Family Dinner with JP

Sometimes (all day every day) I think I'm much cooler than I actually am. So when I excitedly told Laura that I got heirloom beans, I genuinely expected a response along the lines of "Oooooh! What are those?!" or "Where on earth did you get those?!" Instead, I received a very mundane, unimpressed "From Rancho Gordo?" Because, as Laura pointed out, who else sells heirloom beans? Still, I was grateful when Laura lent me her Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans cookbook. Beans - incredibly versatile, incredibly varied. For this adventure, I opted for some hearty soup to warm me up in the impending rainy snow of winter. This soup is really easy, though it requires the use of a stand or immersion blender. There are really three components at play that will be combined into the final served dish: the bean soup with chard; the croutons; and the poached egg. I've given a primer on poaching eggs before, but I will refresh your memory here. The...

Celery and Gin Tonic. Thai Celery Salad. Celery Soup. Layla suggested a challenge for me: a meal, all in one day, where the primary ingredient in each dish is the same. Yes, I thought, we SHOULD do an all-scrapple extravaganza! Note to my readers: This is not the first time my brain has suggested such a scrappling. I once deemed it the Festival of Scrappleclap. Attendance was low to non-existent. But no, Layla wasn't talking about everything from the rooter to the tooter (thanks, Marq, for teaching me that one). She actually suggested a Tomatoing whilst they were still in season. Instead, for a multitude of reasons, I missed the season. (Editor's Note: Turns out I DIDN'T miss the season!) Then the new issue of Bon Appetit arrived ... The thing about celery is, no one actually likes celery, right? Its the vanilla ice cream of vegetables, right? Celery is nothing but crispness, no flavor, best utilized for dips and peanut butter with raisins. Buy it, chop it into ...