I have the flu. It's the Fourth of July, and I have the flu. I rarely get sick, but when I do, I get sick! There are a few upsides to being sick, though. I get pampered by my husband, friends call me just a bit more often, and I get soup. I love soup. Even when it's a hot July day down here in Southern Virginia, I love soup. In fact, I love soup so much, I will turn the AC down to about 65 so I'm cold enough to get warmed up by soup. This is not a popular activity in my house, but I do it anyway.
In fact, most of my favorite childhood memories center around soup. When it was cold outside {yes, it gets cold in South Louisiana- my home state} my mom would make Gumbo. If it was too hot to eat when she served it to me, my mom would put the bowl on the window sill of an open window in our kitchen. Most of my friend's parents would just throw an ice cube in their soup to cool it down. But, not my mom! When I was sick, my mom would make me soup. She would spend an entire day making chicken noodle or vegetable beef, or even more gumbo. As I grew up, I would always help my mom with her dinner parties. And, she never served a sit-down dinner without a soup course. My mother made velvety cream of mushroom that tasted like silk on my tongue. She made Champagne-Camembert soup that made you swear you had died and gone to heaven. Creamy, silky bisques with crab or crawfish or lobster. My mother's soups were amazing. I never had canned soups growing up. And why should I?
So, these last few days have been torturous, but the only thing that has made them better is my favorite soups. I make lots of soups during the year and freeze them just for days like these. My throat feels like it's the size of a watermelon, and only hot, yummy, liquid-y soup can soothe me.
Here are a few of my favorite soup recipes. I would love to give you the Champagne-Camembert recipe, but it's written only in my memory. {and, I'm just too sick to try and write it down}
French Onion Soup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated Gruyere
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle the slices with the Gruyere and broil until bubbly and golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup in bowls and float several of the Gruyere croutons on top.
Alternative method: Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.
Silky Cauliflower Soup with Parmesan Crisps
Soup:
1 head cauliflower
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crisps:
1 cup shredded Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove the leaves and thick core from the cauliflower, coarsely chop, and reserve. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook until softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very soft and falling apart, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a hand held immersion blender, puree the soup, or puree in small batches in a blender* and return it to the pot. Add the Parmesan and stir until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and black pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, make the Parmesan crisps:
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread the shredded cheese over the foil in 1 even thin layer. Bake about 10 minutes until golden brown and crisps. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Break sheet of crisp cheese into large pieces and garnish each soup bowl with a couple shards and a pinch of fresh chives.
*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
Cheddar-Potato Soup
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups mashed potatoes
8 ounces shredded Cheddar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Hot sauce, optional
Add oil to a large pot set over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add stock and mashed potatoes and bring to a simmer.
Using a hand blender or regular blender, puree soup until smooth (when using a regular blender, work in batches to prevent messy cleanups!). Add Cheddar, salt, white pepper, dry mustard and hot sauce. Stir to combine and allow the cheese to melt.
So, hopefully none of y'all will get sick this weekend. But, if you do, here's some delicious, soothing, healing soups to help you through it.
Thanks to the Food Network for these delicious recipes.
Allison Templeton
occasions&style
I recently received my fall Fancy Flours catalog, and as always, I am fully delighted! They are a fabulous cake and cookie decorating supply site, and you may have just seen them featured during the Martha Stewart's Show's Cupcake Week. They have everything you can imagine, from edible gold leaf and cake jewels to bling out your baked creations to cake stand and cupcake wrappers, like this spider web wrapper. The catalog is chock-full of Halloween and fall ideas to wow your guests with at your next soiree. They are offering my blog readers a 15% discount on purchases at their site. Don't try and fight it, you know you have lots of holiday baking coming up! Not Just A Mommy! 
Recent Comments