Soup Time!

Soup.  I could live on the stuff.  Connie, not so much.  In his book it's right up there with fruit.  Or, down there, I should say.  My stack of soup recipes rarely gets used because I get tired of the griping.  But, this weekend is an exception to the rule.  I'm making three soups. 

You see, I'm getting to meet one of my food blogging friends in person.  How much fun is that?  I'll head over to another food blogging friend's house and we'll all have lunch.  Liz will make the dessert since she's the baking pro.  Her blog is That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Not only does she have tons of wonderful baked goods there, she also has a boatload of wonderful entrees, side dishes etc.  The other blogger is our friend, Christiane.  She has a blog called Taking on Magazines.  You can find her as The Mom Chef.  Just like Liz's blog, Christiane's is loaded with fabulous recipes.  I've never made anything from either blog that I've not liked.  In fact as I type this I'm thinking about Liz's Mounds Bars and Christiane's cucumber salad...

After going through every sandwich on my blog and in my recipe box, I settled on crabmeat melts for our sandwiches.  They're a favorite from my childhood.  What better way to say hello to a friend than share a childhood memory? 

For those who'd prefer an entrée salad, I'm making Meridian Hills Special Salad.  Another childhood memory.  It's romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, turkey and ham topped with Caesar dressing and a bit of pickle relish. 

Last but not least, soups.  Pat King's chunky tomato soup sounded good.  But, Liz and I weren't sure if everyone in Christiane's family liked tomatoes.  So, a fallback was in order:  Cauliflower Cheese Soup.  It's from one of the first community cookbooks I ever got, Park Tudor Treasures.  My cookbook is marked "Excellent, 3/83" on that one.  It's proven to be the best cauliflower cheese soup ever.  In fact, I've given up making any other cauliflower cheese soups.  They just aren't as good so why mess with perfection?  Ok, that'd do it for this party.

And, what a party it was!  It was fabulous to meet Christiane and Doug and Sophie in person.

Ok, I have to put this in...  Liz has a great sun room that she uses for her photography studio.  Ergo, the wonderful photo of the tomato soup...  But, here's how Liz takes her overhead shots:

Looks fine, doesn't it?  Here's the rest of the story...  Now, I'm thinking Bill needs to get her a more stable set up for Christmas!

Then, there was Thanksgiving.  My brother John and sister-in-law, Pam host it every year.  John always does a turkey breast early so those who like cold turkey can have cold turkey.  He also does a turkey on the grill for those of us who want the regular Thanksgiving meal.  This year I took Mom's stuffing, Liz's spinach soufflé and persimmon pudding. 

Connie tells the story of his taking seconds of the cornbread stuffing his first mother-in-law prepared.  Later, his first wife asked him if he wished she could make it as well.  He confessed that he was just being polite but that, no, he really doesn't care for cornbread.  Needless to say, Mom's stuffing with cornbread and Pepperidge Farm white bread doesn't thrill him.  We're of the light and kind of moist but not soggy stuffing clan.  Pam's family is of the soggy white bread stuffing clan.  I do believe that's the Thanksgiving dish with the most variations nationwide.

Of course, Thanksgiving is always better with babies.  There's my Mom with her great-granddaughter, the paparazzi trying to get Charlotte to smile, Charlotte smiling with anticipation...  Yeah, I took mostly Charlotte pics.  I mean, who could resist?  She's SO cute!

Last but not least, our friend Kathy had back surgery.  I thought I'd take Kathy and her hubby Dan some soup.  So, I doubled the tomato soup recipe and made minestrone too.  There are funny stories about both.  The tomato soup recipe as written calls for "chicken broth."  Some have read it to mean a 46 oz can and some a 14 oz can.  As you might guess, it's a very different soup when prepared with that much broth.  I prefer the smaller can so it's more tomatoey.  Is that a word?  Well, it is for these purposes!  As for the minestrone, the recipe card says from MOM.  A few years ago I commented to her that her minestrone soup is my favorite of all time.   She didn't remember making it...  Isn't it funny how something that becomes a favorite in one household is a one and done in another?

Pat King's Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

onion
celery
carrots
2 T extra virgin olive oil
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T Italian seasoning
glob of garlic (that's what the recipe says, I think it's funny so left it in!)
chicken broth

Directions:

You're probably wondering how much of the vegetables???  Me too.  I always start with a medium onion or two and toss them in the food processor.  Then, once they're finely chopped, I toss them in a large saucepan with the olive oil and let them cook down a bit to release some moisture.  Then, I finely chop a couple of handfuls of the baby carrots and a few ribs of celery, using the food processor.  All of those plus the garlic and Italian seasoning go in with the onions.  Once everything is softened, I pour the tomatoes and a 14 oz can of chicken broth in.  Actually, we've switched to using Better than Bouillon so I make a couple of cups of chicken broth and pour that in.  Simmer, uncovered, for a couple of hours.  This is best served the next day.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Ingredients 

1 small head fresh cauliflower
2 c water
1/2 c onion, chopped (I just use a medium onion)
1/4 c butter
1/2 c flour
1- 2 T chicken flavored instant bouillon (we use Better than Bouillon)
2 - 3 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 c milk
1/4 t ground nutmeg

Directions:

Core the cauliflower.  Tear it into florets.  Cook them in the water until they're softened.  Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.  Set the cauliflower and the cooking liquid aside.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the onion and cook until it's translucent.  Stir in the flour.  Cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.  While that's cooking, reserve a cup of the cauliflower florets.  Take a cup of the cooking liquid plus the bouillon (we use better than bouillon and you may find you only need a tablespoon rather than the full two...) plus the rest of the cauliflower and process it in your food processor.  Slowly pour the rest of the reserved cooking liquid into the onion/flour mixture.  Stir constantly until it thickens.  Then, add the cauliflower puree followed by the milk.  Once it's a bit thickened, add the cheddar cheese and the nutmeg.  Heat through and serve.

Mom's Minnestrone

Ingredients:

9 c beef stock
1 1/2 c dried white beans (Great Northern or baby limas are best)
1/2 c olive oil
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c fresh green beans, cut into 1" lengths (a little north of a pound)
3 c diced zucchini (about 3 med)
3 c coarsely chopped cabbage (I use a bag of cole slaw mix)
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped carrots
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped celery
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped potato
28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, include juice
1 T crushed rosemary

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight.  Drain.  Pour the olive oil into a very large stock pot.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Then, add the green beans, zucchini, cabbage, carrots and celery.  Saute for another 10 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.  Lastly, add the potato, tomato, rosemary, beans and beef stock.  Put a lid on and cook on medium heat for several hours.  Here's the deal...  I always refer to the ingredients as collapsing to describe when they're done.  The soup can technically be done but not be right.  You literally need for everything to totally cook.  Taste along the way and you'll see what I mean.  This may take eight hours of cooking to get it right.  As I type this, mine has been going for three hours and is nowhere near done...

Tomatoes, Baked, Gazpacho, Pesto BLT's...

Me behind on things to do at the house?  To the best of my knowledge I've never gotten to the point of having three loads of scrunchies to wash.  There must've been eight full loads of wash.  When you're talking about two people that's a lot of clothes, folks.  My excuse?  Well, we're still dealing with the tsunami of paperwork in the office.  AND, we've been fringing and going to Indians baseball games and going to wine tastings and various sundry fun things. 

Fringing, you say?  Yup.  Indianapolis is lucky enough to have our own Fringe Festival.  It runs for eleven days in several venues on or near Mass Ave downtown.  The first evening we saw Phil Van Hest's new show, "What Biscuits."  When he first started doing Fringe, Phil lived in LA.  Then, he met a lovely lady named Noelle and moved to Indy.  This time his nine month old son, Gray, came to his show for his first time.  And, his last until he's old enough to not do the monkey hear, monkey say thing.  Just saying.  Phil does know a few four letter words, ya know.  And, they do show up in his show.  We ran into Phil on the Avenue later and he confirmed that Gray will not be attending in the near future.  After that we saw a show that's played to rave reviews at other Fringe Festivals - "Under the Lintel."  It was very good but a bit deep for us.  We prefer the straight comedy shows.  Along the way we saw five more shows.  Our favorite this year was Act of Foo.  Those guys were an amazing improv troupe.  We laughed until our sides hurt.  Our second favorite was a fellow we loved a couple of years ago.  Paul Strickland was back with a new show - Ain't True and Uncle False.  Again, we laughed until our sides hurt.  There we ran into my friend, Dave Andrichick who owns the Chatterbox Tavern.  Dave said he'd been to a dozen shows.  We had at least that many we wanted to see but just didn't have the time to spend.  At 50 minutes and $10 a person per show, it's bargain entertainment!  Finally, last night we went to a Fringe reprise at the Fringe Theatre.  A parody of Walt Disney shows and one about an auction called Going, Going, Gone.  Two more side-splitters!

We've been existing on tomatoes.  Tomatoes and cottage cheese.  Caprese salads

Baked stuffed tomatoes.  BLT's, plain and with pesto. 

Tomatoes sautéed with other veggies.  I am going to turn into a tomato.  We've got easily a dozen varieties in our garden.  Two different cherries.  One red and one gold.  Two yellow tomatoes.  Three kinds of romas.  Three different Brandywines.  And, three or four other heirlooms.  I totally forgot to take a photo of the finished dish of one of my favorites - gazpacho.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Large tomatoes
Olive oil
Panko bread crumbs
Garlic, minced
Fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley and basil)
Freshly grated romano cheese

Brown the panko and garlic in the olive oil. 

While they're browning, core the tomatoes and scoop out some of the interior. 

Chop the tomato interiors and add those plus the cheese and herbs to the panko. 

Gently stuff the tomatoes and bake or grill on a grill pan.

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

6 c tomato juice (I typically use V8 instead)
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c minced onion
4-5 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 t Tabasco

Directions:

Divide each of the veggies in half.  Put half of each in a food processor.  Process until liquefied.  Pour them into a bowl.  Add the V8 and beef broth and mix well.  Add the other ingredients.  Chill overnight before serving. 

adapted from Indianapolis Collects and Cooks



We've also got about two dozen basil plants.  So, I've been fixing a LOT of pesto (my friend Monica's is the BEST.)  Like the recipe I made up last night.  Pesto fish with pesto rice.  The pesto coating kept the fish really moist.  And, the bit of pesto in the rice really carried the flavor through.

Giada's Asparagus Soup

Our friends, Mary and Fred were here for a visit.  Many years ago they came to a financial planning class that I taught.  Over the years we became fast friends.  Then, I met Connie and he enjoyed their company as much as I did.  They did trial runs of a few locations before deciding on a retirement spot in Bellingham, WA.  Over the years we spent a weekend with them in Grand Rapids, MI and a long weekend with them in Queen Creek, AZ (actually a suburb of Phoenix.)  We've not been to their new home in Washington but did visit when they owned a home up in the mountains.  They were the first to know when we got engaged back in December of 2005.  So, we've shared a lot of history.  Needless to say, we miss seeing them!  When they found out that their daughter was going to be attending a conference in Indy and could bring one of their grandsons, they asked if there was room at the inn. Always!

So, Saturday evening they arrived.  I'd planned a hodgepodge of dishes.  No one theme.  Just things that sounded good.  And, without thinking about it, it was virtually vegetarian.

First we had a fantastic appetizer.  You'll have to check back on Monday, April 23 to see that since it's my Secret Recipe Club dish.

Next, we tried our first new recipe from Giada's new cookbook:  Weeknights with Giada.  If everything in the cookbook is as good as this was, it's a total winner.  This was asparagus soup.  The recipe called for basil.  I had tarragon.  So, I substituted.  Basically you cook the asparagus with leeks in chicken broth.  Then you puree it.  Up to that point it's pretty plain pipe-rack asparagus soup.  Then, the difference maker.  You make balls of herbed goat cheese and drop them on top of the soup.  Wow!  The creaminess of the goat cheese just takes the soup to another level.  It's fantastic!

Our entree was eggplant involtini.  This is a go-to dish for Connie and me.  He's been asking for it for a few weeks now.  We typically have it several times over the summer when our eggplant plants are producing like crazy.  Mary and Fred had never had anything other than eggplant parmesan so this was a new concept for them.  As usual, I used Rao's Roasted Eggplant Sauce beneath the involtinis.  It's expensive but worth the splurge a few times a year.  And, if I can find it on sale, I stockpile it!

Last, but not least, another round of my friend Liz's White Chocolate Creme Brulee.  This is what we had on our birthday dinner weekend.  And, it was the first thing Connie requested when I said Mary loves desserts.  It is so easy to put together and looks and tastes so incredible.  Here's the link so you can hop over to Liz's blog and check it out.  She is an amazing cook so I hope you've got some time to explore her blog. 

Giada's Asparagus Soup with Herbed Goat Cheese

Ingredients:

2 lbs asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1" pieces
2 T butter
1 leek, white part only, chopped
basil or tarragon
4 c chicken broth (I used homemade stock)
goat cheese
basil or tarragon

Directions:

Saute the leek in the butter.  Add the asparagus and chicken broth along with fresh herbs of your choice.  Cook until the asparagus is VERY soft.  While the soup is cooking, you're going to make goat cheese balls to go on top.  Finely mince the fresh herbs you want to use.  I used tarragon instead of the basil the recipe called for but I'd think pretty much any herbs would be good here.  You could even mix it up a bit and add some pepper or other spicy bit.  You'll want about a tablespoon of goat cheese for each serving.  When the soup is ready, puree it either with an immersion blender or a blender - being very careful to vent the lid just a bit to let the steam escape.  Serve hot topped with the dollop of herbed goat cheese.

adapted from Weeknights with Giada

Fried Chicken and Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Connie, what would you like for dinner this week?  For almost the last year his response has been consistent, "That fantastic fried chicken."  He's referring to Thomas Keller's lemon brined fried chicken that I made last September.  I figured a holiday weekend was the perfect time to make it again. 

Once again, I can say that's the best fried chicken I've ever had.  Moist, tender, flavorful.  Connie ate two thighs, Tom (his brother) ate three and I ate most of a breast.  The only thing I'll do differently next time is to buy a bigger cast iron skillet.  Mine comfortably holds three pieces.  I fried chicken for two hours and felt like I'd rolled in canola oil.  We wanted leftovers and I wanted to be able to share with my brother and his crew so I pulled out the dutch oven and had it going too.

I thought a nice cole slaw would be perfect with the chicken.  After all we'd had Kate's crackers and the garlic herb brie as appetizers.  AND, we'd had little bowls of decadent cauliflower truffle soup too (more on that in a minute.)  So we didn't need anything heavy. Typically, I make my barbecue slaw.  But, it's mayonnaise based and I wanted something light.  Now, I've been known to make Mrs. Huber's slaw which is vinegar based.  Nope, I wanted to try the version in Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  What a disappointment.  It was totally  blah.  Thank goodness I used a one pound cabbage and didn't waste a big one on the slaw!  The good news is that I still have two terrific slaw recipes in my repetoire. 

Now, what was this about cauliflower truffle soup?  I'd bought a cauliflower on closeout at Jungle Jim's.  It had a couple of brown spots and was getting a couple more.  So, I had to use it up.  I'd seen the recipe in the Tavern on the Green cookbook.  It looked decadent and easy.  It was both.  It was so thick it was more like a sauce than a soup.  I think next time I'll halve the amount of cream and increase the milk.  Otherwise, this was a tremendous starter.  It's way too rich for a whole bowl.  Just a little ramekin was fine.

Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Ingredients:

2- 2 1/4 lbs cauliflower
1 1/2 c cream
1 1/2  c milk
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground white pepper
1 T truffle oil

Directions:

Separate the cauliflower into florets.  Leave about an inch of the stem attached.  Steam the cauliflower until it is VERY soft.  Allow the cauliflower to cool a bit then puree it in a food processor with the milk and the cream.  Pour the soup into a saucepan.  Heat it gently with the salt and the pepper.  Serve warm drizzled with a few drops of the truffle oil.  As you can see from the photo, I used black pepper for the contrast...
adapted from Tavern on the Green cookbook

Oyster and Artichoke Heart Soup

Many years ago, I was lucky enough to visit New Orleans.  I've actually been there three times. But, somehow a car full of college kids traveling down there to see what Mardi Gras was all about and much later in life a Kiwanis convention, just don't count the same way that staying in the French Quarter and really gettting to inhale the culture does.  Barbecue shrimp was the dish that stole my heart.  Then, there are muffalettas, beignets and oyster artichoke heart soup.  I've hunted and hunted for a recipe for that soup.  I found one years ago and promptly made it.  It was very disappointing.  When my friend Drick posted one on his blog (Drick's Rambling Cafe) I knew I had to try it. 

Our New Year's Eve tradition is a seafood fest.  The year we met, we discovered that both of us prefer a quiet evening at home to a night out on the town.  I asked Connie what he'd like for dinner and he said seafood.  Seafood it was.  That first NYE we had crabcakes, bacon wrapped scallops, she crab soup, lobster, oysters rockefeller, escargot.  You get the idea.  A surfeit of seafood.  We ate leftovers for about a week. 

This year I wanted to do a trial run of four appetizers to see if they should be added to the party menu.  The entree was to be seafood newburg.  And, we were going to make mussels at home for the first time.  What better time to try Drick's soup?  I'm going to give you his recipe with the servings for 8-10.  Needless to say, we cut this way down and still had some leftovers for lunch the next day.

What did we think?  Words cannot do this soup justice.  It is magnificent.  The flavors are perfectly balanced.  It's not too heavy and not too light.  It's now the 3rd of January and I can still taste it in my mind.  Thank you, Drick!  I've finally been able to have a soup I've thought fondly of for about 20 years!  Now, just a word about Drick.  We've tried many of his recipes and they've all been great.  One even made our favorites list for 2010.  Please wander over to his blog and spend some time looking at his wonderful recipes. 


Drick's Oyster and Artichoke Heart Soup

Ingredients:
1 c butter
1 c celery
1 c onion
1/2 green bell pepper
3 T garlic
1 c flour
1/2 c tasso (I used salami since that's what we had)
2 t Cajun seasoning
6 c chicken stock
4 c oyster liqueur (clam juice can make up the difference)
1 t hot sauce
4-6 dozen medium to small shucked oysters
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 c parsley
1/2 c green onions
2 c heavy cream

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large, heavy saucepan.  Finely chop the celery, bell pepper and onion.  Add them to the butter and saute them until they're softened. 

Add the flour and tasso ham or salami (very finely minced) and allow it to cook for about 10 minutes.  You don't want the flour to brown.

Slowly add the chicken broth.  The mixture will be very thick.  Now, slowly add the oyster liqueur.  We didn't have the full amount we needed so I substituted clam juice for about 3/4 of this liquid.

Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the parsley, green onion, oysters and cream.  Let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes.

adapted from Drick's Rambling Cafe

What to do with Kale?

Thursday was a REALLY late night at the office.  It was dark when I left.  I felt like being a wimp and stopping at Some Guys on the way home a picking up a huge bbq chicken salad or linguine with clam sauce.  Something comforting.  Something that meant I didn't have to cook.  My brain was full of financial plans and asset allocations and all that good stuff.  It didn't have room for recipes.  But, my budget won out.  Darn it.  Ok, so I need to set a good example for my clients.  Don't give in to whims.  It's not always fun.  What was in the fridge?  Lots of stuff that required lots of work.  And, one lonely sweet Italian sausage.  Hmmm, there's a huge stand of kale in the front garden that's just been crying out to be used.  What about a sausage and kale soup?  Ok, that'll work.  It's easy and filling and good for us.


What did we think?  Well, Connie thought it was soup.  It was.  But, he always gripes about soup.  I ignore him.  Soup is good for you and I love it and I'm the cook.  Therefore, he eats soup.  He also whines about fruit.  He eats it.  Really, he's a good sport and he's just kind of whining in jest.  At least I take it that way because he usually cleans his plate or his bowl, very frequently says it was good and doesn't go fix himself a pb and j.  He says he eats anything but corn chowder.  He does but he whines.  That's ok.  Me, I loved it.  The flavors played really well together.  It was super easy to make.  The leftovers were killer.  I'll make this as long as the kale lasts out front - which ought to be well into November.

 Kale and Sausage Soup


 4 oz crumbled sweet Italian sausage
1 medium potato, finely diced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 c homemade chicken broth (canned if necessary)
chili powder to taste
cumin to taste
1 large garlic clove, finely minced
1 1/2 c chopped fresh kale
1/4 c finely shredded Romano


Brown and drain the sausage. 

Add the potato,

tomatoes,

beans, chicken stock and seasonings. 

Cook for aobut 15-20 min until the potatoes are tender. 

Add the kale and cook just until it's tender. 

Serve with the grated Romano on the side.