I recently spent a glorious five days with my daughter in Washington, D.C. She was in town for a conference; she lives in southern California and writes curriculum for charter schools in six states. She got us a great Airbnb and, while she took the Metro to her seminars in Arlington, I read, worked on my food series and watched a little basketball.

Most evenings we ate out, first at an adorable place called Match Stick (pizza and seafood), across the street from a Belgian restaurant called Belga. The next night we dined there and ate mussels frites and profiteroles.

The last night went to Hank’s and ate oysters and oysters and oysters. Of course, we didn’t have a chance to eat at the zillions of restaurants in the DC area, including six of which are owned by Ari Gejdenson, the son of our former congressman Sam Gejdenson. I feel another long weekend in DC on the horizon.

But enough about eating out. It’s time to cook at home, and I have friends coming for dinner in a couple of weeks. Of the two couples who will be here, Jill does not eat meat, so I am making a yummy soup I made years ago as a starter, then baked scampi, a big salad and some homemade bread. Dessert? Maybe crème brulee.

Cream of Cauliflower and Stilton Soup

From Gourmet a long time ago

Serves 4

One cauliflower, cut into florets

1/4 cup butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 leek (white and pale green parts only), chopped*

3/4 cups chopped celery

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups canned vegetable broth

1 cup (or more) milk

3 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled

Ground white pepper

Blanch 1 cup cauliflower florets in medium pot of boiling water until just crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water, drain well. Set aside

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, leek, celery and remaining cauliflower. Cover and cook until onions are tender but not brown, stirring frequently, about 8 minutes. Add flour and stir 2 minutes. Gradually stir in broth. Add 1 cup of milk. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover partially and simmer until vegetables are very tender and soup thickens, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Puree soup in blender in batches until smooth. Return to same saucepan. (Cauliflower and soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate. Bring cauliflower to room temperature before using.)

Bring soup to simmer, thinning with more milk, if desired. Gradually add Stilton, stirring until melted. Season to taste with white pepper and salt.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with reserved cauliflower and serve.

*Leeks can be sandy. Cut the leeks, and rinse them a few times in fresh cold water.

Lee White can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.