The Chefs Dinner is a couple of weeks past now,
fabulous as always. We’ve been buzzing with guests and good food here and I am
fighting a deadline on our textbook revisions (should be done in a month,
except for the copyediting, etc.) but I do intend to get back to blogging – I
miss it.

Meanwhile, I had a request for the recipe for the sublime
watercress soup Chef Daniel Orr (FARMbloomington) made for the dinner and like the
good guy he is, he sent it right away. He  used rice as the thickener for
the one he made for the dinner, but says this one with potato is good too. Make
it quick, while the markets still have watercress – and serve it chilled!

Wild Creek Cress Soup

Makes 2- 2 1/2
qts.

5 bunches watercress-
stems and leaves separated

2  onions, sliced

6 cloves garlic

2 potatoes- cut in
rustic dice

2 parsnips- peeled and
roughly chopped

1  fennel bulb

1 cups white wine

2 qt. vegetable or
chicken stock

½  pound spinach

1/2  pound sweet
peas

1  apple- peeled,
cored and diced

Tabasco

Salt and Pepper

Sweat onions in a heavy
bottomed pot. Add chopped garlic and half of the chopped watercress steams. Add
white wine, stock, potatoes, parsnips and fennel. Simmer until potatoes and
parsnips are tender, then season add the watercress leaves, spinach, peas and
apple.

Return to a boil, take
off heat and puree immediately in blender. (note: puree mostly the solids at
first for you may not need all the liquid. You can always add more if you need,
but you can’t take it out.)

Cool the soup down fast
by placing the soup in an ice bath. Adjust seasoning and serve cold with
whipped crème fraiche and fresh watercress.

To serve hot reheat just
before serving. Great hot with oysters!!!