Stuck inside? Try this tasty soup!

If the weather has you stuck inside with some time on your hands, try creating this delicious soup! This recipe is from our French Cooking Series, adapted from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Potage Parmentier (Leek and Potato Soup)
Serves Six

INGREDIENTS
3 to 4 cups or 1 pound peeled potatoes, sliced or diced
3 cups or 1 pound thinly sliced leeks including the tender green (you can substitute yellow onions if you don't have leeks)
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon sa4 to 6 tablespoons whipping cream or 2 to 3 tablespoons softened butter
2 to 3 tablespoons minced parsley or chives

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Simmer the vegetables, water, and salt together, partially covered, for 40 to 50 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
2. Mash the vegetables together in the soup with a fork, potato masher, or similar utensil, or pass the soup through a food mill.

3. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

4. Set aside uncovered until just before serving. When you're ready to finish the soup, reheat to a simmer.

5. Turn off the heat and just before serving stir in the cream or the butter by spoonfuls until you reach your desired consistency.

6. Pour into a tureen or soup bowls and sprinkle with the herbs.

ENJOY!

Our next FRENCH COOKING WORKSHOP begins April 7! Reserve your spot soon - the seats sell out quickly!

About our French Cooking Workshop, inspired by Julia Child:

In this series we'll be exploring the world of French cuisine using recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. At the end of this six-class workshop you will have hours of practice in basics like knife skills, sanitation, classic cooking methods, product identification, seasoning, proper use of herbs, and of course - extensive practice of traditional French techniques and plating principles!

During each session we'll create classic recipes from the book, then an authentic French dish with a modern twist.

WEEK ONE: Preparing Hot & Cold Hors d'Oeuvres
Sample Menu
Fonds D'Artichauts au Gratin (Stuffed Artichokes au Gratin)
Petits Choux au Fromage (Cheese Puffs)
Rilette de Saumon (Salmon Rilettes)

WEEK TWO: Preparing Classic Sauces
Sample MenuBechamel Sauce
Veloute Sauce
Espagnole Sauce
Classic Vinaigrette
Filets de Poisson Gratines, a la Parisienne (Fish Filets Poached in White Wine and Cream)
Baked Chevre Salad with Lavender Vinaigrette)

WEEK THREE: Preparing Hearty Soups
Sample Menu
Potage Parmentier (Leek and Potato Soup)
Soup au Pistou (Provencal Vegetable Soup with Garlic, Basil, and Herbs)
Forest Mushrooms Consomme with Foie Gras Croutons and Chervil

WEEK FOUR: Preparing & Plating Composed Salads
Sample Menu
Classic Salade Nicoise
Crispy Fried Sea Scallops over Peppercress Tossed in Dijon Champagne Vinaigrette

WEEK FIVE: Seafood Fabrication & Preparations
Sample Menu
Thon a la Provencale (Tuna Steaks with Wine, Tomatoes, and Herbs)
Pan Roasted Halibut over Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Vegetable Fricassee

WEEK SIX: Poultry Fabrications & Preparations
Sample Menu
Poulet au Porto (Roast Chicken Steeped with Port Wine, Cream, and Mushrooms)
Chicken Fricasse with La Fricasse de Champignons Sauvages au Cognac (Fricasse of Wild Mushrooms flambeed in Cognac)

Both Martha Stewart and Ina Garten (of Barefoot Contessa fame) kick started their culinary careers by working through the recipes in the book. The methods and techniques you'll learn will provide a solid foundation of culinary knowledge, and practical applications that will open a new world of possibilities in your kitchen!

Martha and Ina aren't the only ones inspired by Julia. The novel Julie and Julia by Julie Powell is about a woman who, facing a quarter life crisis, makes it her mission to cook every recipe in the book in one year. Soul-stirring revelations (and a lot of kitchen hilarity!) ensue.

If you're in a recipe rut, a skills rut, or even just a life rut, this series is sure to spark a new passion for food and culture that will whet your appetite for richer, fuller life. You may not be the next Juila Child (or maybe you are!), but you'll walk away from this series with a greater appreciation for French food and wine, and the know-how to whip up a mean roast chicken, a perfect Nicoise salad, and more!

Our students creating Creme Brulee, a classic French dessert

Success!

The Avgolemino soup was a success, and because I knew it tasted very close to my grandmother's soup I decided (at the last minute) to invite family and friends over for a birthday dinner for my Dad. 

To do something so last minute was logistically insane. I really didn't have the time to cook or the energy to shop, cook, host and clean, all while juggling a toddler. And what's worse I promised my husband we'd play nine holes of golf on Monday (our day off).

So, the morning started with a Red Bull. Our daughter went to pl

ay with her grandmother, JP and I shot nine holes of golf at Rock Creek Park, then hit Harris Teeter on the way back, picked up the toddler, ran through the house with a dust cloth and a vacuum cleaner, set a pretty cute table, and started to cook around 5pm. Guests were told to come at 5:30pm. Needless to say, dinner was served late--7pm or thereabouts. In my family, good scotch will save the hapless cook. I served plenty.

I practically stood over them while they ate the soup, making sure I got the right looks and comments. I was begging for it I admit it, but to me this

 was my grandmother's soup. My Aunt and Dad said it was "delicious." Trust me that is real praise. Full recipe (with secrets) below. The rest of the menu was simple: beef tenderloin, cauliflower au gratin, pomme frittes and Harris Teeter's double chocolate cake.

Full Avgolemino Soup:

Chicken Stock:
1 package (1lb) chicken drumsticks (thawed or fresh)
1 package (1lb) chicken backs and necks (thawed or fresh)

1 package (1lb) chicken hearts and gizzards (fresh)
4-5 Quarts of water (an inch over the top of the ingredients)
5 Stalks celery, halved or chopped
4 Medium carrots, skinned and chopped
1/4 Onion, quartered
5 Sprigs of fresh flat leaf parsley
3 Tsp salt
3 Tsp pepper

Bring to a boil all ingredients, reduce heat to the lowest setting, simmer for 7-9 hours. Simmer with the top ajar to let the steam out. Make sure you watch the heat or your stock will reduce to chicken soup concentrate.

Bechemel Sauce:
2 Tsp butter (Presidential or Irish)
2 Tbs flour

4 Cups scalding hot milk

Whisk the first two ingredients until blended.
Pour milk slowly into butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly in the same direction. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, constantly stirring for about 20 minutes. Sauce will thicken.

(Secret: If it gets lumpy, simply strain it after it's cooked, put it back in the pot, and put Saran Wrap directly on the sauce so it doesn't form a skin when it cools.)

Egg & Lemon:
(Secret: The more egg yolks the richer the soup).
5 Eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice (This is a taste preference. You can do less or more.)

In a bowl, separate eggs, keeping the yolks. While whisking, add a little lemon juice at a time to the eggs. Keep stiring in the same direction.

Assembling the soup:
Heat up the stock if you've let it cool. Some people make it the day before and store it in the refrigerator. If it's cold and gelatinous, heat it slowly, constantly stirring.

Add the bechemel in teaspoonfuls while constantly stirring the soup. Take your time with this step. You might not want to use all of the bechemel as your soup can get heavy. I used about 4 Tbsps of bechemel for 3 quarts of stock.

After you have blended the eggs and the lemon juice in a separate bowl, slowly add the hot chicken soup to the egg and lemon, one cup at a time, constantly stirring. This is the phase where the lemon and butter meet and might separate, or curdle. To keep this from happening always stir slowly and in the same direction.

Then you now have to transfer the egg, lemon, chicken stock with bechemel to the larger pot of soup. Again, do it slowly and stir in the same direction.

That's it.

By the way, omit the bechemel and this is the best home remedy for a cold.

Questions? Leave it in the comments!