Soup

  Dear SOS, I'd love to learn how they make the avgolemono soup at Taverna Tony in Malibu. It's scrumptious. Thanks for any help you might be able to provide! Megan Huard Woodland Hills Dear Megan: Taverna Tony was happy to share its recipe, which we've adapted below. Get baking: Have a favorite holiday cookie recipe? We want it. Join us for the first L.A. Times holiday cookie bake-off. Avgolemono soup Total time: 45 minutes Servings: 6 to 8 Note: Adapted from Taverna Tony in Malibu 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth, divided 1 small chicken breast 1 cup rice 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1/4 cup cold water 3 egg yolks Juice of 1 lemon, more to taste Salt 1. In a medium saucepan, bring 3 cups chicken broth to a boil.

Buellton, 25 miles north of Santa Barbara, has been known for just one thing: split pea soup. For years, Buellton was that midday rest stop on the way to points north where you lunched at Pea Soup Andersen's. No longer in the shadow of trendier neighbors Solvang and Los Olivos, Buellton has taken on a life of its own. It's a fun place to stay, explore, eat and drink - and I'm not just referring to wine. The bed Buellton has at least one remarkable place to spend the night, the Flying Flags RV park (180 Avenue of Flags; [805]

Ludo's ham soup Total time: About 2 hours Servings: 6 Note: Adapted from Ludo Lefebvre. He prefers using Madrange brand ham, available through select gourmet markets and online; other boiled hams may be substituted. 11 tablespoons (scant 1 1/2 sticks) butter, divided 1/2 yellow onion, diced 1 clove garlic, sliced 8 ounces ham, chopped 3 cups milk 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup chicken broth Salt White pepper 6 (1/4-inch thick)

NASCAR was so, well, last week. Now, it's off-road vehicles that will dominate the racing scene near Las Vegas. Fifty-seven souped-up “trophy trucks” will participate in Saturday's Mint 400 along a course through the Mojave Desert near the sleepy town of Jean (a town you see as you're driving along Interstate 15), about a half-hour drive from the Las Vegas Strip. The big trucks will begin kicking up dust as the featured race gets the green flag at 1 p.m. Saturday.

  Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, plus overnight soaking time for the almonds Servings: 6 to 8 Note: Adapted from "Made in Spain" by José Andrés and Richard Wolffe. 1 1/2 pounds blanched almonds 6 cups flat mineral or filtered water 2 cloves garlic 3/4 cup aged sherry vinegar, plus 1 tablespoon 2 1/2 cups Spanish extra virgin olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons 4 fresh black figs, quartered 1/4 cup roughly chopped Spanish Marcona almonds 1 tablespoon chopped chives 1. The night before, put the blanched almonds into a bowl, cover with the mineral water and soak overnight.

Tonight's dinner suggestion is a Culinary SOS request from Leslie in Mar Vista, who writes: "As an occasional special of the day, Bistro du Soleil in Playa del Rey serves an especially tasty apple-Brie soup. In fact, a friend sent an email to the restaurant saying that she was coming to celebrate her birthday with friends and asked if it would prepare the soup for that evening. The restaurant obliged, and I had a serving of the most delicious soup. Do you think the restaurant would further oblige and provide the recipe?"

  Leek, apple and thyme soup Total time: 1 hour, 10 minutes Servings: Makes about 3 quarts soup, 10 to 12 servings 7 leeks, divided 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 large onion, thinly sliced 2 to 3 large cloves garlic, pressed 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped 1 Red Delicious apple, peeled and chopped 1 3/4 pounds potatoes, peeled...

  Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try this or any other recipe from the L.A. Times Test Kitchen, we would like to know about it. Upload pictures of the finished dish here. Total time: About 1 hour, 30 minutes Servings: 8 VIDEO Click here to watch Times Food Editor Russ Parsons make this dish. 1/4 cup olive oil 2 carrots, diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 onion, diced 1 turnip, diced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 pound chopped mixed greens (mustard, kale, turnip, etc.)

Barely wilted watercress lends a wonderful shade of green to this soup, rich with Stilton cheese and garnished with toasted pecans. It makes a wonderful first course or light meal, and the whole dish comes together in about an hour. For more quick-fix dinner ideas, check out our video recipe gallery here . Food editor Russ Parsons and Test Kitchen manager Noelle Carter show you how to fix a dozen dishes in an hour or less. ALSO: Mac 'n' cheese recipes galore!

Total time: 45 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling Servings: 10 Note: From Douglas Keane at Market. 6 cucumbers, seeded and cut into 2-inch chunks (unpeeled) 3 avocados, peeled, pitted and cut up 2 cups plain yogurt 2 cups buttermilk 1/2cup red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon salt 6 fresh mint leaves, diced small 1. Combine the cucumbers, avocados, yogurt, buttermilk, vinegar, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Working in batches, purée in a blender until the soup is very smooth and well combined, 2 to 3 minutes each batch.

Greg Kinnear just might be the poor man's antihero. At a time when the television scene is seemingly at capacity with its band of flawed leading men plagued by moral ambiguity, the actor is tasked with dining alongside the brooding men of prestige television - the Don Drapers, Rick Grimes, Nucky Thompsons, etc. - as degenerate Keegan Deane in Fox's reworking of Australian-import "Rake," which gets its midseason unveiling Jan. 23. Only it's...

Shhh --  this is what I'm getting the husband for Christmas: a steel triangle dinner bell, to signal to guests that it's time to sit down at the table. They're inevitably an unruly bunch, wandering around the garden, rubbing scented geranium leaves between their fingers, calling up to find out what's growing on the trellis, whether they can pick some tangerines. Or getting so involved in storytelling that it becomes hard to herd them toward the table mid-story. But this is the solution.  And quite a handsome one. Designed by Pat Kim of (where else?

You don't just have to be a cereal or beer fan -- or a natural foods junkie -- to love barley. This ancient grain has long been used in a variety of ways, and it's perfect for adding substance and heft to a variety of recipes, from breads to soups and stews, as well as salads. Check out these ideas: Cucumber and yogurt soup with barley: For a soup at once filling and refreshing, you can't beat this recipe, which combines cool cucumbers and yogurt with fresh garlic, mint and dill, along with pearl barley and crunchy walnuts.

Total time: 40 minutes Servings: 6 to 8 Note: Adapted from Craig Strong, chef de cuisine, the Langham, Huntington Hotel & Spa. This recipe requires the use of a candy thermometer (or a thermometer reaching 265 degrees). 1 tablespoon butter 1 onion, finely diced 1 (2 1/2 pound) kabocha squash, peeled, cleaned and diced into 3/4 -inch pieces 3 cups chicken broth 2 cups heavy cream Salt Pepper 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup pecan halves 1/8 teaspoon espelette or cayenne pepper, or to taste 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds 1. Heat a 4-quart sauce pan or small pot over low heat.

Talk about corporate synergy: Campbell Soup Co. announced Wednesday it will start selling soup pods beginning next year that can be heated on Keurig brand coffee brewers. The K-cups, as the pods are known, will have a broth inside that can be brewed over a packet of dry pasta and a "vegetable blend garnish," the company said in a joint statement with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., the parent company of Keurig. “This innovative partnership is a win for consumers and for both companies, and represents another important step as Campbell expands into higher-growth spaces,” said Denise Morrison, Campbell's chief executive.

After Elmore Leonard died this week, his 10 rules of good writing were passed around like a favorite memory at a wake. He called this his most important rule: “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” The word “sounds” there is key, because Leonard was a master of the rhythm, the musicality, of language. Does it sound like something you would actually say? Good. Does it sound like you're showing off? Not so good. A few days later, I came across a list of the “25 Things Editors Need to Remember When Working With Writers.” I agreed with almost all of them, but two are things I absolutely do. And I bet Leonard did too: 13. Suggest that your writers read out loud to themselves.

If you need a first course for an elegant dinner, or just want to treat yourself, pick up Whole Foods' three-mushroom soup. The mushrooms--button, portabello and shiitake--are cut fine and blended into a base of vegetable stock and cream seasoned with Sherry and thyme. The flavor is rich, but the price is reasonable because a quart would easily make six first-course servings. Three-mushroom soup, $5.49 for 1 quart at Whole Foods markets. Barbara Hansen

Meals centered around soup are homey, comforting and easy to serve--especially if you've got a crowd to feed. In this menu, both the hearty old-fashioned lentil-and-barley soup and the cucumber salad can be made a day ahead. And each will actually improve in flavor. The foolproof Parmesan batter bread is best served warm from the oven, but it's easy to make since it rises only once (in the pan).

Just when you thought “Shark Week” was over … Seems the folks in Hawaii are experiencing real-life reruns of the Discovery Channel's popular week of shows on the toothy denizens of the deep. On Sunday, a shark attacked a Big Island surfer. That came fresh on the heels of an attack on a German tourist off Maui on Wednesday; she lost an arm. And that makes eight attacks in Hawaiian waters this year, according to my colleague John M. Glionna. Now, true confession time: I watched quite a bit of “Shark Week.” (Not “Sharknado,” though; I still have some standards)

Honda UK's Mean Mower can outrun some high-end sports cars -- and, yes, still cut the grass. “They know we're capable of design, but this was something outside of our normal line of experience,” said Peter Crolla of Team Dynamics Motorsport, which developed the mower for Honda. More than a PR stunt, the project emphasized Honda's credentials as a “sporty brand,” Crolla said. Two zippier cars, the Civic Type-R and NSX, are due out in the British market soon. PHOTOS: 10 cheapest cars that get 35 mpg or better The team set to work overhauling the guts of a traditional riding mower.