BROCCOLI AND CHEDDAR SOUP WITH GARLICKY CROUTONS

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

Soup season is upon us. With temperatures entering frigid territory, now is the time to make this Broccoli and Cheddar Soup with Garlicky Croutons.

Can I let you in on a secret? On the whole, a big old bowl of soup doesn’t typically excite me.

While I’m oversimplifying the process a bit here, to make soup, you put a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it do its thing. Each ingredient gently imparts its flavor on its neighbor. Components like vegetables, legumes and grains soften until they can be slurped up with a spoon in one homogeneous gulp.

Yawn.

Who wants to eat something where the first bite tastes exactly like the last? While I know the answer to this question is “many people,” I crave distinct flavors and competing textures in every bite.

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SPICED RICE WITH CRISPY SHALLOTS, TOASTED ALMONDS AND YOGURT

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

Perfectly cooked rice is a thing of beauty. 90% of the time, I serve it unadorned alongside some other dish I’ve spent time on (like this crispy tofu and brussels hash!). But every so often I’m reminded that rice itself can be the star.

A recent picture on Yotam Ottolenghi’s instagram feed was just the inspiration I needed to dress up a pot of jasmine rice this week.

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STICKY RICE WITH CRISPY TOFU AND BRUSSELS HASH

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My love affair with tofu started somewhere around age 10. My favorite Thai restaurant (which was the only Thai restaurant within a several town radius of my own) served the most perfect fried tofu triangles with peanut sauce. The tofu was crunchy on the outside and moist and simply flavored within. Smothered in rich peanut sauce and quickly dipped in the restaurant’s bright nuoc cham, each bite was an adventure for my inexperienced palate.

This flawless little appetizer is the reason I’ve stuck with making endless rounds of mediocre tofu for decades, ever in the search of some cooking method that would replicate that early food memory. I’ve shallow-fried, deep-fried and roasted infinite sheet trays. I’ve drained and pressed tofu overnight in the refrigerator, frozen and thawed it, and worked with every texture from silken to extra firm. I’ve quick-marinated and left tofu to sit with seasoning for several days before cooking. While much of these efforts came with some reward, the texture has always been…meh.

It wasn’t until I came upon a recipe from Cookies and Kate that I discovered the merits of cornstarch.

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THE LAST TURKEY MEATLOAF RECIPE YOU’LL EVER NEED (AND A BONUS RECIPE FOR MEATBALLS!)

Posted on by Laura Geraty – By

A month or so ago, I made my favorite meatloaf recipe live on Instagram. It’s a love child of Bon Appetit’s Best Beef-and-Bacon Meatloaf and Food52’s Gluten-Free Turkey Meatloaf. I have been thinking of it since so grabbed all the requisite ingredients at the market this week. Alas, when dinnertime rolled around, I realized I didn’t have the full 80 minutes called for to make it in loaf form. (Have you ever dealt with a hungry toddler?)

So I translated the recipe into meatballs and love both versions so much, I wanted to make sure to document the recipes here.

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