Soupe de Carottes

Sounds prettier than carrot soup, doesn't it? This recipe is from French Women Don't Get Fat, so I think it's appropriate to call it soupe de carottes. This is really the quickest, easiest soup to make.



5 cups peeled and sliced carrots
pinch sugar
salt
pepper
1 dollop butter
fresh dill or coriander, to garnish

Place the carrots in a pot with an equal amount boiling water. Cook until al dente, about 15 minutes.

Purée the soup in a food mill. Season to taste with a pinch of sugar, salt, and pepper. Just before serving add a dollop of butter and some fresh dill or coriander.

Of course, I changed it just a little. Use however many cups of carrots you want, and don't worry about having an equal amount of water in the pot. Just cook the carrots and then add however much water you want to the blender/food processor. I used about 4 cups of carrots, and probably only 2 or 2 1/2 cups of water instead of 4 because I wanted the soup to be thicker. I added about 1 tablespoon of butter to the pot of soup rather than putting a little in each individual serving. And I skipped the sugar because carrots are already sweet and I wanted the soup to be saltier.

If you wanted to spice it up you could add potatoes, leeks, onions, or just some cream :)

Red Snapper with Almonds

This is another recipe from French Women Don't Get Fat. I know I say everything is good, but honestly this is one of the best things I've made since I've started this blog. Actually, going back even further than that...one of the best things I've made in a long time. I think it was partially because the fish was very fresh - they only had whole red snapper at the store so I had the guy fillet it for me. But the flavors are very simple, and the almonds gave it a really nice texture...everything just worked really well together. Here's the recipe which I made a couple minor changes to:



1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 Tbl. butter
2 red snapper fillets (you can also use monkfish, halibut, or cod)
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon

In a large skillet, toast the almonds over medium heat for just a few minutes. Set aside.

Warm the olive oil and butter in the skillet. Season the snapper with salt and pepper and cook 4 minutes on each side. Add the lemon juice to the pan to blend with the pan juices. Pour over the fillets, then sprinkle with the toasted almonds.

I served it with roasted potato slices and sauteed spinach. And rice pudding for dessert, of course.

Rice Pudding

I've had the book French Women Don't Get Fat for about 5 years now and have never really looked at it. I got it when I was working as a page in the green room at the Early Show and the author, Mireille Guiliano, came on the show to promote her book...there were a few extra copies floating around. I flipped through the book and was disappointed to see that it was only about 20% recipes and 80% her personal story, so I stuck it in my bookshelf and didn't look at it again until now.

I opened it yesterday because I wanted to see what recipes were in it, and ended up actually starting to read the book. I've only gotten as far as when she goes to Weston, Massachusetts for a year-long student exchange program as a teenager, and gains 15 pounds. She arrives home and her father comes to pick her up and tells her "Tu ressembles à un sac de patates" (you look like a sack of potatoes).

And on that note, one of the recipes in the book is for chocolate rice pudding. I have been wanting to make rice pudding for awhile but kind of forgot about it. Plus I thought it had to be done in a slow cooker. A lot of recipes are for a slow cooker, but this one is on the stove and only takes about half an hour. I made just plain vanilla rice pudding instead of chocolate, but I'll include the instructions for chocolate too. This is a magical French rice pudding that you can eat buckets of and not get fat. Kidding!



2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 oz. dark chocolate, 80% preferred, broken into small pieces (optional)

Pour the milk, sugar, and salt into a sauce pan and bring to a boil over low heat. Add the rice and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the milk is absorbed (if the mixture becomes sticky, add a bit more milk to keep the rice creamy). Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the rice pudding into 4 ramekins or one large bowl. **Optional - insert chocolate pieces into the middle of each ramekin, or into the middle of the bowl, and push them into the rice. Leave at room temperature. The chocolate will slowly melt and mix with the pudding.**

I added just a little more vanilla since I wasn't going to be adding chocolate, and I sprinkled some cinnamon on top and put the bowl into the fridge because I like my rice pudding cold, and because I'm not going to eat it until tonight. But I did taste it, and it was very good - sweet and creamy. I can't wait to taste it again after it's set in the fridge. Make sure you keep an eye on it while cooking, and stir often because the milk will form a skin from the heat.