Go Big or Go Home

Today I went grocery shopping at one of my favorite stores on the planet.  It's not an artisan cheese shop, or a place that specializes in French macaroons (although I do love both of those things).  I went to Restaurant Depot.  This is the huge warehouse where restaurants go to get their supplies, if the name is not obvious enough.  You may have seen it on an episode of Top Chef.  This place seriously fills me with joy.  I love walking down the aisles with a giant flatbed cart and knowing that I can have my choice of 3 different brands of buckets of mayonnaise.  Yes, I said buckets- 10 gallon buckets, to be exact.  To me, this is hilarious.  Practical, of course, for a restaurant that makes a lot of... chicken salad?... but still.  And boy, are there some good bargains.  Costco and Sam's Club ain't got nothin' on the R.D.  Just to give you some perspective, I bought a 3 liter tin of extra virgin, cold pressed, imported Italian olive oil for $14.  This lasts me one full year, and I cook and entertain A LOT.  Among several other items, I was very excited to purchase a 5 lb. bag of leeks for $4.59.  That's 10 leeks, which would cost at least $12 at the regular grocery store.

What does a girl do with 5 lbs of leeks, you ask?  She makes vichyssoise, for starters.  I'm pretty sure it is a Gastronomic Law that we eat chilled soups at this time of year, and this one is my favorite.  I rarely use recipes,  but this one does come from Mireille Guiliano's book "French Women For All Seasons".  It calls for 4 leeks, 1 onion, 1 peeled potato, a quart of chicken stock (mine had homemade vegetable stock because I needed to use it up), butter, salt & pepper and dill.  This soup is brilliant because it gets all creamy and thick like a chowder, but it has zero cream and very little fat.  The potatoes make it silky, not the butter. To make it yourself, because you really should, just saute the leeks and onion for about 10 minutes, then add the potatoes and broth.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.  Season to taste, and add the fresh dill.  Use immersion blender or regular blender to puree until completely smooth.  Note: it takes longer with the immersion blender, but it is SO much less messy.  I once had an accident using the regular blender with this soup and spent 30 minutes cleaning it off of my ceiling, walls and floor.  Not fun.  Serve it chilled in coffee cups with a swirl of sour cream and fresh dill if you're feeling fancy.  Or, just eat it out of the pot like I did tonight because I was too starving post-workout to bother with a coffee cup or swirl of anything.

Part Deux of Operation Use-Up-The-Leeks was a Mediterranean frittata.  Fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olive cheese, basil, organic eggs and of course leeks.  Saute all the veggies in in an ovenproof saute pan until soft.  Whisk eggs in a bowl with S&P and add bits of cheese.  Pour over top of veggies and tilt back and forth so it sets.  Do not stir.  Cook for about 5 minutes and the edges are done, then pop into a 425 degree oven for another 5-6 minutes until cooked on top.  Divine.

Tomorrow night will be pan seared scallops on a bed of sauteed spinach and a fricassee of... you guessed it... leeks.  Bon appetit!