Yes, I am still on a soup kick – and I don’t intend to stop any time soon.  And what soup repertoire would be complete without a good wholesome tomato soup?  Here are my two favorite recipes for tomato soup: a summer recipe that calls for fresh tomatoes, and a winter one that uses canned tomatoes.

There are few things more comforting than a big bowl of tomato soup served along side a grilled cheese.  The trouble is, tomatoes are only good once a year, in the summer, when you don’t necessarily crave hot soup.  How do you make great tomato soup in the middle of winter when the tomatoes are pink and tasteless?  I found the solution in one of my favorite cookbooks, The New Best Recipe, a compilation of Cook’s Illustrated’s recipes.  If you are not familiar with Cook’s Illustrated, it is a food magazine based on thorough recipe testing.  Extensive time spent in the kitchen tweaking all kinds of basic recipes from tomato soup to creme brulee, I always consult this cookbook when starting to develop a new dish.  My favorite aspect of the book is that each recipe is accompanied by a page long explanation of their trials and tribulations during the testing process.  Describing what worked and what did not, the explanations give further insight into not only the particular recipe, but the food science behind it as well.

Ok, back to tomato soup…

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Read part one here.

Ok, I feel the need to update you on the stock situation, and yes, it is now a stock situation.  After my first attempt at stock, I made a chicken tortellini soup.  The soup was great, exactly what you crave when its cold and rainy outside.  The next soup I tried was a beef barley and mushroom.  My in-laws were coming for an impromptu dinner and so I opted for store-bought beef stock.  I have to admit, the soup was really nothing special.  It tasted flat – flavorless, even though there were plenty of vegetables and seasoning.  I concluded that my lacking soup was a result of using store bought stock.  Unfortunately, now I know what homemade tastes like – and I tell you, there is no going back.

So, while I suggest you make your own stocks to really create some amazing and show-stopping soups, be ready to be hooked.  I have made two large batches of chicken stock since last week and I just finished my first batch of beef stock.  With my second batch of chicken, I followed the “traditional” stock recipes that use raw chicken parts (and yes, I actually bought chicken to make stock – but in my defense, I didn’t have any left-overs hanging around).  I found that a “bought bones” stock was not as rich and flavorful as my first using the left overs of a grocery store rotisserie chicken.  So, if you do have to buy chicken bones, roast them first before you start the stock process.   This will create the same deep, dark flavor of the rotisserie chicken stock.

I know stock seems like a large undertaking, but once you try it – you will never go back.  Luckily, it is easy to make large batches and then freeze for later use.  For easy storage, ask your local grocery store or deli for plastic quart containers.  Usually sold for cents, these containers are a great way to store your stock, without monoploizing all your tupperware.

Happy stocking!

As the leaves begin to turn and the air gets crisp, my taste buds start to crave certain flavors.  And what flavor epitomizes fall more than pumpkin?  Now I know you are thinking, “pumpkin?” isn’t the title of this post butternut squash?  Oddly enough butternut tastes very much like pumpkin.  In fact, many “pumpkin” flavored dishes use butternut squash because it tastes more like pumpkin than pumpkin does.  (And here’s a good tip: If you need to entice picky eaters who are more familiar with pumpkin, go ahead and change your recipe names– it will be our little secret).

A very versatile vegetable, (although technically a fruit because it bears the seeds of its plant) butternut squash is plentiful and affordable this time of year.  Considered a winter squash (a differentiation given depending on when the squash is harvested) butternut was originally cultivated in America by the Native Americans.  If you have never attempted to cook your own squash, take a deep breath and throw that long tubular thing in your cart.  With only a thick skin between you and a soft, nutty, sweet flesh, you have no excuse not to give it a try. (more…)

I recently ventured into the world of homemade chicken stock.  I have to admit, that even though I consider myself a well-versed, educated chef, at home I find stock from a can a perfectly acceptable ingredient in my daily cooking.  While I never doubted that homemade was better, when it came down to getting dinner on the table in 30 minutes, convenience won out.

To be fully informed about my recent stock adventure, I should disclose up front that I am on a new “kick” of cooking with ethical awareness.  A recent read, Animal Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsglover raised questions of the current food culture in our country.  Kingsglover highlighted the disturbing reality that many of us today are not aware of where our food comes from, how it is produced, or how our purchasing habits affect the industry.   Since reading her wonderful book, full of fun antidotes, family recipes and general food knowledge, I am making a conscious effort to buy more products locally and use seasonal produce.  As a part of this whole “ethical” cooking kick, I am trying to use up all the food I purchase.  I have never enjoyed throwing away food, but we all know how fast that celery or basil goes moldy hidden in the crisper drawers.   And so as part of my attempts to be more “culinarily” aware, I am trying to be more aware of my own fridge and the food in it. (more…)