Prep Class: Béchamel Sauce (e.g. "Basic White Sauce")

Béchamel sauce is considered one of the "meres" ("mother sauces") in French cooking. It is a quite basic white sauce that can be extended to all sorts of purposes. One of those purposes, of course, is in the creation of a gratin. The history of béchamel is a bit debated, but it was most likely created by Chef Francois Pierre de la Varenne (1615-1678). He was a court chef during King Louis XIV's (1643-1715) reign, during the same time that powerful financier Marquis Louis de Béchamel was there in court. La Varenne wrote Le Cuisinier Francois ("The True French Cook"), which included Béchamel Sauce - the first known place the recipe was seen in print. It is thought that he dedicated it to Béchamel as a compliment. Before you can make a proper gratin, you should master the technique of creating béchamel sauce. The core of making a béchamel is to make a roux - which you should know how to do by now if you tried to make my gumbo :). The most basic version comes from the master herself - Ms. Julia Child. From this core sauce you can build many others - including the necessary one for building the gratin.

Recipe: Roasted Curry Vegetable Soup

This was just so darn good, especially as the weather has gotten chilly around here...

Ingredients:

1 large rutabaga, peeled, cut into chunks

1 large russet potato, peeled, cut into chunks

1 large fennel bulb, fronds removed, cut into chunks

1 large cauliflower, separated into florets

1 large red bell pepper, cut into large chunks

1 large leek, ends removed, chopped finely

3 tbsp. minced garlic

3 tsp. curry powder

1 1/2 tsp. Chinese five spice powder

1 tsp. ground white pepper

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. dried mint

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1 tbsp. kosher salt

1 tbsp. ground black pepper

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1/2 cup water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place chunked rutabaga, potato, fennel, cauliflower, and bell pepper into a large roasting pan. Drizzle 1/2 of the olive oil over the vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with the kosher salt and black pepper. Use a wooden spoon to mix the vegetables well and ensure they are coated evenly with olive oil. Roast the vegetables for 35 minutes.

In a large stock pot, melt the butter in the remaining olive oil over medium high heat. Add the leeks and garlic, cover, and saute for about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add all the roasted vegetables to the stock pot. Add all of the remaining spices, chicken broth, heavy cream, and vermouth and stir well to combine. Raise heat to high and cook, uncovered, until boiling. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and recover and simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Using a hand blender, puree the soup until thick and creamy. Serve immediately.

Makes about 10 servings.

Recipe: Roasted Winter Squash Soup

The chill has set in... time for some full-on comfort. This was perfect for this winter evening.

Ingredients:

2 large russet potatoes, peeled, loosely chopped

1 large kubocha, acorn, or other winter squash - seeds removed, cut into wedges, skin on

1 1/2 cups of diced cured ham

4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry vermouth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 stick unsalted butter

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped leeks

3 tbsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest

1 1/2 tbsp. Herbs de Provence

2 tbsp. coarse sea salt

Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Place sliced squash onto a baking sheet and baste evenly with olive oil. Sprinkle 1/2 tbsp. sea salt evenly over the squash. Place into the oven. Place the potatoes into a pot and cover with water up to 1 inch above the potatoes. Put in 1/2 tbsp. of the salt. Bring water to a boil and then reduce to medium-high heat. Roast squash and boil potatoes for about 40 minutes.

In a large stock pot, melt the butter into the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chopped leeks and garlic. Cover and sweat the leeks for about 7 - 8 minutes. Drain the potatoes and remove the rind from the squash with your hands (painful process, but very worth it). Mix the two together and mash vigorously with a potato masher. Remove cover from the soup pot and add the diced ham and dry vermouth. Re-cover and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, heavy cream, all dry spices, and all of the potato and squash mash. Turn heat to high until boiling, then reduce to low heat and simmer uncovered for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Soup will thicken as it cooks. Serve with a French baguette.

Makes 4 dinner servings.