How to Keep Your Gwyneth Paltrow Recipes From Tasting Like Goop

So tomorrow I start my Bar Review Course. Today I watched a video basically detailing everything I would need to know for the bar, including about 10 statements effectively telling me not to panic, which of course made me....panic. Once the hyperventelating subsided, I vowed to take my last night of unofficial freedom to relax, listen to the thunderstorm rumbling outside, and blog.

The first thing I want to talk about has to do with me acquiring a new, albeit odd and unexpected, cooking hero: Gwyneth Paltrow. Before you start...I know!Her only previous connection to me was the occasions I would read Goop to enjoy listening to the advice of a famous and (for lack of a better term) spoiled women who is out of step with reality enough to think her privileged-subsidized life makes her relate-able to the masses simply because she is a wife and mother. Such a reality disconnect makes her advice FANTASTIC! I have come to delight in her misguided advice, for example her helpful suggestions on which $825 Colonel Littleton No. 3 Grip bag makes the best personalized gift for the holidays (mind you that bag is heavenly) If you don't believe me check out this article comparing her day to an real average womens day by Gawker...you'll understand then.

But I just recently read her article in Bon Appetit and have to say I appreciate her candor about her sordid dietary past. I mean the women was once a macrobiotic. Outside of sounding a lot like a bacteria that lives in your intestines aiding digestion, it's the single most unappealing way to eat I can imagine. I mean it. Fuckin Google it....much like communism it really only seems good in theory.

But she seems to embrace most of all the culinary adages I do. [ie, clean as you go, make it fun; not complicated, and drink when you cook]. So I have to admit I will judge her less harshly from now on.

OK maybe not.

I will however try her Corn Vichyssoise recipe (Via Bon Appetit):

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium leeks, white and light-green parts only, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
5 ears shucked corn, kernels cut from cobs, cobs reserved
1 cup coarsely chopped peeled potato (about 1 medium)
4 cups good-quality vegetable stock
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add corn kernels, reserved cobs, potato, and stock. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover with lid slightly ajar, and cook until the vegetables are very soft, about 35 minutes.
Discard corn cobs; let soup cool slightly. Working in batches, purée soup in a blender until very smooth. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl; strain, discarding solids. Chill soup until cold. If too thick, thin with water by 1/4-cupfuls. Stir in lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Spoon a dollop of crème fraîche atop each serving and sprinkle with chives.

I should also mention that this months Bon Appetit has a pretty exciting section on frozen desserts (which may or may not be tempting me into making a Semifreddo). Once of the recipes, therein contained, is for a Paleta, which is a Mexican style Popsicle made with chunks of fruit. I first heard of them a week ago when I was made aware of a book that was published called Paletas, that focused on these frozen concoctions. Since then they seem to pop up everywhere. So I have decided to make one, namely a Spicy Pineapple Paleta which uses Jalapeño, Pinapple and Lime juice. I shall keep you posted on the results.