soup

Carrot Ginger Soup

11/29/2016
Serves 12 bowls
Equipment
blender (immersion or regular)
vegetable peeler
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
30m

    

A fresh-flavored Fall classic that does double duty for Winter-into-Spring, wake up your senses and grab your immersion blender!  It’s time to make this soup!

***HERE’S A TIP:  Stir in about 1/2 to 1 full cup of heavy cream at the very end if you want to add a little creamy-yum to this already amazing dish***

Italian Wedding Soup

01/04/2017
Serves 20 bowls
Equipment
patience (for those little meatballs)
oven safe baking dish
large heavy-bottomed sauce pot
Prep time
45m
Cook Time
45m

It’s hard to imagine why/when you would prefer regular chicken soup to the complexity of this “special occasion” soup… and frankly, if you aren’t already adding some type of bitter greens to every one of your soups now, you will after you try this.  Escarole is the key here (pronounced, “shka-dole”), but a dear chef-friend of mine recently suggested swiss chard in its place!  To me, that sounds like a fantastic idea (thank you, Lucie!) and one upon which I will play in another post.

Mushroom Beef Barley Soup

01/05/2017
Serves 20 bowls
Equipment
large, heavy-bottomed pot
Prep time
30m
Cook Time
45m

This is one of my favorite soups.  My mom usually makes it as an appetizer at Thanksgiving, without the beef… in that case, it’s Mushroom Barley Soup.  It pairs so beautifully with my sausage stuffed mushrooms, you could forget all about the turkey.  This year, we skipped the soup, and I made it following Christmas instead.  I added the leftover rib roast from Christmas and called it “dinner.”  Soup represents, to me, the magic of cooking.  It’s as close as you can come to making something fantastic out of next to nothing (water, salt, seasoning, a few humble vegetables, leftover meat, and dried grain), and that something will fill your kitchen with warmth and aroma and happiness like you wouldn’t believe.  I challenge you to try it and tell me it’s not magic.

 

Vidalia Onion Soup with Blistered Cheddar Cheese

12/26/2016
Serves 24 bowls
Equipment
oven-safe soup tureens or crocks
Prep time
1h 30m
Cook Time
30m

 

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This recipe comes straight outta Bobby Flay’s Bar American cookbook, which my mom had signed for me by the master himself, at Dave’s Market in my hometown. From the moment that he told her that his mother’s name is Dotty, she’s been a little smitten.  I’ve been smitten since I had this dish at his NYC restaurant: it’s awesome. This recipe tastes exactly like the real thing, it’s deceptively simple to make, but will wow your guests with the fancy appearance and special flavor twists on the old stand-by french onion.  This soup is aces for the holidays.  I’ve adapted Bobby’s proportions to suit my large crowd’s appetite… you should either consult his recipe or halve this one if you aren’t feeding more than ten people, with leftovers desired.  I should say, though, that this soup keeps really well and is an awesome, filling hot lunch or dinner during that week of vacation between Christmas and New Year’s.

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The only downside of this dish is that it’s pretty prep-heavy.  But every single bit of work can be done ahead of time!  Grate your cheese and put it in a big tupperware in the fridge.  Slice your bread and put in a gallon sized ziplock bag in the fridge.  Make the pesto up to a week ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. (This pesto is excellent on everything you already like pesto on: egg sandwiches, pizza, pasta, you name it.  Make extra-extra pesto.  You will not regret it.)  You can even make your soup a few nights before, if you want, and reheat on the big day.  So, if you’re going to go to the trouble, you might as well make enough to enjoy all week.  This soup is also noteworthy for being a huge hit with the under ten, tween and teenage crowds.  It’s shocking, that they would love an onion based soup so much, but the kids actually do eat it up, quite literally.  Must be the sweetness of the vidalias and the “grilled cheese” on top.