Makes about 9 cups, 4 servings
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 30 minutes

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
8 ounces Canadian bacon
1 medium onion
2 medium celery sticks
1 pound boiling potatoes, such as Yukon gold or Red Bliss
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 2/3 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned broth
3 cups whole milk
12 ounces smoked trout fillets
Smoked paprika, for garnish
Chopped fresh dill leaves or parsley, or chopped chiles, for garnish (optional)

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Medium chop the Canadian bacon (about 1 3/4 cups) and add it to the saucepan; cook it until it turns light brown, about 5 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside.

Finely chop the onion (about 1 cup) and celery (about 1 cup). Reduce the heat to medium-low; add the onion and celery to the saucepan and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes and cut them into 1/3-inch cubes; finely chop the thyme (about 2 teaspoons).

Add the flour to the saucepan and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and milk and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly. Add the potatoes and thyme and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove and discard the skin from the trout. Break the flesh into bite-size pieces (a little more than 2 cups) and add them to the pan along with the reserved bacon; cook until heated through. Serve the soup sprinkled with paprika and chopped herbs or chiles, if using.

Photo by Elizabeth Watt

With asparagus in high season, this is a delicious way to start a special meal. My favorite way to cook asparagus is to roast it at high heat which caramelizes and concentrates its flavor. After it’s been roasted, asparagus dresses up very easily. In this recipe from Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, I have put it on grilled bread, tossed it with a little balsamic vinegar and white truffle oil, and finished it with some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano. Simple as it is, people go crazy for this hors d ‘oeuvre. You can grill the bread and roast the asparagus a day ahead. Just don’t toss it with the vinegar and truffle oil until the last minute.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and discard. Peel the stalks of the asparagus halfway up the length and arrange in one flat layer over the bottom of a roasting pan or baking sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast on the middle rack of the oven until just tender, about 10 minutes. Cool and cut in half crosswise.

Prepare a charcoal fire. When the flames have died down and the coals are glowing, place the grill 3 to 4 inches from the source of heat. Alternatively, preheat a grill pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Grill the bread until lightly toasted, turning often. Rub one side of each slice with the cut garlic clove while hot.

Using a swivel-bladed peeler, shave large paper-thin slices of cheese off the wedge, making enough cheese slices to cover the 6 slices of bread. (Reserve any remaining cheese for another use.)

Cover the bread with the cheese. Toss the asparagus with the vinegar and half the truffle oil. Season with salt and pepper. Top each slice of bread with asparagus, mounding it in the center. Drizzle with the remaining truffle oil and serve at room temperature.

One of my husband Bill’s favorite dishes is Vitello Tonnato. Cold sliced veal with a tuna sauce. It is an Italian version of surf and turf. Trying to imagine another recipe on which to use this tasty sauce, I thought of eggs. I love stuffed eggs. My mom has never stopped making them, even when the food police declared them taboo. Fortunately, as of October 2000, the position of the American Heart Association is that an egg a day is OK. Eggs and tuna, like veal and tuna, are a happy marriage, and a couple of these stuffed eggs are substantial enough to make up a light lunch.

Although I know that you can add cream of tartar or white corn syrup to prevent crystallization in the finished frosting and when making peanut brittle you add baking soda to give the clear sugar syrup the characteristic porous texture, I also know from baking that if there isn’t enough acid in a mixture to neutralize the soda, it will leave a bitter, soapy taste. I couldn’t think of any positive reason for adding baking soda to Caramel Frosting so I asked my friend and mentor, Jean Anderson (author of From A Southern Oven) what she knew about baking soda in caramel frosting. She said, “I see no need for it.  You’re just adding more sodium. If a little cream of tartar has been added to the caramel syrup to prevent crystallization, this tiny bit of added acid may be why some recipes call for soda – “to temper it.”. . . I personally wouldn’t add soda.”

Serves 4 to 6

1 pound ground chuck
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 pound cultivated white mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry sherry
2 cups chicken stock or canned broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup sour cream
Additional kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine the chuck, half of the chopped onion, the garlic, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup water in a large bowl. Mix well and form meatballs that measure about 1 inch in diameter.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook, shaking and turning, until well browned, about 5 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan; work in batches if necessary. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Pour off any excess fat from the skillet, leaving 3 tablespoons in the pan and add the remaining onion. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the liquid they give off has evaporated, 7 to 10 minutes. Pour in the sherry, increase the heat to high, and boil until almost all the liquid they give off has evaporated. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.
Rub the butter with the flour in a small bowl until it forms a smooth paste. Pinch off pea-size pieces and add little by little to the boiling sauce, whisking constantly for 3 minutes. Add the meatballs, stir in the dill and sour cream, season with salt and pepper, and cook over low heat until the meatballs are just heated through. Serve hot.

This is a recipe I developed while working in the Gourmet magazine test kitchen. It is so easy and versatile that I use it as the basis for any biscuit-related recipe I make. See Apricot Scones (p 302) and Biscuit Sticky Buns (p 303) in Sara Moulton Cooks at Home, and Egg, Canadian Bacon, and Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches (p 103) in Sara’s Secrets for Weeknight Meals.

Makes 4 sandwich-size biscuits or up to 12 smaller ones