Soup for summer

Ahhh book group. It has been a while since I posted about book group--I think I spaced out on bringing my camera a couple of times, but this past Wednesday I found myself at Meagan's with my camera and a hearty appetite. I wasn't terribly thorough in the photography department so missed out on taking pics of appetizers (fig-goat cheese tapenade) and dessert (fresh strawberries and alfajores) but I got the food that was served in the middle!

Ami adapted a vichyssoise recipe to make this gorgeous cold potato garlic soup. It was velvety and rich, but also refreshing--not an easy juxtaposition to pull off (recipe below).
For dinner, Meagan made grilled trout stuffed with herbs and butter--both delicate and full of flavor. And there was a salad with strawberries and chive blossoms, watermelon feta salad, sauteed garlicky greens and bread. Ooof.
Oh yea, and there was a book! I confess I didn't re-read Monsters of Templeton despite enjoying it a great deal the first time I read it. So my contribution to the conversation was pretty minimal. After some intelligent sounding discussion of the different "historical" artifacts in the book and an agreement that the stories of the past were more compelling than the life of the main character in the present, I commandeered a copy of the book and forced everyone to sit quietly while I read the monster's epilogue out loud (I'd had a few glasses of wine which, as you can see, makes me a bit of a bore.) The sweet people in my book group tollerated my behavior and perhaps looked on a with a little amusement as I got all choked up when I read about the monster giving birth and dying--so beautiful.

Ami's Cold and Creamy Potato Garlic Soup
adapted from Vichyssoise

2 C finely diced raw potatoes
4 tablespoons butter
5 T minced garlic
3 C chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a dash of nutmeg
1 C heavy cream
3/4 C sour cream
1 C of milk
Chopped chives

Cook the potatoes in salted water to cover until just tender. Drain. Melt the butter in a skillet and add the garlic, cooking until fragrant. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes to the broth and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put this mixture in the blender (you will need to blend it in lots) and blend for 1 minute, or until smooth. Chill. When ready to serve, whisk in heavy cream, sour cream and milk. Garnish with chopped chives.