SippitySup

FoodBuzz Challenge #1: A Top 9 Of My Very Own

I started my blog Sippity Sup- Serious Fun Food, because, let’s be honest, I’m obsessed with food and I wanted to share of few of my favorite things. Things that help define who I am and what’s important to me. However, I very quickly discovered that my favorite things were shared by so many of you for very similar reasons. It took the blog for me to understand that why I cook is just as important as how I cook. So I thought I’d dig into the archives and bring back examples of Serious Fun Food– the kind of food that defines Sippity Sup and my attitude about blogging. Which will (I hope) prove to you that this blog deserves to move forward in this competition. Since this is FoodBuzz, and I can be a suck-up when it suits me, I thought I’d present my Serious Fun Food as a Top 9 of my very own. Now, these are not necessarily the most popular posts or even the best posts I’ve ever done. But they are a fun, colorful and delicious collection that does a good job of presenting my style, my voice– my blog.

Sippity Sup IconBecause Sippity Sup is about fresh takes on the familiar. My recipes tend to be simple, modern and colorful, with roots in traditional styles. I’m attracted to presentations that highlight some aspect of cooking, a particular flavor or an ingredient that I love. I’m drawn to simple pairings of diverse flavors. I draw on other cultures but am a slave to none. I think we should eat healthily, but prefer classic techniques using real ingredients. Including real fats. I think a bold hand and a deft palate allow the simple beauty of food to shine. Sometimes what’s not in a recipe can be every bit as important as what is. A scallop succotash with a hint of oregano does not need much else to somehow taste just like summer, only more so. I love beets with that gravely minerality – tasting of the earth. Good tomatoes are as close to perfection as anything I know. Finding preparations that highlight and accentuate these qualities is what I strive for. And though I am serious in my pursuit of these things, I believe food should be fun. Serious Fun.

CLICK on the titles below to see the entire post.

Top 9

lamb champvallonMeat & Potatoes: Rosemary Had A Little Lamb 

During my weeklong Meat & Potato series, I pulled out my Larousse Gastronomique and was introduced to one of Louis XIVs high falutin’ Parisian mistresses. I renamed her Rosemary for the purposes of this post ‘cuz she had a knack for the kitchen.

 

crepes suzetteInternational House of Pancakes! Crêpes Suzette

This came from another series. This time I was making pancakes from across the globe for seven days in a row! That’s a lot of flipping. But as this French version known as crêpes proves, not all Jacques flap! 

 

duck with applesAn Apple A Day Ends With Roasted Duck 

Guess what? Another weeklong series! This time the subject was apples and I used the opportunity to cook a whole duck. Something I had never done before this post, but thanks to Joel Robuchon I pulled it off easily. My brother Grant chose the wine.

 

scallops and succotashSweet on Corn- Succotash & Perfectly Seared Scallops

Sweet summer corn is an essential ingredient in succotash and it pairs wonderfully with scallops. But I demand perfectly seared scallops and am happy to pass along a few tips in getting scallops that remain rare on the inside with a crackly golden crust.

 

red beet fusilliRemembering Beets So Red It’s Fusilli!

Are you ready? I mean really ready! Because I’ve got a real showstopper. Red Beat Fusilli with Balsamic, Poppy Seeds & Mint. It started as a part of Cooking Red to Remember for World AIDS Day but grew into one of my most popular posts ever.

 

tomatoes and basilTomatoes & Basil: Simply Sliced and Served 

There’s a reason they invented the ampersand and Tomatoes & Basil is it. It’s a marriage of culinary audacity because this simple pairing of diverse flavors is as close to perfection as anything I know. The only question left to answer is, “Salt or No Salt?”

 

boulevardier cocktailBoulevardier (boo-luh-var-DYAY: Un Cocktail Sophistique

There’s a distinction between a good stiff belt & a cocktail worthy of a moment of pause. The pause that comes just before you pick up the stem, close your eyes & lift the glass. That brief, unconscious pause allows for the inhalation of electric current that floats right above or sits just on top the surface of a perfectly mixed beauty.

 

seafood velouteWhat I Don’t Know Will Thrill You: Bouillabaisse Velouté 

I went into this recipe thinking I knew exactly what I was going to do. In the end, I leaned a whole lot about classic French cooking.  Because the classic sauce and pillar of French cuisine known as velouté [veh-loo-TAY] can have a whole other life as a silky smooth soup.

 

catfishHoliday Catfish- Based On A True Story

Maybe catfish doesn’t adorn your holiday table. And I admit that sometimes I’ve been known to spin a yarn. A rather humorous yarn at that. But I swear Great Aunt Delores taught me a thing or two about cooking for the holidays and catfish made it all possible.

sippity supSERIOUS FUN FOOD

Greg Henry

Sippity Sup