A WinterSupper

What can be more fitting for a winter meal than a hearty soup?  Even though I am in Carlsbad, it feels like winter.  It's not like Mammoth of course, but there is a chill in the air.  

Company comes tomorrow: son, Dave and his wife, Anne.  I am making Fennel, Leek, and Potato Soup.  These three vegetables are like three cousins coming together for an evening meal.  Each loves and enhances the other two but all three together bring something special to the dish.  

2 fennel bulbs

2 medium baking potatoes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon oil

2 medium leeks (white parts only) chopped

2 quarts chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 teaspoons Pernod

Remove core from fennel and slice.  

Peel potatoes and chop coarsely.  

In medium soup pot, heat butter and oil until melted.  Add leeks and sauté. 

Add chicken stock.  Bring to a simmer.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes.  

Purée in a food processor then return to pot. 

Add salt pepper and Pernod.  

For the Lemon Tart

1 uncooked pastry shell

6 egg yolks

 1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Zest of 2 lemons

1/2 cup lemon juice

For the Grand Marnier Creme:

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

1 cup sour creme