BB: Shrimp Bisque

The second recipe for the month of January for Barefoot Bloggers was selected by Jennifer of Our Blessed Home. She chose Shrimp Bisque, which can be found in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook.

So, I had myself all psyched out that I was not going to like this recipe. It started off frustrating because I wasn't sure where in the world I was going to find seafood stock and frankly, the recipe seemed realllllllly time consuming.

Well...counter to my concerns about finding seafood stock, page 55 (of the same cookbook) actually tells you how to make it. Problem solved. I started the stock-making process at 8:45am this morning and much to my surprise, the smell of seafood stock cooking on the stove in the morning actually is a nice one!! I invited a friend over to taste-test (I only have a handful of friends available who I know will eat seafood...how and why they remain my friends after knowing this is beyond me - lol). It was also nice to have someone sous chef for me and work on ingredient prep, as this recipe does have several.

I omitted the cayenne pepper, because I am really not a fan. Other than that, everything was made as per the recipe. The verdict: This soup is DIVINE. It truly tastes decadent and very high-society. I served the soup with some croque monsier sandwiches. The only thing we were missing were big hats and white gloves! I doubt my husband will like this soup...it's a bit delicate for his tastes, but I will let him test it out tonight.

My only critique to this is that I wish I had not pureed the shrimp as much as I did. I would have preferred having some small chunks (big enough that you know what you are eating) of shrimp. This was my fault though...I got a little carried away with the food processor!

Thanks, Jennifer! January was great for recipes this month!!

BB: Indonesian Ginger Chicken

Happy 2010! Barefoot Bloggers is off to a great start with this recipe, selected by Todd of A Cooking Dad! Todd chose Indonesian Ginger Chicken from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I have made this chicken in the past and did.not.like.it.one.bit. I finally figured out why this time around: it's too much ginger! This recipe calls for 1/2 c. grated fresh ginger and I decided this time around to cut it by about...well, most of that! I added probably a good heaping 2 Tbsp and it was PERFECT! In fact, all of the chicken you see in the picture (which I fully expected there to be a fight from my 2 little kids over not wanting to eat this) was gone. I also did not do a whole chicken, just bought the cut-up and next time I know to double it. This recipe, now that I have figured out what our family likes, is a keeper. Thanks, Todd!

Wordless Wednesday

The Barbie Diaries, Part Four: The Snowstorm Bloweth In

The Barbie-Stolpa Family gets lost in the massive snowstorm of 2009. Found naked, the Barbie-Stolpas had apparently befriended an indigenous cat only found in regions such as this. Sadly, the cat met the same demise as the family. Lesson to all: Dress appropriately during snowstorms and while in elfin villages...

More details later on the 10 o'clock news...

NYE Debauchery (in pictures of course)

And as you can see, a fun time was had by all... : )

The cure for what ails me

Hubby and I are both battling nasty upper respiratory infections. Both of us wanted soup, neither of us had a mom handy to come make it for us! I drugged myself up and trudged to the store to get ingredients for Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup.

O.M.G. is this to die for.

I am fairly certain this will aid in my recovery, and just had to share how yummy this is. Going to make some grilled cheese sammies to go with it too.

OK back to regularly scheduled whining...