Fire Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup to Beat the Cold

The cold wakes me long before my alarm rings. It has seeped into my consciousness, like a thousand tiny needles of discomfort. There's a pearl of cold moisture dripping from my nose. My hands ache, their skin tight, and dry, peppered with a thousand painful little nicks and cracks. Even my nipples are protesting, rubbing painfully against my cotton t-shirt. I burrow deeper into my bed, reaching for a warmth that is not there. I know, without opening my eyes, that I'll be able to see my breath hovering before me in the early morning light of my bedroom.

The furnace is out again.

We've learned that when you buy a house that is over a hundred years loud, you don't take possession of it when you sign the papers. You take ownership over the next 12 months, by writing an endless series of checks to fix a century of quick-fix solutions. Everyday we find new holes in the walls, new creative plumbing strategies, and now this latest disaster: inventive heating. 

I've been talking a big game about not being daunted by the Chicago winter, but this morning almost got the best of me. It was the combination of spending yet another day trapped at home by a service window, and the lingering cold and discomfort that a turtleneck and ski sweater hadn't conquered. The temptation to huddle under a fuzzy blanket and indulge in a morning of self-pity was intense, but I decided to make a batch of cream of tomato soup instead. 

I reached for a sweet onion, a bottle of Sherry, and some cans of fire roasted tomatoes, and soon the kitchen's smells of warmth and comfort had banished the cold from my bones. I didn't even have to dip into the sherry for help warming up.

I like this soup chunky, with a little added color from the roasted tomatoes.

Fire Roasted Cream of Tomato Soup

Serves 4

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of butter

1 sweet yellow onion, diced

3 14.5 oz cans of fire roasted tomatoes  

2 cups of tomato juice

2 to 4 tablespoons of light brown sugar

1/3 cups of sherry

1/2 cup of heavy cream

1/3 cups of shredded mozzarella

salt and pepper

1. Heat a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the butter until melted.
2. Add the onions and saute until translucent and soft, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Pour in the fire roasted tomatoes and stir well. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and mix well. Pour in the tomato juice. Bring back to a boil.
5. Now taste the soup to assess the acidity. Every batch of tomatoes is different and you may need a little more sugar at this point if the soup still tastes really acidic. You'll know when you have it right. Add more sugar one tablespoon at a time to not go from acidic to too sweet all at once.
6. Pour in the sherry and bring back to a boil. I like to boil away the boozy taste that comes from the alcohol, leaving behind just the savory sweetness of sherry. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes.
7. Before serving, sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. If you were really in the mood for a special treat, you could serve this soup with some warm corn bread for dunking. That may be my coping strategy for this afternoon if the heat man doesn't arrive soon.

Chili Con Carne, a Crowd Pleaser for the Oscars or Any Other March Gathering

This month for the Snackpicks website, I made a big bowl of Chili Con Carne.

I was asked to create a dish to serve with Cheez-It Crackers and I immediately thought of meaty, satisfying chili as the perfect match to the intense cheese flavor of Cheez-its. And the fact that the orange crackers look great over the deep red chili doesn't hurt.

My post at Snackpicks suggests chili as a great dish to watch basketball games... but you really could serve it for any gathering you're having, even for the Oscars this weekend. I had it at a party over New Year's and everyone gathered around pot chatting and customizing their bowl with their choice of ingredients. 

Head on over to Snackpicks for more entertainment ideas and to get my chili recipe...

You'll Swear This Mushroom Soup Has Cream in It... But It Doesn't

Mushrooms gross many people out, but I find them to be fascinating and beautiful. I love how they spring up daringly out of nowhere, little puffs of white on a brilliant fall lawn, twisted in impossible positions on a tree in the woods, and even dangerously enticing with bright red polka dots on a boring old log.

Like so many of my tastes, I inherited my love of mushrooms from my mother. She is such a devotee that she forages through the woods of the Loire Valley when the weather gets damp. She calls me whenever she happens upon some morilles (morels) or cepes (porcini) and raves about the aroma as she sautees them in butter. I stand in my kitchen, an ocean between us, hoping that her next call will not be from the emergency room. Because I am not that brave (some would say foolhardy), I limit myself to the safety and expense of supermarket mushrooms.

I acted like a forager this week as I stood in front of the mushroom display at Whole Foods. I grabbed an assortment of mushrooms and brought them home to make this flavorful cream-less cream of mushroom soup. The mushrooms give it the creamy texture, but there is no fattening cream added. The earthy and rich flavor of this soup makes me happy that it is fall.

Cream-less Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

1 large shallot, minced

1/2 white or yellow onion, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

1 cup of shiitake mushrooms

1 cup of Baby Bella mushrooms

1 cup of regular white button mushrooms

2 strips of bacon

3 tablespoons of butter

1/3 cup of sherry

4 cups of chicken stock

1. Melt the butter in a large stock pot. Add the shallot, onion, carrot and bacon and cook on medium heat, for about 10 minutes, until the bacon is cooked and the vegetables are soft and translucent.
2. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until the mushrooms are bright and softened.
3. Add the sherry and saute for 5 minutes until it has mostly boiled off but imbued the mushrooms with a delicious aroma. Add salt and pepper at this stage.
4. Pour in the chicken stock and simmer for 30 to 45 minutes.
5. Puree the resulting soup very well.
6. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche or a swirl of heavy cream.

Tasty Tuesday: Chinatown and Minestrone

Chefdruck's Tasty Tuesday

The kids are off from school this week but we've been even busier than normal. Our town seems immune to the recession as so many people went away for the break. But we stayed put. I was worried that we would be bored during our staycation and I planned many adventures to keep us busy. I may have over-planned...

We kicked off the week by heading into New York City yesterday for a Dim Sum feast in Chinatown. I love Chinatown, always have, even back when I was a recent college grad working downtown. I discovered my favorite restaurant, Jing Fong, with some colleagues while we had a long lunch on a slow summer day. I still have the dog-eared card with the map to the restaurant in my wallet. I replace the wallet but always keep the card. We made a girl's day of it, leaving Jack at home with a friend, and picking up my sister along the way. Although Bella and Juliette were skeptical about whether such weird looking things could actually taste good, I gave them an A for effort for trying. Once Juliette got going, there was no stopping her.


After lunch, we walked around a bit and took in the atmosphere. I think that it's important for them to experience what it's like to be a minority, to feel so different than everyone jostling around them. We checked out a few shops, and I was so caught up in the freedom of our adventure that I caved on the pet issue. I spontaneously bought two tiny red eared turtles. They came in a teeny tiny little tank which we upgraded after reading up on turtle care. I'm taking bets on how long these guys will live, but for now, the excitement level over our pets is pretty high around here.

and not just with the kids!


My Tasty Tuesday recipe is not from Chinatown, but from a neighborhood just a few blocks away: Little Italy. As I write, a big pot of Minestrone is simmering away on the stove. The recipe is adapted from Elissa Shreiner's, the Grandma behind Grandma's Shoppe. If you're not familiar with this cute online store, head on over to Chefdruck Reviews to enter their giveaway. Elissa makes this soup for her grandchildren to get a little nutrition in them. I'll be serving it to Juliette and some friends tomorrow. I've never made Minestrone before so I can't tell how authentic the recipe is, but I can tell you that it's quite tasty!

Minestrone adapted from Granny's Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 onions, minced
3 cloves of garlic
3 stalks of celery
4 peeled and minced carrots
two medium zucchini, cut in small cubes
one red pepper, coarsely chopped
a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of white kidney beans
2 cups of chicken stock
water
salt and pepper
bay leaves, oregano, basil
alphabet or other pasta
parmesan cheese

1) Mince the onions, carrots, garlic and celery.
2) Add oil to pan and heat on low setting. Add the vegetable mixture and saute until soft, for about ten minutes.
3) Add the zucchini and red pepper. Saute for another 5 to 10 minutes, until they are soft but not dry.
4) Sprinkle everything with "sunshine" (oregano, basil, salt and pepper)
5) Add beans and crushed tomatoes.
6) Add chicken stock. Fill the empty tomato can with water once or twice to cover the vegetables with liquid.
7) Turn heat to medium and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

When you're ready to eat, add the noodles and the parmesan. If you keep the noodles in the soup, they will get soggy and drink up the liquid.