No Soup for You! Week and the "Ultimate" Cream of Tomato Soup

Happy 40th Post, everyone!  I actually did not commemorate my 1-year anniversary in April, so I thought I would celebrate a different milestone.  I noticed when I logged in that I had written 39 posts, so this one is my 40th.  It's been wonderful writing about the food I've cooked and the experiences I have had in the kitchen over the past year.  Let's hope this year averages closer to a post a week!

Now, to the topic at hand:  soup.  My No Soup for You! week continues with one of my absolute favorite soups.  Growing up, I loved Campbell's Tomato soup more than anything in the world.  I'd make an entire can and armed with saltine crackers and lots of black pepper, I would eat the whole thing myself.  Marshall's not such a huge fan.  He's said, on more than one occasion, that Campbell's Tomato Soup tastes like the sauces used for Chef Boyardee.  While I've never actually had Chef Boyardee, I can't exactly tell him that it doesn't, but this sounds like an insult so I take offense.  So, when I saw the special "Soups & Stews" issue of Cook's Illustrated earlier last year and it contained a recipe for cream of tomato soup--excuse me, ULTIMATE cream of tomato soup--I knew I had to make it and show Marshall that tomato soup can be creamy and delicious.

I was not led astray, nor would I expect any less from my new favorite cooking magazine.  While there were far too many steps in this recipe than I care for, the result was far better than I could have imagined.  It was meaty, sweet, and silky smooth.  The flavor was the most savory I have ever tasted coming from tomatoes, but it still retained that lovely sweetness that comes from tomatoes, as well.  I think a lot of that sweetness comes from the use of whole canned tomatoes, plus tomato paste.  Of course, there is sugar in the recipe, but it is a means to caramelize the tomatoes as they roast in the oven.  I will say this, though, that step is a pain in the ass.  I ended up with what I feel was far too few tomatoes, by the time I was done seeding them and laying them out on a cooking sheet.  I also didn't seem to get the kind of caramelization that I was originally expecting, so I have a feeling I might've overcooked them.  However, this did not detract from the end result.  This soup was definitely the highly sophisticated city relative of its Campbell's canned country bumpkin, but both are equally warming of the soul.  They say chicken soup is the food of the soul, but my soul'll take tomato soup any day.

Bonus time!
So, what does everyone think of when they think tomato soup?  Grilled cheese, right?  Right.  Well, with a sophisticated cream of tomato soup like this, we needed a sophisticated sandwich.  American singles and white bread were not going to cut it with this bowl.  I turned to this one sandwich that Marshall and I absolutely adore.  It's sweet and salty, buttery and just incredibly delicious:  Ham, Manchego, and Fig Tartines.  Leave it to my Gourmet magazine (RIP) to have a last page of the September 2008 to hide these gems of sandwiches.  The French tartine is an open-faced sandwich, but the recipes on this page are far from the original.  This particular sandwich that we enjoyed with our tomato soup leans more toward the Iberian Peninsula, with the ham and manchego cheese.  The fig, too, is very Spanish, and I could definitely see something like this on a tapas menu somewhere in Spain.  I don't know if I could fully explain the richness that is this sandwich.  The baguette, toasted, mingles with the fig (mixed with butter, of course) and infuses the sharp cheese and finally there's this salty jolt from the ham (in this case prosciutto; serrano would be your true Spanish alternative).  The sweet and salty was a great companion to the rich and savory tomato soup.

If you're feeling homesick, but want still want to wear your tiara (or monocle), this is your meal.

No Soup for You! Week continues...Up next time is my personal all-time favorite soup for eating and freezing:  Lentil (Italian-style)!

No Soup for You! Week Continues: Golden Winter Soup

No Soup for You! week continues with this lovely gem I unearthed in an old issue of Cooking Light.  Normally I don't buy Cooking Light, not that it's bad or anything (this was my mom's go-to cooking magazine growing up) I just usually gravitate toward other cooking magazines.  Anyway!  I bought this issue a few years ago because it contained a handful of soup recipes.  Being the dead of winter, soup is a welcome bowl of sunshine.  The recipe that I kept this issue around was that delicious black bean soup that Marshall absolutely loves, but while organizing my cooking magazines during Winter Break this school year, I found this other recipe that sounded fantastic for a winter evening:  Golden Winter Soup.

I mean, the name says it all.  It's this bowl of beautiful sunshine yellow, but hearty and silky without being super creamy.  It's surprisingly fresh-tasting, considering the rather mundane ingredients.  I don't normally cook with leeks, only because I honestly don't come across a lot of recipes which use it and I don't believe my mom used them much growing up, but this certainly adds a brightness which cuts through the potatoes and butternut squash.  Topped with a little chives, it was seriously summer in a bowl (and this sunshine was edible, rather than the potpourri sunshine...any Friends fans out there?).  Being this came from Cooking Light, the cream is kept to a minimum, with all the silky creamy texture coming from puréed potatoes and squash.  Marshall and I paired this soup with a lovely German wheat beer (I cannot remember which one) which was perfect.  Oh yeah - I almost forgot.  The little side that the cooks at Cooking Light paired with this soup were little Gruyère toasts.  Now, I love cheese and bread, but this was almost like having a little grilled cheese with your soup.  It was great for dipping or scraping up the soup at the bottom of the bowl!

I ended up freezing the rest of the soup, since it makes so much, and it was great even after it was frozen.  I defrosted it one week for my lunch and it was just as delicious as I remembered.  So this is definitely one of those soups where you can make a huge pot of it, have some for dinner that night, and freeze the rest for an easy dinner in the future when you simply do not feel like cooking.  It's okay--I've been there plenty of times myself.  Having stuff like this in the freezer has been a lifesaver for us!

No Soup for You! week continues... Don't miss out on tomorrow's true classic:  Homemade Tomato Soup (and the most delicious sandwiches EVER)! 

No Soup for You! Week Presents: Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup

My very best photog friend, Nicole, suggested I pick a theme for a week.  Since I watch more TV (or used to, at least) than I would rather like to admit, she thought I could base my themes on TV shows.  So, for this week, I present:  No Soup for You!  For the following week, I will be writing one post per day, focused on a soup recipe.  While my soup is rather tasty, I would not prevent you from tasting it because you didn't order it correctly.  I also am choosing not to hide away the recipes in an old wardrobe.  Do I have any Seinfeld fans out there?  Maybe?  Okay, moving on...

My first stop on this delicious endeavor is a soup I actually found at Whole Foods.  From time to time, I suggest having dinner out at Whole Foods.  They've got so many options that it's like looking into a vast fridge and finding something that will satisfy any craving.  One day, Marshall and I went for lunch and I walked away with a small salad from the salad bar and a cup of soup.  They had a Vegetarian Tuscan Kale and White Bean soup available, which sounded perfect for what I was in the mood for that day.  When I took my first bite, I was underwhelmed.  There was all these veggies in this soup and no flavor whatsoever.  It desperately needed salt, and I'm not a huge salt person.  But I've learned that everything needs at least a little salt.  I sat at that table and thought "I can totally do this better."

And I did.  I actually found their original recipe on their website.  It shocked me that it suggested using lots of canned veggies, rather than fresh.  I understand if they're creating a recipe meant to finish cooking in a short time, but there's really no excuse for using canned carrots...  So, I gave the recipe an overhaul.  I made it distinctly UN-vegetarian (although it can easily be made vegetarian again) by adding some really yummy Italian sausage, using fresh carrots, adding celery, but kept the canned tomatoes (they're honestly the best option for soups and stews).  I, of course, I kept the white beans and kale in place, or else it couldn't still be called "Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup".  I also added a few flourishes:  grated parmesan cheese, a dollop of fresh (well, homemade/frozen) pesto, and homemade croutons.  The end result was an absolutely delicious and fresh vegetable soup for those cold winter days.  I would necessary freeze this particular soup, but honestly - this soup will go fast.

Stay tuned, tomorrow, for another beautiful soup:  Golden Winter Soup.