter mushrooms floating in a chicken stock base finished off by adding a heavy cream and egg yolk thickener (doesn't really thicken much). Just more of a weeknight main dinner dish, served with thick slices of garlic bread and a salad.
Using an egg yolk thickener for a soup is new to me. Egg yolks are used as a thickener for custards or pudding but both of these are suppose to be stand along thick. The heavy cream and egg yolk combination for Julia's cream of mushroom soup adds a nice creamy flavor but does little to thicken the soup. I get nervous adding egg yolks to hot mixtures because as a last step, if you add the beaten yolks to fast, the creamy mixture curdles and your dish could be ruined. Can you imagine telling your family they are getting salad only for dinner because the mushroom soup curdled? That was me worrying but following Julia's recipe made the last step perfect.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Use a 2 1/2 Quart (minimum size) heavy-bottomed enameled or non-stick saucepan

1/4 cup minced onions

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

6 cups boiling white stock or chicken stock; or canned chicken broth and

2 parsley sprigs, 1/3 bay leaf, and 1/8 t. thyme

salt and pepper to taste

The chopped stems from 3/4 pound to 1 pound fresh mushrooms

2 T. butter

An enameled saucepan

The thinly sliced caps from 3/4 to 1 pound fresh mushrooms

1/4 t. salt

1 t. fresh lemon juice

2 egg yolks

1/2 to 3/4 cup whipping cream

1 3-quart mixing bowl

A wire whip

A wooden spoon

1 to 3 T. softened butter

Optional: 6 to 8 fluted mushroom caps, cooked in butter and lemon juice; and/or 2 or 3 T. minced fresh parsley

Directions:

Cook the onions slowly in the butter for 8 to 10 minutes, until they are tender but not browned.

Add the flour and stir over moderate heat for 3 minutes without browning.

Off heat, beat in the boiling stock or broth and blend it thoroughly with the flour. Season to taste. Stir in the mushroom stems, and simmer partially covered for 20 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Strain, pressing juices out of mushroom stems. Return the soup to the pan.

Melt the butter in a separate saucepan. When it is foaming, toss in the mushrooms, salt, and lemon juice. Cover and cook slowly for 5 minutes.

Pour the mushrooms and their cooking juices into the strained soup base. Simmer for 10 minutes. If not to be served immediately, set aside uncovered, and film surface with a spoonful of cream or milk. Reheat to simmer just before proceeding to the step below, which will take 2 to 3 minutes.

Beat the egg yolks and cream in the mixing bowl. Then beat in hot soup by spoonfuls until a cup has been added. Gradually stir in the rest. Correct seasoning. Return the soup to the pan and stir over moderate heat for a minute or two to poach the egg yolks, but do not let the soup come near the simmer.

Off heat, stir in the butter by tablespoons. Pour the soup into a tureen or soup cups, and decorate with optional mushrooms and herbs.

Baked Cucumbers are truly amazing! I can not even imagine living without them. How Julia discovered baked cucumbers is beyond me but we are glad she did! I would like to start out by stating how mysterious this recipe is to me. The cucumbers actually bake in the oven for a full hour and come out still crunchy . . . can you believe it? The flavor is nothing I have ever tasted before and I can never stay out of them, even before the cucumbers go into the oven. The cucumber sticks marinate in wine vinegar and herb mixture . . . SO GOOD! and there is nibbling going on here too~. I am always amazed there are enough cucumber sticks to still go into the oven. You just HAVE to try these. I know they sound strange.

Julia does say the natural moisture content needs to be drawn out beforehand because cucumbers naturally exude so much water as they are heated and normally turn out bland. Blanching for 5 minutes eliminates the unwanted water, but also most of the cucumber flavor. A preliminary soaking in salt draws out the water and any bitterness, and the cucumber flavor is accentuated by using a little vinegar and a pinch of sugar.

Baked Cucumbers

6 cucumbers about 8 inches long

1 1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. sugar

A 2 1/2 Quart stainless steel or porcelain bowl

A baking dish 12 x 1 1/2 inches

3 T. melted butter

1/2 t. dill or basil (I use basil)

3 to 4 T. minced green onions

1/8 t. freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Peel the cucumbers. Cut in half lengthwise; scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut into lengthwise strips about 3/8 to 1/2 inch wide. Cut the strips into 2-inch pieces.

Toss the cucumbers in a bowl with the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Let stand for at least 30 minutes or for several hours. Drain. Pat dry in a towel.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toss the cucumbers in the baking dish with the butter, herbs, onions, and pepper. Set uncovered in middle level of preheated oven for about 1 hour, tossing 2 or 3 times, until cucumbers are tender but still have a suggestion of crispness and texture. They will barely color during the cooking.

Julia Child Soup Comparison

Days Left: 266
Recipes to Go: 581
Julia Child (Volume I ~ Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

I woke up this morning trying to think of all the variations falling under the title of soups. A strange thing to be thinking about first thing but cooking my way through Julia's soups must have triggered this deep thought process. Julia Child only covered a few soups in her much loved French Cookbook and yet cookbooks and cooking magazines throughout the United States find an amazing number of variations to label soups.

Having never tried a cold soup before, Julia's next recipe in line in her soup section was a Vichyssoise (Cold Leek and Potato soup). I was not overly anxious to try a cold soup because most of the cold soup's I have heard about have attached complaints over a lack of flavor or the cold soup has one ingredient in particular over-powering the dish. Stereo-typing food should never be in anyone's vocabulary but how many of us already have pre-set ideas even trying the food? Like liver and onions, tripe, or beef tongue? Julia has several recipes for tripe and again, I am dreading the very idea.

Three leek and potato type soups in a row. I already listed the first leek and potato soup about a month ago (while I was still skipping around in Julia's recipe sections) but today we are comparing #2 and #3. The recipe titles may be different but the soup base is not. Leeks and potatoes. The Water-cress soup is leeks and potatoes with water-cress, only hot. The Vichyssoise is leek and potato soup, only cold BUT what a flavor and texture variation! Delicious! Wonderful! and as Julie put it in the movie: YUM!

I would serve both of these soups as a first course meal starter. I think the Vichyssoise has more pull for ease when making a company dinner to impress. The soup is suppose to wait in the refrigerator to be served and the flavor is creamy and wonderful.

The Water-cress Soup (Leek and Potato with Water-cress added)

The soup was so much easier and faster to make by taking Julia up on skipping the puree in the food mill and using a fork to lightly mash the ingredients. Not thinking ahead, I took Julia's word on leaving the tender stems attached (as if I was still going to puree the soup). Larry and I are eating the soup while trying to slurp in the stems. Some of the stems were pretty long so eating a leaf and getting a long stem was hilarious. Always remember to write notations by recipes so the mistake does not get repeated later. After trying the first potato and leek soup, pureed, the chunky style was definitely more enjoyable. I am not quite sure why the puree for the Vichyssoise was preferred though.

Vichyssoise (Cold Water-cress Soup with a base of Leeks and Potatoes)

Loved the creamy texture for a cold soup. I guess being cold makes the difference. Also, I did not have to get out the food mill. Julia actually recommended a blender this time. Blending food and not worrying about the soup being too smooth was a relief, since cleaning the food mill is a pain in the butt!

The Vichyssoise base flavor is so much different. Instead of starting with water, the recipe calls for a white stock. I used my homemade turkey broth. The cold soup was quick to make (Julia's recipes require time, patience and a clear mind before attacking. Julia is so thorough with each recipe and sometimes I feel overwhelmed trying to understand what she means.) and I LOVED my very first cold soup!

Water-cress Soup

For 6 to 8 people

3 to 4 cups potatoes, peeled and sliced

3 cups thinly sliced leeks, including the tender green

2 quarts of water

1 Tablespoon salt

1/4 lb. (about 1 cup packed) water-cress leaves and tender stems)

4 to 6 T. whipping cream or 2 to 3 T. softened butter

Optional: a small handful of water-cress leaves boiled 1/2 minute in water, rinsed in cold water, and drained

Directions:

Simmer the vegetables, water, salt together, partially covered, for 40 to 50 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Mash the vegetables with a fork, stir in the water cress and simmer for 5 minutes. Correct seasoning.

Off heat and just before serving, stir in the cream or butter by spoonfuls. Decorate with the optional water-cress leaves.

Vichyssoise (Cold Leek and Potato Soup)

for 6 to 8 people

3 cups potatoes, peeled and sliced

3 cups leeks, white part thinly sliced

1 1/2 quarts (4 cups to a quart) of white stock, chicken stock, or canned chicken broth

Salt to taste

1/2 to 1 cup whipping cream (I used 3/4 cup)

salt and white pepper

Chilled soup cups

2 to 3 T. minced chives

Directions:

Simmer the vegetables in stock or broth instead of water as described in the recipe for Water-cress Soup. Puree the soup either in the electric blender, or through a food mill and then through a fine sieve.

Stir in the cream. Season to taste, oversalting very slightly as the salt loses savor in a cold dish. Chill.

Serve in chilled soup cups and decorate with minced chives.