fruits of the earth and sea.

Cooking is one of my most beloved activities. It is, largely, how I relate to people. Why don’t I blog more about things I make?

Friend came over today, for dinner-making and conversation. Marvelous evening, all told, complete with some culinary experimentation. I often make things I’ve never made before, either from interesting-sounding recipes, or from my head. The two of us put our heads together to come up with the below-described seafood dish; the soup is from my Mediterranean cookbook, easily the best volume on my cookbook shelf.

Zucchini soup. Mm-mm. Who would’ve thought to put dolcelatte (or, in my case, sweet gorgonzola) into a pureed soup? Not me, not just now. But oh, what fragrance. Fry up a medium-sized Spanish onion in some oil and butter until soft. Add 2 lbs. zucchini, some salt and pepper, and a teaspoon – they say – of dried oregano. (I used a bit more than a teaspoon, and my oregano was ground.) Stir around to soften, for about 10 minutes. Add 2.5 cups of vegetable stock (mine was mixed 3/4 veg, 1/4 tasty mushroom bouillon), bring to a boil, then simmer slowly for about 30 minutes.

Phase two. Add 4 oz. of crumbled dolcelatte and stir until it’s melted. Blend in a food processor, the recipe admonishes, and strain back into the pot through a sieve. I personally used my trusty hand blender, and did not strain. This may have left it coarser than the original chefs intended, but gave it a wonderful character and made it more interesting to eat, lingering on the texture. Add between 2/3 and 3/4 cup light cream. (Another substitution – I used up my last packet of thick Italian panna and diluted it with 2% milk. What?! It was what I had! Plus, it’s tasty; plus, it’s Parmalat and thus makes me nostalgic.) Stir, taste and adjust for seasonings, heat back up until hot but not boiling, stirring all the while. Serve with some freshly ground black pepper and more swirled-in cream. And fresh oregano on top, if you’ve got it. Oh, and crusty, well-made (but not strongly flavored) bread.

So that was the modified-recipe mode. Improvisational mode kicked in when we turned our attention to the 1-lb packet of frozen seafood I’d defrosted but had no specific plans for. C. and I came up with the following, rooting through the cupboards.

(Incidentally, I *heart* those ever-more-frequent moments when I can root through my cupboards and find interesting things with which to improvise.)

Fry up some shallots, a yellow pepper and shiitake-like dried mushrooms, soaked in some more of that broth we’d used for the soup. Butter and olive oil serve as the fat base, and we added some lemon as well. When the veggies are nicely browned but still retain their dignity, throw in the defrosted seafood (which, in this case, consisted of tiny shrimps, many baby octopi, ringlets of squid and pieces of clam). I seasoned with a very little bit of cayene, and significantly more white pepper. Saute until done, Do Not Overcook or the seafood will toughen. Add a little more of the broth, if need be; it’s much better to boil off a little excess liquid than have dried-up dish. Serve with ground black pepper on top.

Coffee and decadent dark chocolate with orange, later. My inner child is delighted.