First Day of Summer Vacation

Nick and his dad went to the Printer's Row Book Fair yesterday and picked up a kid's cookbook that is part of the marketing juggernaut for the new Pixar film, Ratatouille. He pretty quickly found a few recipes that he wanted to try, so we have spent the first day of summer vacation shopping and cooking. For breakfast, he made crepes. Actually, we prepared the batter last night before bed; a quick whisk this morning, a hot pan and some butter, and we were in production.

Lacking any really tasty fillings (Nutella, bananas, chocolate chips, fresh berries, whipped cream), we had to make do with peanut butter and jelly, with a dusting of powdered sugar on top.

Dinner was a much more elaborate affair. Nick wanted to try vichyssoises, which sounded perfect to me on a warm summer day. He was also intrigued by a recipe for "faux escargots," essentially pinwheel sandwiches with a gherkin dressed up with chives tucked underneath. Actually, they were kind of cute.



(Of course Nick's dad had to add the tongue to his.) The soup was wonderful, rich and velvety, with a great fresh green edge from the leeks. Simple to make, too--just boiled potatoes, leeks, chicken stock, salt and pepper, with a little (OK, a lot) of cream added at the finish. Definitely a keeper.