Monday, May 11, 2020

Simply Delicious Cream of Celery Soup

This cream of celery soup is extremely easy and very tasty. It requires just a little chopping. I posted a similar recipe about seven years ago. This one is a bit better and makes fewer servings - three to four instead of six. I also added an ingredient that I thought made it even better - pancetta.

The catalyst for making this soup was to use up celery left over from making potato salad. It was so tasty, I pigged out and had two servings with the rest of my dinner.

Even the most inexperienced cook should be able to produce excellent results with this recipe. I found it at  https://www.daringgourmet.com/homemade-cream-celery-soup/. If you have time, I suggest reading the whole article at that site. As that article explains, you can also use this soup as a base for other soup recipes that call for cream of celery soup.

Here's my version of the recipe:

Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 cup yellow onion finely chopped (1 small onion)
- 2 cups finely chopped celery (5 large ribs)
- 1 large clove garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
- 1 & 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 & 1/2 cups whole milk (or richer taste by using some combination of milk and cream or half & half. I used 3/4 cup light milk and 3/4 cup half & half because that's what was in the refrigerator.)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped panchetta (I used the Publix chopped.)

Instructions
1. Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat and cook the onions, celery, panchetta, and garlic until soft and translucent, 5-7 minutes. 
2. Add flour and cook for another minute.
3. Add chicken broth and milk/cream. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

4. Increase the heat and bring it to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium, add the remaining ingredients, and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Bleu Provence, Naples, FL - Great Food and an Amazing Wine List

A special friend and I recently had dinner at Bleu Provence (https://www.bleuprovencenaples.com/), a remarkable restaurant in Naples, FL. Not only are the food, atmosphere, and service terrific, but its wine selection and service are so good that, since 2015, it has been a winner of Wine Spectator's Grand Award, which is awarded to only 100 restaurants world wide.

We sat out on the back patio, with its very romantic atmosphere. It was partially bordered by trees and was covered.

We both had the three-course, $35 early dining menu, and a nice red wine.

The three-course meal consists of an appetizer, a main dish, and dessert. The dishes we had were all delicious.

When I started perusing the wine list to find a wine, I was very surprised at how lengthy it was. I had only seen wine lists so large at a few restaurants in my life. most notably at Antica Bottega del Vino in Verona, Italy, and at Bern's Steak House in Tampa.

Our superb waiter explained that Bleu Provence was a 2019 winner of Wine Spectator's Grand Award. When I checked the appropriate edition of Wine Spectator at home, I read that Bleu Provence, with nearly 4,000 wine selections, had received the Grand Award every year since 2015. There are only four Florida restaurants who received that award in 2019 - Bern's in Tampa, one in Palm Beach, and one in West Palm Beach.

The appetizer my friend chose was salmon marinated in citrus vinaigrette, and served with strawberries and vinaigrette. Not only was it tasty, but the serving size was generous.

My appetizer was Provençal Soup served with gruyère cheese, rouille sauce, and croutons.

We chose the same wonderful Duck Leg Confit as a main dish. It had an orange and Grand Marnier demi-glace, and was served with Mango Fries and Sweet Potatoes gratin.

For dessert, we both enjoyed the Lemon Tart Meringue.

The wine I chose was a 2015 Barruol Tiercerolles, Crozes-Hermitage Syrah from the northern Rhône. It was excellent.

The Early Dining Menu is only available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday.

After our meal, Alex took us to visit the very impressive wine cellar.

The restaurant has been in the Crayton Cove area of Naples since 1999. The owners, Lysielle and Jacques Cariot, operate the restaurant with their three sons. They are from Provence.

During normal times, I highly recommend reservations.


Friday, February 14, 2020

Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro in Naples, FL - Wow!

I recently discovered a terrific Persian bistro in Naples, FL. In searching the Internet for a restaurant where I could treat a special friend (and myself), I ran across Bha! Bha! Persian Bistro (https://bhabhabistro.com/), which had over 4,000 mostly five-star reviews on OpenTable, TripAdvisor, Google, and Yelp. It had a great menu which was a mix of traditional Persian dishes and innovative Persian dishes. On that menu, I found four Persian dishes that protagonist Javad “Josh” Shirazi in my novel Team Triad; A Nuclear Spy Hunt – Iran had prepared as a special dinner for his wife and himself.

The experience at the Bistro exceeded all my expectations. Every bite was superb; the atmosphere was excellent; and our server Cayan provided impeccable service.

My friend and I shared an appetizer of Kashke Bademjun, an eggplant dip with lavash bread. There are two versions of this dish. The one on the menu had sliced eggplant. However, when I showed Cayan the Kindle page of my novel which described the dish I wanted, he realized I would not be getting the correct dish. He immediately went and fixed the problem. The dish was great.

My friend’s main course was an evening special - lamb shank, which was tender and delicious. It was so large that she had enough to take home for another meal. I think the sauce was a Mediterranean tomato sauce.

My main dish was Duck Fesenjune (Khoreshte Fesenjun) in a pomegranate-walnut sauce with a mango sauce accent and topped with caramelized dried fruit. In Iran, this traditional dish was originally made with duck. It is now often made with chicken. It was fantastic. I have made it with chicken several times, and was happy to learn that my preparation was in the ball park.

The duck dish came with a side of saffron-topped white rice. However, I also ordered a side of Polo ba Tahdig, which I think bistro calls Tahdik. It is a type of rice in which the bottom of the pot caramelized the rice to a crispy golden brown.

We also shared a side of Mast o Khiyar, a cucumber-yoghurt dip/salad it bears some similarities to Greek Tzatziki and Lebanese cucumber-yoghurt dip. It was flavored with dill. I loved it.

For dessert to celebrate my friend’s birthday, Cayan brought a dish of Persian rice pudding, which was part of the Team Triad dinner. We both enjoyed it.

The wine I chose to accompany our meal was a 2016 Zenato Alanera red Veronese. It is reliably good. I would like to have ordered one of the wines from the Persian Darioush Winery in the Napa Valley, but their wines are a bit expensive for my taste.

We sat outside at a table on one side of the restaurant. It was very private. It was a bit chilly outside, but the heaters next to our table eliminated the chill.

The bistro is located at 865 5th Ave in South Naples. We found parking right behind the restaurant.

I can’t wait to return and savor other dishes on the menu. I will definitely request Cayan as our server.

Saturday, February 8, 2020

Simple & Tasty Prosciutto, Avocado, Greens, & Feta Salad

I created this simple and tasty salad to accompany a flat bread pizza I made for a family dinner. I initially planned to make a terrific-sounding fresh fig and prosciutto salad I found on-line at https://www.purewow.com/recipes/prosciutto-fig-salad-board. However, when I couldn't get fresh figs, I ended up changing four of the major ingredients. This recipe serves four, but can easily be scaled up or down.

Ingredients
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
- 6 ounces mixed arugula, watercress, kale & spinach (Publix sells this mixture)
- 2 ripe avocados, sliced. (There are great on-line videos for avocado-slicing techniques.)
- 3-4 ounces of thinly slide prosciutto torn into pieces
- 2 tbsps chopped sweet peppers (Publix sells a chopped sweet pepper mixture.)
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation
1. Stir lemon juice, EVOO, mustard, salt, & pepper in a small bowl.

2. Place greens on a salad board.

3. Top greens with avocado, prosciutto, peppers, and feta

4. Set bowl of dressing next to salad for diners' use.

Monday, January 13, 2020

A Delicious Persian Meal

For a recent dinner with friends, I decided to serve a (mostly) Persian meal. I was delighted with the results. 

The three principal dishes were Persian:
- Cucumber salad (Salad-e Shirazi)
- Chicken Pomegranate Stew (Khoresh-e Fesenjan)
- Bottom-of-the-Pot Rice (Polo ba Tahdig)

Dessert was Baklava, which is served from the Balkans and Greece all the way to Central Asia.

(I refer to the main dishes in this posting as Persian rather than Iranian because there are a number of different ethnic groups and cuisines in Iran.)

I love the cucumber salad, which is very simple to make, and would go beautifully with a wide variety of dishes. It contains cucumbers, tomatoes, onion, and herbs. Its dressing is fresh lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. I used small, seedless cucumbers from a nearby Middle Eastern store. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.goodfood.com.au/recipes/salade-shirazi-persian-cucumber-tomato-and-onion-salad-20190617-h1fg57. Of the herb possibilities suggested in the recipe, I chose fresh parsley and dried mint.

The Chicken Pomegranate stew contains chicken breast or thighs (I used thighs), pomegranate molasses, walnut paste, onions, sugar, chicken stock, and a variety of spices. The pomegranate molasses is available on Amazon. I purchased the Al Wadi brand from Lebanon. This syrup is widely used throughout the Middle East. The walnut paste is made by crushing toasted walnuts in a food processor. This dish is delicious the first day, BUT is much more flavorful the next day. I followed the recipe I found at: 
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fesenjan_persian_chicken_stew_with_walnut_and_pomegranate_sauce/ It took me about four hours to make. 
(Not in the photo below are the pomegranate arils I added as garnish before serving.) It ain't purty, but it shore is yummy!


Khoresh-e Fesenjan

The Persians have several unique rice dishes. One is Polo ba Tahdig, which is extremely popular. A main feature is that it has caramelized rice or slices of potato or bread at the bottom and is topped with saffron rice when served. I tried one recipe a few months ago, and was not successful. However, this time I found a recipe with a very clear video explanation. It worked great. The recipe can be found at:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/240606/persian-rice/


Polo ba Tahdig

The pastries I served were pistachio baklava, walnut baklava, and "birds nest" from Beirut Bakery (http://beirutbakery.net/) in Livonia, Michigan. They were incredible. Beirut Bakery makes the best baklava I've had, and I've had lots. The bakery came close to shipping the delivery on the wrong day. Fortunately, I phoned them to make sure the order had been shipped.

The wines I served were 2018 Martin Ray Chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast, Poggio Antico's 2015 Madre Tuscan red from Montalcino, and 2016 Davey Family Shiraz from McLaren Vale,