Thursday, July 31, 2008

Pear Soup #1

Oh, gah, don't look! Too ugly.
Looks like a schoolroom accident.
I just dumped this soup into what I thought was a photogenic dish and snapped away, using room light. I thought it was the best you could do, given the hideous appearance of the ingredients.
But look what Béa is capable of pulling off with a similar bowl of slush and peas: beautiful. Clearly, I'm not trying hard enough, and I now vow to try harder. Thanks Béa. I'm not sure if I'm being sarcastic.
Looks notwithstanding, however, it was a very tasty soup.
I sat down with a pen and notepad the other day and dreamed up 10 recipes for pear soup. This was the last one I thought of, and the first one I wanted to try.
I won't bother you with the proportions, but basically it was the milled pulp of about five peeled and cored pears, blended with chicken stock, cream, a little cooked rice, some chicken sausage sauteed in slices, and some onion slices sauteed in the sausage grease. Curry powder. Salt. And a handful of fresh, shelled peas.
The sweetness of the pears was reminiscent of the raisins or apples you might use as a condiment to flavor a traditional (well, Craig Claiborne-traditional, which is "not very") curry. And everything else just worked, in a blessed melange.
So, Pear Soup #1 was a success.
Nine to go, and we aren't even making a dent in the pear harvest.

15 comments:

kudzu said...

Hey--I was looking at recipes for bul gogi (boolgogi, whatever) and Koreans use pears in the sauce for that delectable grilled meat dish. Just thought I would tell you.

Zoomie said...

That Bea is _such_ a show-off! :-) I LOVE her blog for its beauty! And your soup sounds scrumptious!

Anonymous said...

Do not judge a book by the look. As long as it is tasty and delicious look does not matter

Ms Brown Mouse said...

It's Brutto ma Buono!

Kelly said...

according to my kids i often serve such school room incidents for dinner...hard to make lentil soup with carrots look anything but!

cookiecrumb said...

Kudzu: After I read your comment, I googled bul gogi and learned how the pear is used. To tenderize! Interesting. Cranky has already said he wants to braise some wild boar (from Marin Sun Farms) in pears. So thanks for a completely new idea.

Zoomie: She's awesome. I guess I'm not patient enough to set up such well-lighted shots with such clever props.

Soooooup: (I lost count of the O's in your name, heh.)
Well, I can say we certainly cleaned our plates! Can't wait to visit your blog; I LOVE soup.

Morgan: I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to Brutto ma Buono. :)

Kel: Eek! Kids are brutal. But between you and me, I have NO problem with lentils and carrots.

Michelle said...

Ha ha ha, I don't have patience for props either, but I would certainly eat any soup you made, cookie! (can I come out of my room now?)

kudzu said...

....try saying "googled bul gogi" three times, fast!

Cool idea to use pears with boar. I assume we're hear the results (and see them).

michael, claudia and sierra said...

pears... one of my favorite fruits of all time. i need to send you some shipping $...

cookiecrumb said...

Michelle: You can come out of your room now. Set the table, dinner's coming.
xx

Kudzu: I can't even pronounce bibimbap, heh.
Yes, we'll document the pear/pig proceedings. Backyard cayenne might go in there too. And the last of the oranges. Why does anyone use cookbooks??? (Oh, right. To learn what to riff on.)

Cook Eat Fret: I wouldn't have declared myself a pear lover, but I am now totally smitten. After you eat (even this silly curry soup) your mouth smells like flowers. Mmmmm. Somebody should invent pear perfume.

Nancy Ewart said...

Pear Perfume - I hate to tell you but somebody already has:

Dark Green Ilio D'Anjou Pear Fragrance

Since you have a surplus of pears, how about making pear chutney?

Plus, the soup sounds delicious

Michelle said...

Cookie, I promise it's not a meme (I know better!), but I've *tagged* you for something else on my site...go and see?

Unknown said...

Wow, congrats on a successful soup! (uh, I agree, the photo - it is um kinda like what Claire did in 7th grade when the substitute teacher thought she was being a bad kid and asking to go to the bathroom. Ha, that substitute let kids go to the bathroom after that.).

cookiecrumb said...

NamasteNancy: OK, but did you know that's a room deodorizer, more euphemistically called a house scent? Tee hee.
As for chutney, we're still trying to get through the quarts and quarts of it from last year. But yes, that was one of my first and favorite uses for them.

Michelle: That's really super nice! I'm honored.

Lannae: Snicker.

Passionate Eater said...

Hey woman, I think that your pic is beautiful too, and I agree with Zoomie, your pear soup post comes with a mouthwatering description, to boot!