Soup's On!

If you have ever met me, you know I live for a good theme party.  

Fall Festival?  Epic memories.

Sweat Pants Oscar Party?  You bet.

Favorite Things?  A semiannual tradition.

While chatting with a few friends before Christmas, I said something like "Wouldn't it be great to make a bunch of soup and just sit around on a Saturday and eat it?"  What turned into a random plan for 3 or 4 of us to make soup and eat it turned into 20 adults and 7 or 8 kids at my house with 11 crock pots plugged in.

A thing of beauty.

As has been known to happen, I took a simple idea and overcomplicated it as much as humanly possible.  And it was great.  Amazing mix of friends.  Amazing collection of soups.  Tiny grilled cheese sandwiches.  All good things.  Best accidental idea I've had in a long time!  I've been promising the soup recipes to everyone for a few weeks now.

A food party is best described in pictures, of course...  Recipes follow at the end!

Talk about a wide range of tasty soups

Ummm, Yum.

Tiny cups for sampling.  I never even put soup in a regular bowl.
Who doesn't like eating soup out of teeny tiny cups?

Would you like some crackers on your soup?  Or some bacon?

Tiny grilled cheese sandwiches.  A must have with tomato soup.  

It's supposed to be candid, Scott.

Winner!  

Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup:

• 2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 14-ounce can coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry paste
• water
• 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.

2. Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.

3. When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer - a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt (and more curry paste if you like).

Serves six.

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Chickpea Stew:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• Fine-grain sea salt
• 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 1/2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads (2 modest pinches)
• 3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1 cup plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
• Sweet paprika
• Small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. In a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, combine the olive oil, onion, and a couple of big pinches of salt. Cook until the onions soften up a bit, a few minutes.
2. Stir in the chickpeas, and then add the vegetable broth and garlic. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the saffron and egg yolks, then whisk in the yogurt. Slowly add a big ladleful, at least 1 cup, of the hot broth to the yogurt mixture, stirring constantly. Very slowly whisk this mixture back into the pot of soup.
4. Return the pot to medium heat and cook, stirring continuously for another 5 minutes or so, until the broth thickens to the consistency of heavy cream, never quite allowing broth to simmer.
5. Ladle into individual bowls and serve sprinkled with a touch of paprika and plenty of chopped cilantro.

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WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup canola oil

2 lbs. cubed chicken breast meat

½ tbsp. ground cumin

½ tbsp. chili powder

½ tbsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

¼ cup butter

¾ cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. minced garlic

¼ cup chopped roasted poblano pepper*

1 small can chopped green chilies

¼ cup flour

4 cups chicken stock

2 tbsp. salsa verde

½ chili garlic paste

½ heavy cream

4 oz plain greek yogurt

4 oz shredded monterrey jack cheese

3 green onions (chop, for garnish 

DIRECTIONS:

Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan or a dutch oven (dutch oven if you're doubling the recipe for sure) over medium heat. Combine chicken and spices in mixing bowl. Lightly brown the chicken, cooking until about 75% done.

Remove chicken and set aside. Melt the butter in the pan, and sauté onions until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the poblanos and green chilis. Add the flour, stir to incorporate, and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the chicken stock a little at a time, whisking to smooth out any lumps. Add the salsa verde, chili garlic paste, and chipotle tabasco. Allow to come back to a simmer over medium heat, and then add the chicken back into pan. Simmer for 5 minutes and add the cream and white beans stir to incorporate. Garnish with green onions.

Makes about 5 servings

*To roast the poblano, you do it over a gas burner on low-medium or a grill on high heat (that's what I did). If you don't have either of those options, I've heard you can do this in a cast iron skillet, but that's just one more pan you'll have to clean later. Put it directly on the grate and turn every now and then to evenly scorch it all over. Once it's bubbled and burned all over, you place it either in a zip top bag or seal tightly in aluminum foil (which is what I did). Let sit for about 15 minutes to steam. Then you peel off all the blackness, cut it open, scrape out the seeds, stem, and any "ribs" inside. Then chop.

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TACO SOUP

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, cooked

1.25 cups diced onion

15.5 ounces kidney beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

15.5 ounces black beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

15.5 ounces pinto beans, undrained (or cooked dry beans)

2 cups frozen corn (or fresh in the summer)

10 ounces diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained (again, fresh in the summer)

16 ounces tomato sauce

7 teaspoons Homemade Taco Seasoning

1 Tablespoon dried minced onion

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a Slow Cooker. Cook on high for 3-5 hours or until heated through. Serve with sour cream, cheese, guacamole, and/or jalepenos if desired.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ingredients:

6 teaspoons chili powder

5 teaspoons paprika

4.5 teaspoons cumin

2.5 teaspoons onion powder

.5 teaspoons garlic powder

.125 teaspoons cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

.5 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Use in recipes as directed. (7 teaspoons of mix equals one store-bought package.)

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Roasted Cauliflower & Aged White Cheddar Soup:

Ingredients

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth, chicken broth or chicken stock 
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Toss the cauliflower florets in the oil along with the salt and pepper, arrange them in a single layer on a large baking sheet and roast in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 20-30 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat, add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the broth, deglaze the pan, add the cauliflower, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.
5. Puree the soup until it reaches your desired consistency with a stick blender.
6. Mix in the cheese, let it melt without bringing it to boil again.
7. Mix in the milk, season with salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Slow Cooker: Implement step 1, optionally implement steps 2 & 3, place everything except the cheese and milk in the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-10 hours or high for 2-4 hours before adding the cheese and milk and cooking until the cheese has melted.

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BEER CHEESE SOUP

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 45

Minutes

Ready In: 1 Hour 15

Minutes

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups diced carrots

1 1/2 cups diced onion

1 1/2 cups diced celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 cups beer

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups milk or half and half

6 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

popped popcorn, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, stir together carrots, onion, celery, and garlic.

Stir in hot pepper sauce, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Pour in chicken broth

and beer; simmer until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Meanwhile, heat butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Stir in flour with a

wire whisk; cook, stirring until the flour is light brown, about 3 or 4 minutes. Gradually

stir in milk, whisking to prevent scorching, until thickened. Remove from heat, and

gradually stir in cheese. Keep warm.

3. Stir beer mixture into cheese mixture. Stir in Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce,

and dry mustard. Adjust for hot pepper sauce. Bring to a simmer, and cook 10

minutes. Serve topped with popcorn.

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Tomato Artichoke Soup

1 T olive oil or butter
1 white or yellow onion, finely choppped
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe's maybe 16 ounces), thawed in microwave
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes (crushed or diced)
1 tsp dried basil
1 bay leaf
Parmesan or Romano rind (optional)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 C lowfat plain yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche if desired.

In a large saucepan or medium dutch oven (Le Creuset), heat the olive oil or butter and saute the onion until translucent.  Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds or until fragrant.  Add artichoke hearts, tomatoes, basil and bay leaf.  Add the cheese rind if you have one (if you buy the big wedges of Parmesan or Romano from Costco, save the hard rinds to flavor soups).  Bring to a boil and simmer to blend flavors for 20-30 minutes or so.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaf and rind, if using.  Puree with stick/immersion blender or ladle in batches into blender to puree if desired (only fill blender half way or you could have boiling soup everywhere).   Stir in yogurt, sour cream or creme fraiche if a little creaminess is desired.  Serve hot or cold (well, not right now save the cold for summer).

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Black Bean Soup:

2 (15 oz) cans black beans

1/4 cup diced red onion

2 tsp chopped pickled jalapeños 

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp cider vinegar

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp chili powder

1. Pour the canned beans along with the liquid into a medium saucepan.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix.

2. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for an hour, adding water to obtain desired consistency.

3. Serve each bowl with a garnish of red onion, jalapeño and sour cream.

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Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup:

4 C. Chicken broth

2 C. Water

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded or cubed

1 (4.5 oz) package quick cooking long grain wild rice w/ seasoning packet

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 C. flour

1/2 C. butter

2 C. heavy whipping cream

1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water and chicken,  Bring just to boiling until chicken is cooked, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet.  Cover and remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper and flour.  Set aside.  In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter.  Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly.  Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux.  Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth.  Cook until thickened, 5 minutes.

3. Stir cream into broth and rice.  Cook over medium heat 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through.

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Creamy Turkey Noodle Soup:

ingredients:

• 2-4 cups cooked turkey breast (depends how meaty you like it)
• 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced
• 8 celery stalks, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 TB dried basil
• 2 dried bay leaves
• salt & pepper to taste
• 16 oz. package frozen egg noodles
• 12 oz can evaporated milk

1. Sauté garlic and onion in olive oil 2-3 minutes.  Add carrots and celery and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

2. Add turkey and broth.  Bring to a boil.  Add basil, bay leaves, salt & pepper, and noodles.  

3. When noodles have cooked through (15 minutes or so), remove bay leaves and add evaporated milk.  Let simmer for 10-15 minutes.