Homemade soup is quick and easy, despite what you've heard

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I recently came down with a bad cold that prevented me from writing up this post earlier. But now that I am restored to health, I am returning to soup. There is an odd notion in this country that the making of soup is a long, involved, laborious process. I have no idea where this belief comes from [cough—Campbell's—cough], but I am here to debunk it; the vast majority of soups can be made in less than an hour. And yes, while there are some labor-intensive soups out there (I’m looking at you, French Onion Soup), you can make homemade soup on a weeknight without straining yourself unduly.

Traffic Alert

Let's be careful out there, folks. 

Cooking under the weather

Here’s a quick dish that I almost didn’t post because it’s pretty trivial, really. But there has been a clamor for more posts. Really, there has been . . . seriously . . . OK, fine, one person asked me. So here’s a quick one to tide us all over until I have the time and energy to post something more substantive.

Timing

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about cooking Christmas dinner, and the subject of timing came up—specifically, the subject of how to time a dinner party or holiday party so that the dinner was ready when the guests were ready to eat (or vice versa, I suppose). It’s exceedingly frustrating to try to have people over for dinner, only to find that the turkey you have been lovingly roasting all afternoon is done 3 hours before anyone arrives, or that your guests are on their fourth round of cocktails and you’re still in the kitchen, frantically trying to convince the beans to soften, or the onions to brown, or whatever.

Lentil Cassoulet

We inaugurate the new year with another Julia-Child-inspired recipe, alternately known as Lentilles Garnies or Lentilles en Cassoulet, or Gratin of Lentils with Meat. Given my day job, it borders on heretical for me to say that the English version of the name is the least poetic, but there it is. Let's compromise and call it "Lentil Cassoulet."