Fire & Wine – I did not boil my face off

I have a new toy.

Isn’t she pretty?

(Thank you, dear blogging friend.)

It seemed more than appropriate to bring back Fire & Wine (post wedding break) and christen the new toy.

And simultaneously try not to boil my face.

Because we all know, I’m not to be trusted with even the simplest of kitchen tasks. Inserting a whirling stick into a pot of hot liquid could (have) spelled disaster for me.

Luckily for all of us involved, I did not boil my face.

Instead, I made a most delicious (and not so nutritious) artichoke bisque.

The key to this (aside from avoiding molten splashback) was to distract my guests with tasty appetizers so that they didn’t notice the entire stick of butter going into the soup.

Hey, look over there! Rosemary flatbread, goat cheese and tapenade!

Butter? What butter?

See how that works? It’s easy.

So was the soup:

(Adapted from this Group Recipe for Fresh Artichoke Bisque.)

Directions:

Dice leek and soak in water to remove dirt. Remove pieces with slotted spoon and dry thoroughly. Give artichokes a rough chop and make sure they are dried.

In a large pot, melt half of the butter and cook the artichoke hearts, leek, garlic, and shallots on medium heat until tender but not brown. Add the potatoes and stock. Tie up the bay leaf, thyme, parsley, and peppercorns in cheesecloth and add to the pot. Increase heat to bring to a simmer, then lower heat and continue to simmer uncovered, 1 hour.

Remove and discard the herbs.  Whip out the new immersion blender and carefully blend soup.

Whisk in the remaining butter and the cream. Using a microplane, grate nutmeg over soup and serve.

Some notes: I might suggest adding another potato to thicken the soup a bit. I served with chibatta bread.