French Onion Soup with Double Mustard Croutons

I'm slowly emerging from the Super Bowl black hole. When people think that PR is all glamour and parties, I implore you to visualize me huddled around my space heater, with bloodshot eyes, running on nothing but Diet Coke for days on end. I did it all for the puppy.

Good news. Turns out there's more to eat in this world than late-office delivery Jimmy John's sandwiches. What a revelation.

After all was said and done, I needed something warm and slightly indulgent. Deeply caramelized, sweet onions with ooey-gooey cheese and crispity-crunchy bread on top. Crispity-crunchy bread with mustard. Yep.

The ingredients are humble, but when you don't rush them, they build incredible flavor. There's something about taking your time in the kitchen after a period of rushing in your life that makes you relax. Not rushing is a good thing. 

Let's get real, there's no point in making French Onion soup if you're not going to have bread with it. It's compulsory. Simply non-negotiable. These croutons pull from another classic French flavor, dijon mustard. 

I beg you not to use packaged croutons. Woof. They're incredibly easy to make and exponentially more delicious. 

Simply toss in olive oil, dry mustard and dijon mustard. You'll make soup just to have the excuse to make these. 

With a quick melt of cheese atop the soup, you're ready, unrushed and hopefully revived. You made it.

French Onion Soup with Double Mustard Croutons
1/2 stick of butter
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
4 cups beef stock
1 cup white wine
3 sprigs thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
4 slices Swiss cheese
1/2 French baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried mustard
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Heat butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. When melted, add onions and stir to coat. Cook onions until soft and beginning to brown, about 45 minutes to an hour.

While onions cook, prepare croutons. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a large baking sheet, toss bread cubes with olive oil, dried mustard, dijon mustard and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Bake for 5 minutes and toss. Bake for another 5 minutes until a golden brown color is achieved.

Once the onions are a deep, caramel brown color, add beef stock, white wine, thyme, bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of salt and a 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Ladle soup into four ovenproof bowls on a rimmed baking sheet. Top with a handful of croutons and a slice of cheese. Bake until cheese melts. Dig in and enjoy!

Soup recipe adapted from Mark Bittman. 

Carrot Ginger Soup

Good grief I've eaten more tender beef and gourmet cheese than any one girl should. Not to mention the case of red wine I probably consumed singlehandedly. In other words, I had a great holiday! But after all the fun, I need a nap and some serious vegetables.

I alway find soup's a good solution when you're wanting to go healthy, but aren't necessarily in the mood to chomp on a salad. This carrot soup delivers on the fresh factor and its flavors are anything but Christmas-y. Nothing like ginger and curry to cleanse the holiday palette!

Carrot Ginger Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, chopped

4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1lb carrots, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1 pinch saffron
2 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
Fresh chopped cilantro
Plain Greek yogurt

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallot and saute until softened. Add ginger and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes.

Add carrots, salt, turmeric, curry powder and saffron and cook until fragrant; about 1 minute. Add chicken stock at bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until carrots are softened; about 20 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Serve with cilantro and yogurt. Enjoy!

Italian Wedding Soup

What is it about meatballs that makes them so comforting? So tender and filling. I especially love them in soup, since they give you something to literally dig in to. After the crush of Thanksgiving cooking, party planning and the official settling in of Midwestern winter, I needed some comfort. The tiny dog tried, but he's no meatball.

My version of Italian Wedding Soup delivers on comfort, without excessive calories or heaviness. Turkey meatballs and spinach keep it light.

This recipe gives you a double serving of the good green stuff, with spinach in both the meatballs and the soup. I love frozen chopped spinach for meatballs, since it gives them both volume and keeps them moist.

Traditionally meatballs are sauteed in a pan, but I like to bake them to avoid excessive oil. Since these are going into soup, you don't need to be too concerned about them drying out.

While your meatballs are baking, you'll get your soup base going. It's as basic as they come -- onions, carrots and celery. 

In goes the pasta and you're getting oh so close to a warm bowl of cozy.

And a bit more spinach right before serving time. Look how healthy you are.

Ladle the good stuff over your gorgeous green-flecked meatballs and add a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. Comfort express.

Italian Wedding Soup

For Meatballs

1 lb lean turkey

1 cup frozen spinach, defrosted

2/3 cups bread crumbs

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

1/2 cup grated parmesan

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

S&P

For Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

4 carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 cup white wine

1 cup orzo pasta

10 oz fresh spinach

Grated parmesan cheese, enough to sprinkle on top of the soup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Start by squeezing all of the liquid from the spinach. Combine spinach, turkey and all remaining meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Take care not to over mix or squeeze too tightly. Gently roll into 1-2 inch balls and back in the oven until golden, about 30 minutes. 

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large soup pot. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute until softened, about 7-8 minutes. Add chicken stock and white wind, bring to a boil. Add orzo and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Once pasta is tender, add spinach and cover. Cook for 1 minute just until spinach is wilted. 

Place 3-4 meatballs in a bowl and ladle soup over, garnishing with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Soup Au Pistou

Winter is supposed to be over, right? So why am I making soup? I get that you don't want to sip hot liquids in July, but there is a way to do soup outside of the winter freeze. Au Pistou is a traditional French soup is actually made from summer seasonal vegetables and herbs, so totally appropriate to enjoy during the thaw. And you'll be amazed how fresh this tastes.

So while you're all eager as ever to binge on backyard hot dogs and burgers, think about firing up your Le Creuset one more time for this subtle and sophisticated spoonful.

This starts like most soups, with a basic mirepoix. In this case, I've opted for subtlety by using leeks instead of onions. Their mild flavor doesn't overpower the soup. Potatoes make things more substantial and filling.

The really fresh part of this soup is the "au pistou"... which is just the French word for pesto. French makes you sound snazzy. This one combines fresh basil with garlic, tomato paste and parmesan -- simply mashed together with a wooden spoon.  

When you're ready to serve, spoon a dollop of the au pistou in the bottom of the bowl and ladle in the hot soup. The mild soup melts the bold flavor of the au pistou into a beautifully subtle harmony.

 Soup Au Pistou
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced red potato
2 leeks, diced
8 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 cup white wine
3 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups diced green beans
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup orechiette pasta
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of saffron
4 cloves minced garlic
4 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1/4 cup olive oil

In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, leeks and potatoes; sauteing for 5 minutes. Turn heat to high and add white wine. Once wine is fragrant, add chicken stock, water and salt. Reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 40 minutes.

Once vegetables have softened, add green beans, cannellini beans, pasta, pepper and saffron. Simmer for another 20 minutes.

While soup is simmering, mash garlic, tomato paste, basil and parmesan together in a bowl; slowly adding olive oil.

Spoon 2 tablespoons of pistou into the bottom of each bowl; ladling soup over the top. Serve with crusty bread.

*Some recipe inspiration taken from none other than Julia Child.

Homemade Chicken Stock

So now you have a chicken carcass... lucky you! Seriously. You have the stuff of kitchen gold. The stuff cooks dream of. You can make homemade chicken stock. 

You've seen my snarky "preferably homemade" quip when I put it in recipes, but I do this for a reason. Homemade chicken stock has remarkable depth of flavor that is tough to find in store bought stock. Not to mention, when you make it yourself you can exert much more control over the sodium. You wouldn't believe how much the canned stuff has!

A little effort after a roasted chicken gives you a big yield and can stretch to punch up recipes for weeks to come.

So confession... I keep a crazy lady bag of chicken bones and another of veggie scraps in my freezer. Very Grey Gardens hoarder. I actually have a weird hatred of throwing away/wasting food, so my bags o' crazy in the freezer are perfect to assuage. Onion skins... keep 'em. Carrot peels...keep 'em. Celery leaves... keep 'em. Mushroom stems... okay you get it. 

Dump all that crazy freezer goodie in you biggest pot and add some extra carrots, celery and seasoning. Cover with water and let it simmer for at least two hours.

Your house will start smelling really good and the broth will be golden. Turn off the heat and remove the big chunks using a slotted spoon. You can discard the bones and veggies at this point they've done their job.

You'll need to allow the stock to cool before removing to containers. If it's cold outside, cover and put out there to cool. It will go much quicker and you'll drive your neighbor's cat crazy.

Place a fine mesh strainer over the container and give one last strain to catch all the tiny bits.

I keep take-out containers to freeze stock in. It's an issue in my marriage, because it drives my husband batty. But they're perfect for this. They hold about 4 cups each, which is typically about how much I use at at time. You could certainly freeze in smaller containers, if that's convenient for you. You may also drive your husband less crazy.

Homemade Chicken Stock
1 chicken carcass OR bones from 4 chicken breasts
3 cups onion scraps OR 3 onions peeled and quartered
5 carrots, cut into big chunks
5 stalks celery and leaves
1 cup mushroom stems
3 tablespoons Herbes de Provence
4 bay leaves
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
12 cups water

Place the carcass, vegetables and spice in a large pot and cover with water. Add more water if necessary to cover all ingredients. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for 2 hours.

Remove from heat and then use a slotted spoon to remove large chunks. Allow stock to cool and then strain into plastic containers. Freeze for up three months.

*This ingredient list is a suggestion. You can add more or less, based on what you have in the fridge. 

Roasted Tomato Soup

I've said it before, but if I had to choose a last meal, it would undoubtedly be the freshest Caprese salad. This is a particularly torturous favorite meal, because it is really only good two months per year. At it's heart of food ecstasy hearts, it's all about the tomato. Sweet and dribbling juicy. I'm ready for dinner. But wait, it's March there is not a decent tomato for one thousand miles. Whoa is me... my life is hard.

This tomato soup actually brings out the best of winter tomatoes and tastes fresh and nearly summer-y. Winter tomatoes just don't have the concentrated flavor or sweetness of summer beauties, but roasting them intensifies their impish flavor just enough to fool you in soup.

Start by finding the reddest tomatoes you can find in your produce section. While I opt for beefsteak or heirloom in the high holy summer, Romas often have decent texture year round.

Here's where things deviate from the typical canned soup... I've added roasted fennel. Just a bit adds incredible depth of flavor and freshness. Tossed with onions and a bit of garlic for roasting on the side of the pan.

After a bit of time in the oven, look how gorgeous. You can almost see the intense notes of those tomatoes.

Simmer ingredients together for a bit with red wine, chicken stock, a bit more onion and loads of basil.  That roasted garlic will squeeze right out, soft and supple.

A quick whiz with an immersion blender or in the food processor and you have a fresh bite of tomato. Sweet and juicy enough to tide you over to July.

Roasted Tomato Soup
3lbs Roma tomatoes, slice in half lengthwise
1 bulb fennel, cored and sliced
3 small onions, two sliced and one diced
1 head garlic
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup red wine
1 28-oz can tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 large bunch basil, sliced

Heat oven to 450 degrees. On a large, lined cookie sheet toss tomatoes in one tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper. On a separate cookie sheet, toss fennel and sliced onion with one tablespoon olive oil. Using a sharp knife, slice off the top of the garlic and wrap in aluminum foil. Roast vegetables and garlic in oven for 35-45 minutes.

In a large dutch oven, warm remaining olive oil over medium-high heat and saute diced onion. Add red wine and allow alcohol to cook off for 1-2 minutes before adding canned tomatoes, chicken stock and basil. Add roasted tomatoes, fennel and onion to soup and simmer for 40 minutes.

When soup has finished simmering, blend until smooth. Serve warm garnished with basil.

Poblano Leek Soup

Do you ever have menu regret? You know, when you wish you'd ordered something at a a restaurant and can't stop thinking about it. Just me? Am I really that 1) neurotic and 2) obsessed with food? Well, the Husband and I went to Mexique on Saturday and had a delicious meal, but I wasn't quite hungry enough to take on their Poblano Leek Soup. So many pork distractions!

So what's a girl to do? I created it myself the next day. 

One of the things I love most about cooking is that you can take a basic recipe and make it your own with a twist or two. I started with Julia Child's Potato Leek Soup and simply added roasted poblanos. 

The ingredients are simple. Start with these lovelies and add just a bit of water, salt and cream.

Leeks have a wonderfully delicate onion flavor and are oh so versatile. They do take an extra prep step though. Since they grow in sandy soil and have many layers (just like my SOUL...get deep guys), they need a good rinse after slicing. Simply float in a big bowl of water and swish around. Let the sand settle and scoop out the leeks from the top of the bowl. 

For the poblanos, roast in a very hot oven until they look blistered and scary. I'm for realsies. 

When they are hot out of the oven, wrap in foil and put into a plastic bag. Close and allow to cool in the bag. The steam is a good thing... it will actually help the meat of the pepper separate from the skin.

Once the pepper has cooled, those peps will slip right out of their skin. Straight strippin'

Simmer potatoes and leek together in water for about 40 minutes, until everything tenders up.

Once the potatoes and leeks are cooked, add chopped poblanos and get after it with your immersion blender. You could also do this in a food processor or blender, but I was excited to use my new toy.

Garnish with a bit of cilantro to finish. Don't live with menu regret, figure it out on your own. You're smart like that. Also, menu regret doesn't seem like a productive use of time, am I right?

Poblano Leek Soup

1 large Russet potato, diced

4 leeks, trimmed, sliced and thoroughly rinsed 

2 poblano peppers (or 1 if you don't like to get too spicy)

5 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

4 tablespoons cream

Cilantro, chopped for garnish

Combine leeks and potatoes in a large dutch oven and simmer for 40 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 450. Roast poblanos until skin is blackened; about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove peppers from oven and wrap in aluminum foil and place in a sealed plastic bag. Once cooled, remove from bag and peel off skin using fingers. Slice off tops and discard stem and seeds. Roughly chop peppers. 

Once potatoes and leeks are tender, add poblanos and salt. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Just before serving stir in cream. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm.