Alex and I had lunch guests today. Alex also had school and one of our guests is a pilot who had to be up in the sky later in the afternoon- meaning I needed to get Max and Alex to school on time (and pick Alex up again before guests arrived- thanks ML!), clean the house suitable for guests and make something we could linger over, yet eat in a timely manner. This is when soup, salad, bread and a few nibbles is the perfect combo!
Because I had Alex with me and not his brother, I needed to make sure lunch was 'Alex friendly', meaning nothing spicy or over the top different.
I made a cauliflower, leek and fennel seed soup- perfectly white for Alex and very tasty not to mention quick. Firstly I saute the chopped leeks in butter along with the fennel seeds. When the leeks have wilted I added chopped cauliflower (whole head) along with a peeled and chopped potato (for a thickening agent). Once it had been sauteing for five minutes, I then filled the pot with stock and a cup of milk, just barely covering the tops of the veggies. Bring it to a boil, simmer for ten minutes and then puree in a food processor.
Making this the day before helped on time and the flavor really develops- you end up serving a delicious soup that you merely heated through.
Along with the soup I served a goat cheese, avocado and bacon salad (bacon complimenting the soup), dressed with a balsamic and garlic vinaigrette. I had a 'picky plate' of olives, sliced cheddar cheese and a cucumber salad dressed simply with lemon, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt- I knew Alex wouldn't eat the bacon salad because of the lettuce but the cucumber salad was devoured!
It was great to catch up with friends and having Alex join us at the table wasn't to bad which I owe all to the 'picky plate'- It gave him something to do!
Thanks for a great afternoon guys.
PS There was dessert but there is a story, so I'll tell it tomorrow!
1 comment:
I was very happy to one of the friends at lunch yesterday! The soup was delicious and the bacon, avocado, goat cheese salad was also. You've inspired me to make the soup at home. In fact, you make everything sound so easy and look so delicious that I treat your blogs as my cookbook. Thanks again!
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