sunday soup day.

a steaming bowl of soup on a cold, lazy day has this sort of calming effect on me. sometimes progresso or campbell's can provide that temporary high, but there's really nothing like just rolling up your sleeves, turning on the stove and just making your own.

so with the idea of french onion soup lingering in the back of my brain for the last... oh, 3 months, i got into the kitchen with a recipe up on my laptop screen and 3 pounds of onions on my cutting board.

plus, when was the last time campbell's tomato soup supplied any sort of delicious leftovers the next day?

exactly.

so i got chopping these absolutely monstrous onions. each one was almost a full pound!

no time to mess around with those pesky little onions. you know the ones where you cut off both ends, peel off the skin and you have all of a golfball sized "onion" left to work with. come on mother nature, give me a break! i want an onion i can actually work with!

let's make a full pot of french onion soup with only three onions.

yes. please.

by the way, best way to chop an onion is to cut off the tail so you have a level bottom that you can stand it on. then slice the onion in half, like i did above. after that, remove the skin and place the wider cutside down and make even, thin slices heading from the cut end to the end that is still in tact. i personally believe this is the easiest way to slice an onion because the bulb end holds it all together and you're never wobbling around with an unsteady vegetable and a sharp knife in your hand. not a good combination.

so three onions later, i had a very large bowl of onions sliced and ready for caramelizing.

starting with only a tablespoon of olive oil and half of the onions, i put the heat on medium and just let 'em go. i stirred them fairly often because i didn't want any to get more done than any others since my stock pot was already 1/4 of the way full.

...and because it's just one of those intoxicating aromas that i find very difficult to walk away from.

as they continued to caramelize, i continued to snitch hot morsels of sweet onion-y goodness.

hey. no harm, no foul.

once the first half of the onions were a nice caramel color, i added the other half of the onions.

letting the first half get a head start makes it so some of the onions are almost disintegrating when the glorious time comes to slurp up this sensational signature.

once the second half is added, i turned down the heat to medium low. it'll take almost an hour, but be patient and just let them hang out and get tasty.

and tasty is just what they got.

at this point, i would not think any less of you for taking a forkful for yourself.

in fact, i would probably encourage it.

it's crazy to think that this was once 3 pounds of monstrous onions that pushed the boundaries of a large mixing bowl. because now i can push all of those melt-in-your-mouth little bits to just one side of the pot.

(proof that caramelizing them loooow and sloooow can work all sorts of magic.)

once they've turned that dark brown color it's time to finally make this into a soup.

the recipe i was using called for 2 quarts of beef stock and a quart of chicken stock, along with a little lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, salt and white pepper. i also decided to add a little dried thyme and a little sprinkle of cayenne because as far as i'm concerned, a little bit of heat never hurt anyone.

but wait.

hold on a second.

there's something that needs to happen before all the liquid goes into the cauldron of deliciousness.

and its name is whiskey.

ok technically the recipe called for bourbon, so if you're making this and you have that on hand, feel free to use that. but the very limited amount of liquor that inhabits the top shelf of my parents' pantry apparently does not include bourbon. and even if it did, i would probably be from 1988 and i would be reluctant to use it anyways.

so regular whiskey would have to do. 

just throw about 1/3 of a cup into the onions and let it cook off for about 5 minutes.

(p.s. alton brown tid bit comin' at ya! if you ever hear that you can cook off all the alcohol in something, it's a myth. unless you cook it for like 5 hours, there is still going to be a significant amount of alcohol left in it. not enough to get you shhwasted with a slice of rum cake or a bowl of soup, but still.)

ok nooooow you can add in everything else. then just throw that sucker on low, cover it up, and try to resist it for about an hour.

your patience will be rewarded.

meanwhile, i made some croutons! on friday on my way back from a job interview in downtown milwaukee, i stumbled across this amazing bread shop.

homemade bread?

still warm?

made by a cute little old lady?

my original intent was to just pick up a scone since i hadn't had breakfast yet, but with everything going for this place, there was no chance i was leaving without a loaf of something.

and the faint sound of oven timers going off in the background completely validated my purchases.

so i cubed up what was left of my sourdough loaf and tossed them in olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, rubbed sage, cayenne, and white pepper.

perfect complimentary flavors to my soup that is just getting better and better on the stove.

just place them in a 350 degree oven and take them out once they're golden brown on the edges and very crunchy. i realize they're going to be soggy once they're in the soup, but it adds a little toasty flavor and they hold up better than just weird little cubes of bread.

and finally... the time came.

my family was all home, it was an acceptable time of the day for dinner (not that the time of day has ever stopped me from enjoying something delicious before) and the flavors had been fairly well developed.

i dished up the soup, threw some freshly baked croutons in the bowl, and topped it all off with some shredded swiss cheese.

it came out a little too salty and peppery, which i accredit to the fact that i used bouillon for the stocks (pretty salty to begin with) and white pepper (much stronger than regular fresh ground black pepper). but in the end, it was still fantastic. (and i adjusted the recipe so yours will be better!)

a fairly lazy soup for a fairly lazy day. like i said earlier, it really doesn't get much better.

French Onion Soup

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

3 lbs. sweet onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup bourbon or whiskey

2 quarts beef stock
1 quart chicken stock
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
Homemade Croutons, see recipe below
Swiss cheese, shredded

In a Dutch oven or large, heavy pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the onions and cook, stirring, until dark golden brown and caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Add the remaining onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until a deep caramel color, about 1 hour.

Add the bourbon and cook, stirring occasionally, until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the croutons and cheese, and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thicker and fragrant, about 1 hour.

 Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm. Serve in a bowl topped with Homemade Croutons (or other crouton or crusty bread of your choice) and sprinkled with swiss cheese.

Homemade Croutons

Day old bread (french, sourdough, whole wheat, whatever you got!)
Olive oil
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Cayenne
Rubbed sage
White pepper
Salt

Cube up the bread into bite-sized croutons. Toss them in the oil and then sprinkle with a little of each of the other herbs and spices. Toss again and then place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy. 

 

the guess-who's-not-coming-home-for-dinner dinner

there's just something about the combination of grilled cheese and tomato soup that makes me so happy.

crusty bread. melty cheese. creamy soup. tomato-y goodness.

a.k.a. completely irresistible.

and making everything homemade just puts campbell's canned condensed soup to utter shame.

but there is an underlying reason behind my unconditional and obsessive love for the potential award winning combination of grilled cheese and tomato soup.

you see, my father was raised as a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy.

as in salad does not cut it unless it's just served as an appetizer for the main entree of beef pot roast and mashed potatoes later on.

as in those "where's the beef?" commercials were probably started when someone heard my dad's response when he found out my mom made soup for dinner.

as in while my mom, sister and i could settle for pretzels at the mall as our "dinner," the burger and fries we picked up from culver's on the way home is serving as a great distraction from hauling our shopping bags in from the car.

all while growing up (and even now and then when i'm home), whenever my mom would tell us "dad called and said he won't be home for dinner," we knew exactly what that meant.

grilled cheese and tomato soup.

it was a rare occurrance, but when it did happen, it seemed like a special occasion (no offense, dad).

so today when i apparently felt like avoiding protein and doing something somewhat nostalgic, i decided to make my own tomato soup. it wasn't terribly cold out or anything, but i think it was the fact that i picked up my commencement tickets that made me want to celebrate. 

see what i mean about this perfectly paired combination making for special occasions?   

 beautiful roma tomatoes sat in my refrigerator drawer longing for something savory. i quartered them, along with a sweet onion and tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper.

and obviously just a little bit of minced garlic, as you can see. ok, so it was more like a handful.

45 minutes later, your house/apartment/cubby (what i like to call my kitchen) will smell so gloriousy garlic-y and roast vegetably you'll want to just snack on them like that. in fact, i may have snuck a slice of onion... and eaten all the tomato skins i peeled off.

oh, sue me.

add the veggies into a large stock pot and cover with 4 cups of chicken stock and a little honey to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

i also threw in a can of crushed tomatoes because i didn't have quite enough fresh ones on hand.

after blending in the food processor in batches, the soup looked (and smelled) pretty stinking fantastic.

unfortunately, my kitchen did not.

the transfer from the pot to the food processor was not a clean one, and neither was the one from the food processor to a bowl.

yep, that's tomato soup on my walls.

and my stove.

and my floor.

and my countertops.

and my shirt.

and probably my hair.

looked like mr. clean himself would've had a job on his hands, but a little elbow grease, and the cubby just sparkles.

 

after the blending and the mess was all over, i added some half and half to make the soup a little creamier.

and at the same time i was making this soup, i was also making some banana bread with the overly ripe bananas i had laying around. (another post, another day.) the only reason i mention this is because that recipe used plain greek yogurt and i had some leftovers so i whisked that into my soup as well.

mmmm. creamy, creamy, creamy.

and don't think i forgot about my tomato soup's other half! quickly grilled up some cheese, cut them into little cubes and called them grilled cheese croutons.

not trying to brag, but seriously. how flippin' cute are those??

and the soup was so so good. it was creamy, but i could definitely taste all that delicious garlic. and the flavor that comes out of the onions and tomatoes from roasting just comes right through. i will definitely be making this next time i'm home and my dad can't make it home for dinner. :)

make up your own special occasion (like the fact that it hasn't snowed yet) and make this soup.

i promise you will not be disappointed!

Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons

 

1 lb. Roma tomatoes, quartered

1 medium sweet onion, cut in half, then cut into thirds (depending on the size)

2 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

1 quart chicken stock or base (could definitely be made vegetarian by using vegetable base)

1½ tbsp. honey

1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 cup half and half

¼ cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (optional)

¼ tsp. ground thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tomatoes, onions and garlic on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper and toss to coat all the tomatoes with the garlic and olive oil. Roast in the oven (cut sides up) for 45 minutes.

Let vegetables sit for a few minutes before removing the skins of the tomatoes. Add the veggies and their liquid into a large stock pot and cover with the chicken stock. Add honey, crushed tomatoes and bay leaves and let simmer for 15 minutes to let the bay leaves do their job.

Remove the bay leaves and ladle the mixture into a blender or food processor (or use an immersion blender!) and process until all the tomato seeds and bits of garlic have been broken down. Transfer back to the pot and warm through again. Add the half and half, yogurt, and thyme. Let simmer for another 10 minutes or while you are making the grilled cheese.

Directions for grilled cheese: if you actually need directions for grilled cheese, I am truly sorry. But here’s the easy version: Take two slices of bread, butter one side of each slice. Butter side goes down in a pan or on a griddle. Add one or two slices of American cheese (or cheddar or anything else you can imagine). Other slice of bread goes on top, butter side up. When slice #1 is brown and awesome, flip and make the other side awesome. Note: make sure cheese is melted.

To serve, just cube up the grilled cheese, or just slice in half for convenient dipping, and ladle the soup into bowls. Serves 5-6.

try to hate fall, i dare you.

it is really hard to hate fall in wisconsin.

the only thing i can think of is that it doesn't last long enough and sometimes it's like we just decided to skip it completely.

when someone says fall, most people think of going back to school, leaves changing, and that thanksgiving is right around the corner.

i think of soup.

for me, it doesn't even need to be cold out to enjoy soup (although it does make it taste a little better somehow). a few months back, i had a craving for soup.

and by a few months back, i mean july.

and by july, i mean 85 degrees outside.

and i wanted soup.

so i cranked the AC, threw a hoodie on and made soup. and it was awesome.

but today, i threw a hoodie on because it was cold outside (not inside thankfully), and made some butternut squash soup with sweet potato rye croutons.

and uh! it was great. 

i got the recipe from a picture on foodgawker (surprise surprise) but changed it a little bit.

  it still turned out pretty great especially with my addition of the sweet potato rye croutons, courtesy of the amazing bread guy at the menomonie farmer's market. :)

i have just three little wishes for this recipe for next time i make it.

1. i wish for a blender big enough to hold all of the soup. blending in batches is not fun.

2. i wish to toast my little croutons more. baking for longer instead of broiling quickly would've made them stay crunchy longer in the soup once i mixed them in.

3. i wish i didn't have to clean up my mess. :(

p.s. if anyone would like the recipes for what i make on here, just ask. i normally get an idea with a recipe and then adjust as i go. but i would definitely be able to type up a loose recipe of what i created!