Friday, June 3, 2011

Warm-Weather vegetable pot-au-feu

Although the weather topped the mid 90's this week (with enough humidity to feel like 100 degrees).....our assignment for FFwD consisted of summer soup.

Curious, and perhaps a bit hesitant (did I mention that our central air had broken......) Nana and I embraced the adventure of a new French Friday and got out our stockpots ~

Per Tricia:

Were it not for FFwD, I can safely say that I would
never have made this recipe. 
 There were just enough items that I am just not
 fond enough of -mushrooms, asparagus and spinach.



Luckily, my three guys are all fans and looked
 forward to trying the "Dorie Soup". 





They were not sure why an egg was
going on top - but they all wanted one !




  I am sorry to say that I did not even try it myself,
and having three tasters didn't push me to do so. 
All three liked it, which frankly, surprised and delighted me. 




 The gourmets declared that is was indeed a lovely summer dish. 
My hubby and 15 year old would like it repeated as is,
 while my 17 year old suggested the addition of meat
 ("perhaps chicken", he said) would make him appreciate it more.


The soup was simple and straight forward.
  Cut and chop ingredients and combine. 
The only trick at all (since I am evidently out of practice.....)
is manuevering a picture perfect poached egg.


 Per Nana ~

This was a refreshing summer soup with
 an aroma that was fantastic. 
Hubby was going nuts waiting for dinner.



After all the prep work is done, the rest is easy. 


Instead of shiitakes, I used some large white mushrooms
 that were in the fridge.  It's amazing how each additional
vegetable adds something else to the dish.






I poached the egg at the end - it looked great and
 the taste was spectacular.
A lovely addition to my recipe file that I will use again and again.


And thanks to everyone who shared concern about
 the "memory card incident".  Tricia's hubby was able
 to extract the card himself so a trip to the Apple store was averted.

17 comments:

  1. The poached eggs look great and I love the mushrooms in the pot-au-feu, will have to remember to add those next time. Hope you cooled off;-)

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  2. I'm jealous of the look of both your poached eggs. Glad you both enjoyed it! The soups look great!

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  3. Very nice! Tricia - you'll have to try it when you can actually enjoy it.
    No A/C is tough when it's that hot.
    We were traipsing around Manhattan this weekend and were very happy to jump inside the A/C buildings between our travels. (I finally made it to Chelsea Market - Dragged everyone there and told them this is where we are eating lunch - take it or leave it :-) )

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  4. Both your pots of soup look scrumptious! Tricia, I can't believe you weren't even tempted to try. I'm sure your tasters were happy you made it for them anyway. P.S. Thanks for all the travel tips for DC. That was so nice of you to give me all that detail. I've printed out your notes and will take them with me. I'll report back to you after the trip.

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  5. Looks wonderful. I didn't get to this one this week, but maybe... I probably have most of the vegetables patiently waiting at home...

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  6. I think this sort of dish is better as a "cool spring day" soup rather than a "warm weather" one. I can see why with the weather you'd just as soon skip a taste. The nice thing is that you can skip the less than favorite veggies and use others in their place. Even as made, both versions look lovely and delicious!

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  7. Glad the memory card was retrieved...whew!

    Both your dishes look great...I don't think my family would be satisfied with this as a dinner entree, but it was a lovely side dish~

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  8. I'm sorry you went to all the work for something that you didn't eat, but I know how you feel. There have been many times where I have just relied on the opinions of others, because I just couldn't try what I made! I am glad that everyone who tried it enjoyed it! I'm also glad that no trip to the Apple store was necessary; that place can be a little frustrating on the best of days!

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  9. Both of your soups look wonderful! I applaud you for forging ahead with making the soup with a broken AC and even though you didn't like some of the veggies, Tricia.

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  10. I had to laugh out loud at the "they weren't sure why there was an egg but wanted one" part. You have some adventurous eaters in your home, Tricia! I agree with you both that this one is a keeper.

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  11. You both did an amazing job and like Tricia, I would not have tried this soup had it not been for the push this week. I loved its simplicity and will definitely be making it again soon!

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  12. Both of your soups look great! I agree with Tricia, I wouldn't have made this if I wasn't trying to attempt each recipe.

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  13. I was the only one that ate the soup with the egg, and I loved it! The rest of the family didn't even want to hear about it. :)
    It's a great soup...definitely a keeper!

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  14. I was hesitant, but wound up really liking it, even the egg! Dorie always seems to know what's best.

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  15. Tricia - good for you to make this for your family even if it didn't appeal to you. It sure looks good! Nana - yours look wonderful too!

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