Sad News and Two Fabulous Soups

I have sad news to share with you all. You are not going to believe it. Make sure you are seated before you continue reading. Ready? Seated? Good. Here it goes. I made an Ina Garten recipe and it flopped. Moment of silence please.

Every Ina Garten recipe I've made resulted in tremendous success. She's always lists the right ingredients, measurements and cooking times. I should write her to tell her what happened. Anyone got her address in the Hamptons? Send along if you do. I promise not to visit her even though that would be awesome. I love her house. (It's featured on her FoodNetwork show.)

Now, you are probably wondering what Ina recipe to avoid. Steer clear of her lemon bars, unless you have a solution to getting them out of the 9 x 13 pan you bake them in. They refused to come out and it got messy. Chunks of lemon bar flew about the kitchen. The shortbread crust had a cement-like quality that fused with the baking dish making a tight, nearly water-proof seal. I almost had to toss the baking dish. Tragic.

So rather then sharing the lemon bar recipe as I had planned, I'm going to share two wonderful recipes for soup. Probably better for everyone's waistlines anyway. The recipes come from "The Splendid Table's How to Eat Dinner." It's a fabulous cookbook, and I've referenced it on my blog before. I highly recommend making your own stock if possible. It makes a big difference.

Curry Cauliflower Soup
(This is an an odd-ball soup, but if you like curry you will love this. It's creamy with no cream, and filling enough to serve for dinner)
1 large onion, small dice
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large head of cauliflower, broken down into chunks (1 inch pieces)
1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (1 inch pieces)
4 cups of chicken stock

Garnish
a few lemon wedges
plain yogurt (whole or low fat)

In a soup pot drizzle olive oil (1 tablespoon), and heat on medium-high. Saute onions and garlic. After a few minutes, add curry powder and salt. Cook for another minute or two and then add cauliflower, potatoes and stock. Bring to boil, and then on medium heat proceed to cook for 20-30 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are fork tender.

You can puree soup with blender or hand held emulsion blender. If you are doing it in your blender like I did, let soup cool a little and do it in small batches so that the blender doesn't explode soup everywhere.

Serve with a squirt of lemon and a dollop of yogurt.



French-Style Tomato Soup
(This is a fairly traditional, but the dry vermouth, fennel seeds and cinnamon make it different and special)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cups tomato paste
1/3 cup dry vermouth
3 medium onions, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
4 cups of chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine dried herbs and crush them with your finger tips to make them fragrant. In a soup pot drizzle olive oil (1 tablespoon), and heat up on medium-high. Saute onions and garlic. After a few minutes add salt, pepper and dried herb mixture. Cook for another moment or two and then add tomato paste. Stir with wooden spoon until ingredients are fully combined. Then add vermouth and the can of tomatoes. Let boil for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add broth, and bring back to boil. Lower to medium and let cook for 20 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, and it's ready to serve.

Delicious.