Strawberry Cheesecake Banana Bread

 

Oh, you read that right... Strawberry.  Cheesecake.  Banana.  Bread. 

Born from the need to use up very ripe fruit before it went to waste!  Truthfully, I was hoping the cheesecake would swirl into the bread more, but I think the cheesecake layer is just too runny for swirling into such a thick batter!  No matter!  It was just a delicious layer of strawberry cheesecake atop my banana bread!  I'm wondering if muffins would be a better form of this recipe?  To be tried next time!  In the meantime, I made it this way, I know it works, and I know it was bomb!

This band keeps popping into my punk stations on Pandora and when they come on, I'm always like, "Oh yeah, I like this song, who was this again?"  So I think it's time I buy an album or two!  The Loved Ones - Pretty Good Year.  -jen

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE BANANA BREAD
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 75-85 minutes
Resting Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Makes: 2 loaves

Strawberry Cheesecake Batter 

• 1 cup sliced strawberries
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (use 3tbsp if you like it on the sweeter side)
• 16-ounces cream cheese, room temp (2 bricks)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla

Banana Bread Batter

• 3 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups of ripe, mashed bananas (about 5 medium-sized)
• 2 eggs, slightly whisked
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (or vegetable oil)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease two loaf pans (9" or 10") with nonstick cooking spray or butter and set aside.

Place sliced strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar, set aside.  In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; make a well in the center.  In a medium bowl combine mashed bananas, 2 eggs, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and coconut oil, mix well.   Pour the wet ingredients into the well you made in the dry ingredients and mix by hand, just until all of the flour is incorporated.

Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, whip softened cream cheese.  While the mixer is running add the 3 eggs and vanilla and mix until completely blended.  Then add the strawberries and all of their syrup and mix until just combined and most of the strawberries have broken up.  (It will look like Strawberry Quik!)

The left pan is swirled, right is about to be swirled.

Set aside 1 cup of the banana bread batter and pour the remaining mix into the loaf pans, half into each.  Smooth it out until even.  (If you have extra strawberries, I think I'd add a bunch to the top of the banana batter before this next step!)  Then pour the strawberry cheesecake mix on top of that.  Take the set aside cup of batter and spoon 1/2 down the center of each loaf.  Take a butter knife and just zig zag across the whole loaf pan once, from top to bottom.  (It doesn't swirl well, but I think it gives the cheesecake batter something to "hold on to".)  Bake for 75 minutes and use a butter knife to check for doneness - stick the butter knife straight down the center of one of the loaves (the largest one if yours are uneven), then pull it out.  If it comes out clean, your loaves are done.  If you're using 9" loaf pans, you may need 10 more minutes or so - just keep checking with a clean butter knife.

Allow to cool at least 30 minutes in the loaf pans - the cheesecake portion will need to "set".  Then remove from pans, slice and serve!  (Since this has a top layer of cheesecake, I store leftovers in the refrigerator.)

Bruschetta

I had a craving for bruschetta, so we grabbed the ingredients to make it today.  Really... basil, garlic and tomatoes are one of my most favourite flavour combos!  They're so perfect together.  I didn't realize we didn't have a recipe for bruschetta posted!  You don't really need a recipe for bruschetta, you can make it any way you please.  But if you need a base recipe, this is a great one.  It's how I make it!

Fast and easy and a great way to use up tomatoes if you're one of those lucky people with a garden!  Or if you've been gifted with a bagful from a friend that's lucky enough to have a garden.

I don't think we've had any Ten Foot Pole with our recipes.  You might have known them in their previous incarnation of Scared Straight.  We're getting our rock on with their "Final Hours".  -jen

BRUSCHETTA
Time:  15 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  about 12

• 1.5 pounds of tomatoes (about 4)
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion (about 1/4 onion)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
• 1/4 cup julienned basil
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus extra
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 10 cranks of fresh ground blacked pepper
• dash of balsamic vinegar
• fresh mozzarella sliced thinly
• 1 baguette loaf

Julienned basil

Cut tomatoes into quarters and using your thumb, scoop out the seeds and juice.  (You can save this for a different recipe later or discard.)  Small dice remaining tomato meat.  In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar.  Toss and set aside.

Turn your oven onto broil.  Slice baguette on the bias to make large ovals.  Brush both sides with olive oil and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Toast one side under the broiler until golden brown, watching closely (it only takes 1-2 minutes to brown).  Flip and toast the second side until browned and remove.  Top toast with a slice of mozzarella and the tomato salad and serve.

Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits

When I moved to Northern California ten years ago, I noticed the biscuits here were different than what I'd grown up with in the midwest (which were southern style biscuits).  Here in NorCal, they make what I think of as "lumberjack" biscuits - they're dense and heavy, a little crumbly like cake.  Biscuits and gravy used to be one of my favourite things to order for breakfast, but I had to quit ordering it out here because I just couldn't dig on the cakey biscuits.

So... like everything else I'm dissatisfied with, I decided to make my own.  It took a couple of tries... but these are the perfect biscuit!  Better than most I've had in the midwest or south (someone's southern grandma is going to skin my hide for saying that).  Fluffy, flaky, buttery layers.  They're awesome.  Justin's been making them on a pretty regular basis... they're not difficult and they don't take much time at all.  The last couple of nights, we've been eating them as maple-sausage egg sandwiches, topped with our neighbour's homemade apple-jalepeño jelly.  (The neighbour guy gave us a bunch of canned jellies and jams when I took him and his dad some coconut-banana marshmallow squares!  Awesome neighbour bartering!)

I asked Justin what song we should use for this recipe... he said some Op Ivy sounded good to him.  I love "Unity", but I can't hear it without thinking of Dave Chappelle and the Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories with Rick James.... "UNITYYY!"  -jen

SOUTHERN STYLE BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

Time:  about 30 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Makes:  9 large biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (optional - we like them a little peppery)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cubed and cold + 2 tablespoons
• 1 cup buttermilk (or whole milk)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper.  Cut butter into flour until pea-size (you can use a dough cutter or just work it in with your fingers, but you don't want to handle the butter too much so that it softens).  Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add milk.  Stir or mix with your hands just until the dough comes together.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Dust the top of the dough.  Fold dough over onto itself 3-5 times - this is what creates flaky layers.  Press out into 3/4"-1" square.  Cut evenly into 9 pieces.  Place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and brush over the tops.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 12-17 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown and done in the center.

Buttermilk Biscuit Chicken Pot Pies

 

 

Tomato Gratin

I'd like to take credit for this awesome dish, but I really feel like I need to give credit where it's due - Ina Garten's Scalloped Tomatoes.  I went through and added what I wanted, subtracted what I didn't want and my methods were a little different.  But I still wouldn't feel right if I didn't give Ina credit, as her recipe is great.  Ours is just better.  (Sorry, Ina!  We love you!) Justin was baking us a loaf of boule the other day, but whether it was due to temperatures or humidity, it just didn't rise as much as he'd hoped, so it came out a little dense.  I'd remembered seeing Ina make her Scalloped Tomatoes recipe and thought our dense bread would be perfect for this... and it was! 

I wondered why this dish was called "scalloped"; it was my understanding that meant a dish was made with a cream sauce.  So I did a little researching on the magic interweb and it seems there are a few different definitions of what "scalloped" means in the culinary world.  While I didn't find a solid answer, I did find this article that summed up the variances nicely.  Still, I didn't know if I really wanted to call this recipe Scalloped Tomatoes - I didn't know if it would really explain what the dish was to someone browsing recipe names.  Now, the same website that broke down "scalloped" has this to say about "au gratin":  "Au Gratin means garnished with crumbs (usually bread) and grated cheese, then baked or grilled (aka broiled.)"  I think this definition fits the bill for my recipe more.  Now, because I don't speak french, I don't know if it's grammatically correct to call the dish a "tomato gratin" or "tomatoes au gratin" and I couldn't find an answer on that.

I'm not sure how we've done all these recipes and not used a Black Flag song yet.  What the hell is going on?!  Rectified now... Black Flag (with a long-haired Rollins) doing "Nervous Breakdown".  -jen

TOMATO GRATIN
Prep/Cook Time:  25 minutes
Bake Time:  35 minutes
Difficulty:  Medium
Serves:  6-8

• 2.5 pounds (10-12) fresh Roma tomatoes, diced (1/2") 
• 2 teaspoons salt
• olive oil
• 2.5 cups cubed artisan bread (1/2")
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup rough-chopped green or kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic (5-6 cloves)
• 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped or julienned, packed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a shallow 2-quart baking dish (8"x8") with non-stick cooking spray.

Place diced tomatoes in a strainer over a bowl.  Toss with salt and set aside.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat.  Add the bread cubes and toss in the olive oil to coat.  Let cubes toast into croutons, stirring often, until dark golden-brown and crispy, 5-8 minutes.  Add drained tomatoes, sugar, black pepper, olives, onion and garlic.  Cook an additional 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Transfer mixture into prepared baking dish.  Sprinkle Parmesan over the top, and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the Parmesan.  Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes.  Serve hot.

Herb and Cheese Focaccia

I'm not really into making bread... but I don't mind making focaccia at all.  It only takes 20 minutes to rise.  You don't have to do much kneading.  And the stand mixer makes it even easier (though it's not necessary.)  We've been making this recipe since I first moved out to California about 9 years ago and we like changing it up.  Pepperoni... grilled onions... green olives... jalapeños... different cheeses.  It's a pretty versatile recipe.  Sometimes we use the dough for pizza crust!  Sometimes we use it to make pepperoni twists or bread sticks.  I've sliced a loaf in half, made a pesto mayo, and then made a giant sandwich with pepperoni, salami, Mortadella, provolone... sliced it up into little finger sandwiches with toothpicks stuck through 'em and took it to a work party.  It's pretty great.  I made a quick and easy marinara dipping sauce to go with the pepperoni version I made today.

I was actually in a soul mood (as I often am)... usually I go with some 60s soul; Sam & Dave, Otis Redding, James Carr.  But today, I felt like some doo-wop soul and was listening to The Drifters, The Temptations, some old James Brown.  I couldn't really think of any punk covers of soul music... which is a shame, because those are probably my two favourite styles of music.  (Anyone think of any?)  But The Dirtbombs from Detroit came to mind... a little punk influence, some definite soul influence.  They seemed the way to go!  So here they are, doing "Your Love Belongs Under A Rock".  -jen

HERB AND CHEESE FOCACCIA
Time:  50-55 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Makes:  1 loaf

• 1 packet (1/4oz) quick rise yeast (or 1 tablespoon)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 and 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or any combination of dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, etc)
• 1 pinch black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (separated)
• pepperoni
• 2-3 tablespoons grated Paremesan
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, sugar and water.  Stir until dissolved.  Let sit for about 5 minutes until bubbles form on top.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and black pepper.  When yeast mixture has proofed for five minutes, mix in flour mixture and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.  If using a stand mixer, use the kneading attachment and knead dough for 10 minutes.  If mixing by hand, stir until combined.  Then on a lightly floured surface, knead dough by hand for 10 minutes until dough is  and elastic. 

Form dough into a ball.  Using 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil, lightly coat a large bowl and place dough into bowl, rolling around to coat with the oil.  Cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 20 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.  (I like to preheat the oven to 450 at this point and let the dough rise on the top of the stove towards the back near the heat.)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Beat down dough and place onto parchment paper, patting flat and forming into a 1/2"-3/4" loaf.  Using the remainder of the olive oil, lightly brush the top of the loaf.  Place desired amount of pepperoni over the top, then sprinkle Parmesan and mozzarella over it.  Bake at 450 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Cool and serve.

Apricot Poppy Seed Bread

About four days ago, I stopped at a local fruit stand that's set up in Fernbridge, California.  The apricots looked stunning, so I got a basket of them.  However, even eating two and three at a time, the two of us didn't get through them fast enough and they were getting pretty ripe.  So I made a bread out of their puree today.  It came out pretty great!  I was stoked!  Firm, but moist.  (Heheh...no time for that now!)  It smelled a lot like pumpkin bread when it baked.  I actually doubled the poppy seeds that I listed in the recipe and we both liked twice as many... but I sort of figured for the general public, halving them would be better.  Tasty bread!  It'd be yummy with a whipped apricot and cinnamon cream cheese!  Didn't have any cream cheese though.

Man, this is some newer Anti-Flag and I'm not real familiar with their later stuff.  I listened to a lot of their earlier music.  But this song... it just keeps getting stuck in my head.  It's catchy... despite or because of the hi-hat?  I can't decide.  Anti-Flag's "If You Wanna Steal".  -jen

APRICOT POPPY SEED BREAD
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty:  Easy
Yields:  1 loaf

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds fresh apricots, peeled, pitted and pureed until smooth
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricot

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the apricot puree, eggs, butter, vanilla, almond and mix well.  Add the dry mixture and mix just until combined.  Fold in poppy seeds, pecans and apricot.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.  Test by sticking a knife or tooth pick in the middle to make sure it comes out clean.  Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes.

Spiced Cider & Pumpkin Bread

Homemade pumpkin puree

I don't really get into the baking mood much, but on Christmas morning this year, I was overcome with the notorious holiday baking bug.  We had two sugar pumpkins getting pretty ripe, so we cut those suckers up and roasted them, then pureed the roasted insides.  I had some delicious, dark cider left over in the fridge, and thought I'd use that and mulling spices in the pumpkin bread!  It was great!  Not especially sweet, but very moist and spiced!  I think I might make this a Christmas tradition.

And nothing says Christmas like busting out some old school Agent Orange being "Too Young To Die".  (And, you know... pumpkins... orange... etc.)  -jen

Roasting sugar pumpkins

SPICED CIDER & PUMPKIN BREAD
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time:  60 minutes
Yields:  2 loaves 

• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup apple cider
• 4 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice 
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• zest of 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Generously coat 2 loaf pans with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

Combine brown sugar, pumpkin, eggs, vegetable oil and cider.  Add flour, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, cardamom, orange zest and baking powder and mix until thoroughly combined.  Stir in pecans and divide batter equally into the two loaf pans.  Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Cool on baking rack until room temp.

Note:  If you'd like to make your own pumpkin puree, quarter a sugar pumpkin and roast at 350 degrees F for 1 hour.  Let cool, remove skin, and puree in a food processor or with an stick blender.  A medium sugar pumpkin will yield about 2 cups of puree.  

Simple Boule

I've been trying to get back to baking more often as I grew up with my mom baking frequently, and as an adult have done less baking than when I was younger.  So, I've been trying my hand at breads lately and was suggested one by a good friend recently.  She is somewhat of a foodie herself and based on her recommendation I gave it a shot and succeeded beyond my wildest dreams.  This is a very simple recipe that you leave to rise overnight.  After 14 hrs or so of rising it's rolled one last time in some flour or cornmeal and it bakes in a dutch oven, which I'd never done before.  In any case, this recipe I'm posting is our variation of this recipe and has a couple of extra flavor enhancers tossed in so feel free to experiment cause it's hard to mess this one up.

And what would go better with baking some bread than Propaghandi with their early track titled "Who Will Help Me Bake This Bread" off of their album How to Clean Everything. - justin

Simple Boule
Time: 15 to 16 hrs
Difficulty: medium
Serves: 6-8

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sea salt (or 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt)
• 1 tsp herbs de Provence ( or 1/4 tsp each: thyme, fennel, basil, savory, lavender)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
•  3/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup milk (I used 1% milk)
• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

Combine the flour, salt, herbs, and garlic in a large mixing bowl.  Warm the millk and water to a lukewarm temp either on the stove or in a microwave safe dish.  The liquid should not be hot, merely lukewarm, no more than 115 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.  After five minutes add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to mix.

Just stir in the liquid until the dough forms into a ball and deposit in an oiled bowl that will have enough room for the dough ball to double in size.  Cover with a wet towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 6 hrs or so.

After 6 hrs or so make sure the dough has doubled in size.  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and fold onto itself a couple times, using a little flour to keep it from sticking to your hands and counter top.  After the dough has been worked back down to a smaller size, just a minute or two of kneading, return to the oiled bowl, cover again with a wet towel and let rise at least another 6 hrs. 

After the second 6 hr rising period, once again kneed the dough ball a couple times, no more than 2 or 3 folds, and let rise, covered, for a final 2 hrs.

30 minutes before you are ready to bake the bread pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.  Place an 8qt dutch oven inside to pre-heat along with the oven.  When ready to bake, place the dough ball in the dutch oven, seam-side facing up, cover with the dutch oven lid, and bake for 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the dutch oven and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Remove the loaf of bread and set on a rack to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.

Elvis Bread (Peanut Butter Banana Bread)

Well, we had some bananas sitting around getting old.  We had some organic peanut butter in the fridge, and we really don't eat peanut butter in our house.  So I decided I was going to make something with them.  I really don't enjoy baking much at all.  Sure, I'll make a cheesecake here and there, and sometimes I get a baking bug up my butt, but it's not something I really enjoy like cooking.  I Googled for different ideas - cookies, muffins, cakes, breads.  In the end, I didn't really like any of the recipes I found so I simply decided I was going to make peanut butter banana bread and come up with my own recipe by combining elements of recipes I found on line.  I was really happy with the results!  When we ate the bread by itself, the peanut butter flavour was really strong, but didn't over-power the banana, it was a nice balance.  When we made french toast with it, or toasted it with some butter (which was like waffles!), the peanut butter got a little weaker, but it was still freakin' delicious!

I still want to play with this recipe... being that I'm calling it "Elvis Bread", I so want to make it again and add a bunch of crumbled bacon to it!  I think it would be killer.  And I might add a little more butter, too.  Though the bread wasn't dry, I don't think it was as moist as I'd like it.  But until I make it again, this is the recipe I made the other night.

I'm torn about what kind of music to post.  It's Elvis Bread, so you'd think I'd have been listening to Elvis, but I wasn't (even though I love The King!)  I was actually listening to some soul music when I baked it (so you know it's was made with some love): Solomon Burke, Maurice Williams, Sam & Dave, Ike & Tina.  However, this is a punk rock cooking blog, and because the bread was made with bananas, the first song that popped into my head was The Dead Milkmen's "Smokin' Banana Peels" on the album Beelzebubba.  I remember discovering this album in 7th grade with the only other weirdo in school, my good friend, Nate.  Sneaking into the cafeteria with out little boombox, playing Punk Rock Girl over and over.  And so, rather than posting "Smokin' Banana Peels", I'm going with "Punk Rock Girl".  -jen

ELVIS BREAD

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 large)
• 1 cup peanut butter, melted (just throw in microwave for 30-60 seconds)
• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.  Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding more.  Add mashed banana and peanut butter.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Incorporate dry ingredients into large ingredients, a little at a time.  Batter will be very thick. 

Spray a cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Pour in batter and smooth until even.  Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a knife or toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Crab Bisque

So, when we did the crab stuffed sole, we had some canned, lump crab left over and were trying to decide what to do with it.  We "kicked" around a couple of ideas regarding croissants, avocados, Swiss cheese, and other accoutre mounts, but settled on a crab bisque since we both love soup and had been craving creamy, savory goodness for some time.  This was another amazingly simple meal to throw together with the crab on hand and took about 40 minutes to do, total.  Include some bread to sop up soup with, and maybe some steamed or roasted veggies, or a carb like rice or potatoes, and you're all set.

I was enjoying some Dropkick Murphys, live on St Patty's Day, 2002, as I made the bisque since they are the quintessential, east-coast punk rock Irish band.  And their ode, "Boys on the Docks" only seems all too appropriate for this recipe.  This is a later video but that's okay because how would you like to be this close to the stage in such a small venue for the Dropkicks?! - justin

CRAB BISQUE

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tablespoons shallots (or sweet onion)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter
2 cups crab meat
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon very dry sherry
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
salt to taste

Add the olive oil to a medium saucepan that's heated to medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook until golden brown.  Add garlic and lemon zest and cook 2 minutes.  Add flour and butter and cook 2 more minutes.  Add crab and parsley and cook 3 minutes, scraping,  making sure the mixture doesn't stick to the pan.  Add chicken broth and sherry, cover partially, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Add cream, cayenne, and white pepper, and add salt to taste.

Bread is a must for this soup!  This is rich and savory and creamy.  Some sourdough or crusty Italian bread will do nicely!  The sourdough is a nice accent to the richness of the soup and the Italian style loaves tend to be dryer and more absorbent.