Soup Night (38 page)

Serves 6

Stan Adler, a writing colleague from years ago, says this salad, created by his wife Carol, is “everybody’s favorite.” Sometimes Carol uses a blend of romaine and red-leaf lettuce in place of some or all of the spinach. The dressing is unusual and marvelous.

• 2 bunches spinach
  
• ³
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup pecans, cut in half
  
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, cut in halves or quarters depending on size of the berries
  
• 8 scallions, sliced
  

• 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon dry mustard powder
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon salt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup olive oil
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup vegetable oil
  
• 2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar
  
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (or more to taste)
  

1. 1.
   Wash the spinach, remove the stems, and slice the leaves into smaller bite-size pieces.
   
2. 2.
   Toast the pecans in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
   
3. 3.
   Combine the spinach and strawberries in a salad bowl, along with the scallions and pecans.
   
4. 4.
   Make the dressing: Mix the sugar, mustard, salt, olive oil, vegetable oil, vinegar, and poppy seeds together in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well.
   
5. 5.
   Toss the salad with the dressing at serving time.
   

Make ahead?
You can prepare the greens, the toasted nuts, and the strawberries, but don’t combine them. Refrigerate separately and toss together at serving time. Carol says, “I usually do a double batch of dressing for another salad some other day.”

For large crowds:
Easy to expand — limited only by the size of your salad bowl.

Serves 6–8

This salad is a lot like Lou Brown, the woman who created it — colorful, zesty, and good for you. A few things to keep in mind: Because the onions are raw, it’s important to search out a sweet variety, such as Vidalias from Georgia or Walla Wallas from Washington State. If you can’t find either, substitute scallions. The pickle relish is essential to the overall taste of this fantastic salad, but it can easily overwhelm the vegetables, so go easy. And finally, presentation. Lou suggests making this in a glass bowl, to display the pretty colors. I happen to own a clear glass bowl with straight sides, and it was spectacular served in it. A trifle bowl — a glass bowl on a stand — would be even better.

• 1 package cornbread mix (such as Jiffy)
  
• 8–10 bacon strips
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup vinaigrette, or more as needed
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup sweet pickle relish
  
• 3–4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups chopped celery
  
• 1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), diced
  
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  

1. 1.
   Bake the cornbread according to the directions on the package. Cool and set aside.
   
2. 2.
   Fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until very crisp. Drain on paper towels, crumble, and set aside.
   
3. 3.
   Break the cornbread into chunks that will fit easily into the bottom of your round bowl, and use half the pieces to line the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle the cornbread lightly with vinaigrette, just enough to moisten, and then spread the pickle relish over the cornbread in a very thin layer.
   
4. 4.
   Keeping the layers separate, add the tomatoes, celery, onion, and bell peppers. Organize them in whatever sequence is visually pleasing to you. Spread the reserved bacon crumbles over the top vegetable layer.
   
5. 5.
   Cover the bacon with the remaining cornbread chunks, and sprinkle the whole thing with more vinaigrette. You want to lightly moisten the cornbread without making it soggy.
   
6. 6.
   Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, for the flavors to meld.
   

Variations:
The recipe you see here is already a variation. Rather than vinaigrette, Lou’s original recipe calls for mayonnaise mixed with pickle juice. A jar of pickle juice is quite likely in the refrigerators of many a Southern home, but perhaps not elsewhere, so I used vinaigrette instead, and it lightens up the dish in a good way.

Make ahead?
Of course — see step 6.

For large crowds:
I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t double this. Going the other direction, I made a half-recipe for three hungry people and had some left over.

For vegetarians:
Substitute cheese, such as sharp cheddar or Gorgonzola, for the bacon.

Lou Brown, now of Lewisville, North Carolina, may be the original steel magnolia. She is tough, fearless, smart, kind, loyal, and Southern to the bone. Her family and mine were next-door neighbors many years ago in Columbia, South Carolina, and it is my good fortune that she has remained in my life. The Browns moved in next door when I was about 10. Soon after, my mother answered a knock on the door one day, and there stood Lou. “I’ve just made chocolate icing for cupcakes,” she announced, “and I need a little boy to lick the spoon. Got one I can borrow?” (She meant my baby brother, now of the Stanton Street Soup Night, then not yet old enough to be in school.) That was the beginning of a friendship between the two women that lasted for 50 years.

Recipe from
Albertina’s Restaurant
, Portland, Oregon

Serves 6–8

Round out a summer meal of refreshing soup with this entree salad that carries the flavors and main ingredients of the fabulous Spanish rice-seafood dish usually served hot.

• 2 cups canned pineapple chunks
  
• ³
  ⁄
  ₄
  teaspoon curry powder (or more)
  
• 2 tablespoons juice from pineapple
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup minced scallion
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups mayonnaise
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup finely chopped green bell pepper
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 3 cups warm cooked rice
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cups frozen peas
  
• 6 ounces cooked shrimp
  
• 1
  ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cups cooked, cubed ham
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  

• Marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
  
• Chopped scallions
  
• Chopped parsley
  

1. 1.
   Drain the pineapple chunks, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice. Set the pineapple aside in a mixing bowl.
   
2. 2.
   Combine the curry powder, pineapple, pineapple juice, scallion, mayonnaise, bell pepper, and garlic powder in a medium mixing bowl. Fold in the warm rice. Combine thoroughly, cover, and chill at least 1 hour (overnight is fine).
   
3. 3.
   Thaw the peas; drain and toss with the shrimp and ham. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the shrimp mixture. Chill in the refrigerator.
   
4. 4.
   About an hour before serving, gently combine the shrimp mixture (after draining the liquid) with the rice mixture. Serve mounded on large lettuce leaves. Garnish as desired.
   

Variations:
Paella, the hot dish, also features sausage, chicken, and other shellfish like scallops, mussels, and clams. Any of those would be wonderful in this salad.

Make ahead?
Yes, up through step 2 or, depending on your schedule that day, through step 3.

For large crowds:
Easy to expand, but if budget is a concern, use a lesser amount of shrimp; it will still be wonderful.

Recipe from
Albertina’s Restaurant
, Portland, Oregon

Serves 6–8

The combination of cooked and fresh blueberries is an inspired idea. If you don’t have a springform pan, a regular pie pan is fine.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₈
  teaspoon salt
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small chunks
  
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  

• 5 cups blueberries
  
• ²
  ⁄
  ₃
  cup sugar
  
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₈
  teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  cup heavy cream, whipped and sweetened
  

1. 1.
   Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan or pie pan.
   
2. 2.
   Make the crust: Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter, and pulse until the dough resembles coarse crumbs. (Or, rub the butter into the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.) Sprinkle vinegar over the top and pulse until a ball starts to form. Remove the dough and press it into a ball.
   
3. 3.
   With lightly floured fingers, press the dough into the prepared pan. It should be about
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₄
   inch thick on the bottom and extend 1
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₄
   inches up the side.
   
4. 4.
   Make the filling: Put 3 cups of the blueberries into the crust. Combine the sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and sprinkle this mixture evenly over the berries. Bake the tart in the lower third of the oven for 25 minutes, until the berries have cooked enough to release some juice.
   
5. 5.
   Remove the tart from the oven and gently stir the filling. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer, until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling.
   
6. 6.
   Scatter the remaining 2 cups berries over the tart and cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream.
   

Make ahead?
Sure.

For large crowds:
Make the recipe multiple times, rather than trying to double the ingredients.

Serves 6–8

Marionberries are unique to Oregon. They were created by one of the talented horticulturists at Oregon State University, who crossed two blackberry hybrids (Chehalem and Ollalieberry) to create a brand-new cultivar that he named after Marion County, where the experiments took place. The berries are large (about the size of the first joint of a man’s thumb) and unbelievably sweet. I understand they are sometimes shipped to other regions, but if you can’t find them, any type of blackberry will be as good. Almost.

• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup cold water
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 4 cups marionberries or blackberries
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₂
  teaspoon salt
  
• 4 tablespoons butter, cut into small bits
  
• ¹
  ⁄
  ₄
  cup boiling water
  

1. 1.
   Preheat the oven to 400°F.
   
2. 2.
   Make the filling: Combine the cornstarch, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan, and stir until the cornstarch dissolves. (Incidentally, cornstarch dissolves
   only
   in cold liquids, so don’t even try to add it to something hot.)
   
3. 3.
   Add
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₂
   cup of the sugar and gently fold in the berries. Simmer the filling until the juices thicken, about 5 minutes, then transfer to a 9- by 12-inch baking pan. (Or make the cobbler in a cast-iron skillet; see note below.)
   
4. 4.
   Make the dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining
   ¹
   ⁄
   ₂
   cup sugar in a mixing bowl. Cut in the butter, and then add the boiling water and stir together into a soft dough.
   
5. 5.
   Place spoonfuls of the dough evenly over the hot berry filling. You don’t have to cover every inch, but gently smooth out the dough so it’s more or less flat, not mounds as if you were making drop biscuits.
   
6. 6.
   Place the baking pan on a cookie sheet that you have covered with foil (to catch the inevitable drips), and bake until the dough is golden, 25 to 30 minutes.
   
7. 7.
   Serve the cobbler warm with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or just a Cheshire Cat smile.
   

Variations:
Add
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon vanilla extract to the berry mixture. Add
¹
⁄
₂
teaspoon allspice or ground cardamom to the biscuit dough. A sprinkle of organic sugar over the biscuit top is nice too.

Make ahead?
If you must, but it’s so much better warm from the oven.

For large crowds:
This recipe doubles quite nicely.