My luck has changed. Again.
My father warned me about changing luck. Once The Departed left, he said, I would no longer be the recipient of all his bad karma. I forget exactly how he explained it, but somehow, some people are able to vector off their bad karma onto others for a while. So while The Departed and I were together, I got what was coming to him, and a lot of what should have been coming to me, in turn, got vectored off. I’m not sure where and I don’t quite understand how. I’m pretty sure I don’t remember it in the vows. Then again, it was Vegas, so I wouldn’t swear to that.
Anyway, I entered a drawing over on The Country Cleaver, which you should totally read if you are in need of some foodie inspiration – and I won a cookbook. I didn’t even pay attention to what the drawing was for, because I never win stuff. I’m not lucky – at least, I don’t have the kind of good luck that involves winning things anyone would actually want.
Except that not only did I win it, it showed up at my house in a HUGE box two weeks later.
And not only that, it is glorious.
I won a copy of The Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook
I spent the better portion of an hour putting sticky notes that read “must try!” on the soup chapter. One recipe in particular jumped out at me: Country Style Potato Leek Soup. My grandma used to make me potato soup when I was sick. I don’t have her recipe and I doubt she actually had one, and there are days when I miss it so much it makes me ache with yearning.
This isn’t her recipe, but it is a very good one: A bowl of simple comfort.
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4-5 pounds leeks, sliced into 1-inch pieces (11 cups)
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 5¼ cups broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1¾ pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- salt and pepper
- Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Stir in leeks, increase heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook 15-20 minutes, until leeks are tender; do not brown. Sprinkle flour over leeks and cook until flour dissolves, about 2 minutes.
- Increase heat to high and gradually add broth, whisking constantly. Add bay leaf and potatoes, cover, and bring to boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are almost tender, 5-7 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let sit 10 to 15 minutes, until potatoes are tender and flavors meld. Discard bay leaf; season with salt and pepper.
This is my contribution to Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Why not swing by and see what other culinary surprises await?
Oh boy, you’re done for now. You’ve tasted the American Test Kitchen KoolAid and your life won’t be the same again. 🙂 I love that cookbook. I love The Cook’s Illustrated. And that soup looks awesome.
Glad you’ve got good karma coming your way. This recipe looks delicious, I’m pinning it now.
We made this last night! We used diced red potatoes and added some fresh fennel that we needed to use up. At the end, we also added 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. The family said they want this every week…