Soup Sundays: The Recap

Way back in October,  I set a goal for myself to make a soup every weekend I was around all fall and winter. That didn't happen. But I did share 11 soups with you during that time (and made some others that were repeats of old soups so I didn't post about them), and I think that's pretty darn good! While I may not have hit my overall goal, I hit the underlying one, which was to make more soups.

Soup Sundays: Potato-Leek Soup

Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day! How are you celebrating? When I was younger, there was never any doubt that I was heading out after work with friends for a few pints of Guinness and some corned beef sandwiches at a local pub. These days I'm happy to just head home after work and avoid the crowds. I sound so old. It's probably going to sound even worse when I say I just want to curl up with a bowl of this potato-leek soup and hang out on the couch. Yup, that would be my ideal St. Patrick's Day this year.

Soup Sundays: Soba Noodle Soup With Ginger-Scallion Broth

One thing I don't cook enough of is Asian food. I go nuts over a bowl of good pad Thai and love other Asian noodle dishes, dumplings, sushi, soups, and so on, but I don't tend to cook much of it at home besides simple stir-fries and fried rice. I feel like I need someone to take me to an Asian market and help me stock my pantry, and then I would just go to town making Asian food, especially anything with noodles.

Soup Sundays: Hearty Minestrone Soup

Two weekends ago I came down with a really horrible cold (and I am just finally starting to feel better, which is why you haven't heard much from me lately). All I wanted was to stay curled up on the couch with a blanket and some hot tea. And I wanted soup. I had actually made chicken soup the week before because Jeff was sick (yup, he passed his cold on to me), so I didn't want the traditional cold-curing soup. I was really craving vegetables (probably my body's way of asking for vitamins), so I turned to an old recipe for a hearty, herby minestrone soup that I had posted years ago.

Soup Sundays: Fregola Soup With Rosemary

Fregola is such a funny word. Honestly, it reminds me of Fraggle Rock whenever I say it. But for as funny as it sounds, that's how good it tastes. I sometimes think I could live off pasta -- there are so many different kinds. Fregola is a small pearl-shaped pasta from Sardinia. I buy it at Salumeria Italiana in the North End and also brought a bag of it home from Amalfi when we were there on our honeymoon. I love the stuff. I've often made a risotto-like mixture with it, adding lots of vegetables, and I've used it in other dishes just as I would pasta or Israeli couscous. It has such a nice toothsome texture and small shape that make it very versatile.

Recently, I came across a new (to me) way to use it: in soup!

Soup Sundays: French Onion Soup

We arrived in Paris on a Sunday morning. We were overtired from spending the previous day in the airport, flying all night, muddling through a layover, and not really getting any sleep on the plane. But we didn't want to waste valuable sightseeing (and face-stuffing) time sleeping, so we checked into our hotel, quickly showered, dressed, and were off again, pretending we were actually running on a full night's sleep.

We were hungry but didn't know the area yet . . . and it wasn't exactly "lunchtime." We stood in front of several restaurants, assessing, consulting the TripAdvisor app, putting too much weight on our first meal in Paris. Eventually, our building hunger won, and we promised to stop at the next restaurant we saw. Worst. Idea. Ever.

Soup Sundays: Tomato Soup With Sausage, Spinach, And Potatoes

While this is the most wonderful time of the year, which requires eating tons of cookies and candies, there's always room for a little something savory and maybe a tad healthier too, right? I made this hearty soup last weekend during the snowstorm, and it was the perfect thing to warm up with and fill up on. So take a brief break from all those sweets (and all the shoveling and ice scraping) and try this festive red and green soup.

Soup Sundays: Tortelloni En Brodo

One of the best things Jeff and I ate on our honeymoon in Italy was a simple soup called tortellini en brodo. We had this soup while dining outdoors at a small restaurant in Bologna, the city where tortellini is said to have been invented. I ordered the soup as my appetizer and ended up having to share the whole bowl with Jeff. I still think about that soup to this day, and just over a year later, I finally re-created it in my own kitchen. I won't say my version was as intensely flavorful as the one we had, but it definitely satisfied that year-long craving.

Soup Sundays: Pasta And Pancetta Soup

So I cheated a little with this pasta and pancetta soup: I used store-bought chicken stock. I've been having fun making my own stock but it is pretty time-consuming, and with skipping the homemade stock, this soup sounded easy enough to make on a weeknight. So I cheated a little more on my weekend soup-making goal and went ahead and made this on a weeknight.

Soup Sundays: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'm doing pretty well with my soup-making goal so far. I haven't made a soup every weekend, but I am slowly and steadily crossing soups off my list. This chicken tortilla soup is based on the Silky Tortilla Soup in the May 2013 issue of Food & Wine. Unlike most chicken tortilla soups, which have vibrant tomato broths, this one looked a little subdued, and after reading through the recipe, I realized it's because the soup is pureed with butter. It sounded decadent for a soup, and I had to make it.

Soup Sundays: Chicken Soup With Dumplings

It's Sunday, and I'm back with another soup review. This time I went with a more complicated recipe. Ever since the day I got Ad Hoc at Home and first flipped through the pages, looking at all the photos and recipes, I have had the chicken soup with dumplings in my head. Chicken soup with dumplings is an ultimate comfort food, and I'm sure you're all picturing a rustic, hearty dish with globs of fluffy Bisquick dumplings floating atop a thick soup. Not so with this version. It's hearty and it's filling, but it's also incredibly classy and elegant. It's the sort of chicken soup with dumplings that you can serve to a tough critic: Picture that scene in Ratatouille when Remy serves the movie's namesake dish to Anton Ego. It will conjure up feelings of comfort and home, but it will also look the part on a dining room table set with fine china. It will fill you up and stick to your ribs, but it won't do so in an in-your-face kind of way.

Soup Sundays: Cauliflower Soup

Sometimes I set these crazy goals for myself -- like I'm going to make soup and bake bread every weekend all fall and winter (or I'm going to work out every day or I'm going to come up with a schedule for cleaning the house and stick to it...). As much as I'd like this to be a reality, it's just unrealistic. I'm not even home every weekend. So I downgraded my goal a little to making soup and/or baking bread any weekend that I am actually around all fall and winter long. I still think it might be a tough goal to meet, but I love soup and fresh bread (especially when it's nice and chilly outside), so if I can keep up with it, it will certainly have its rewards.

On Eggplant And Ottolenghi, Plus Burnt Eggplant Soup With Israeli Couscous

A couple of months ago Yotam Ottolenghi (author of Ottolenghi, Plenty, and Jerusalem -- along with Sami Tamimi) was in town, and he graciously stopped by my work to give a brief talk, answer all our questions, sign our cookbooks, and join us for lunch. When I got up to him with my books, I gushed about how grateful I was for his interesting eggplant recipes. Before his books, I'd make eggplant Parmesan and put eggplant on pizza but not much else.

Tomato And Sourdough Soup

The first meals we had in our new house were from local takeout spots (The Real Deal, Christo's Pizza, The Red-Eyed Pig, a Chinese place we won't try again) and those prepared, transported, and cooked by my mom. It wasn't until December 29, a week after we moved in, that I actually cooked. It was a snowy evening, and the first meal I made was the ultimate comfort food: tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Italian Sausage, Potato, And Kale Soup

On the Monday of Hurricane Sandy's reign, things were almost eerily calm in the morning, so Jeff and I  took the opportunity to make a quick trip to the supermarket -- he wanted bacon with breakfast and I had a hearty soup for dinner on the brain. We got supplies and got back home before the winds picked up. I whipped up French toast topped with Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery's new maple and sea salt butter and a side of crispy bacon, which -- with a little snacking throughout the day -- held us over until dinnertime.

Later in the afternoon, Jeff's sister and brother-in-law came over because they had lost power. The four of us gathered at the table along with Jeff's parents and played a few rounds of Apples to Apples and Pass The Popcorn. Then we put on a movie, and halfway through it, I started making my hearty soup. I figured everyone might want some, including Jeff's nephews, so I made enough to serve eight, expanding on the original recipe. By the time I was done, I had a pot full of richly flavored sausage soup with chunks of potatoes and sweet potatoes, onions and carrots, mini farfalle, and baby kale. It was warm and comforting, and just the thing to stand up against the pounding rain outside.

While I hope we don't see another hurricane any time soon, I'd suggest making this soup to brighten a dark and rainy evening.

Italian Sausage, Potato, And Kale Soup (adapted from Everyday Food, November 2012)

Print this recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch lengths

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and pepper

1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced

5 cups chicken broth, plus 1 cup if necessary

2 cups water

3 cups mini farfalle

5 cups (5 ounces) baby kale

Grated Parmesan, for serving

Italian bread, cut in thick slices, for serving

Preparation

In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and garlic, and cook until onion is softened and translucent, about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Add sausage and cook, breaking up pieces with wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes.

Add potatoes, sweet potato, 5 cups of chicken broth, and water.

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in farfalle and cook for 3 minutes less than package instructions. Stir in kale and simmer until greens are wilted and pasta is tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in remaining 1 cup broth, if desired (depending how brothy you like your soup). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve, passing Parmesan and bread separately.

I set the soup on the table, Jeff's mom filled everyone's bowls, and suddenly everyone was quiet, happily eating. I consider that a success. This soup was filling enough to make a complete meal along with a slice of bread for mopping up the broth. It was just salty enough, deeply savory, and dare I say healthy, with all those great nutrients from the kale and sweet potato.

One note on this soup: It's best if you serve it right away, otherwise the pasta can overcook and start to soak up the broth.

What are your favorite hearty soups?

Slow-Cooker Beef And Tomato Stew With Potatoes

When I made my roasted brussels sprouts, red onion, and yam with quinoa, I knew there was no way I was going to get Jeff to eat it. I'm lucky I've gotten him to eat asparagus and green beans. Brussels sprouts and yams are a long way off, as is quinoa. So I wanted to make him something he'd enjoy that wouldn't require a ton of work on my part since I was making us two different meals.

I found a recipe for beef and tomato stew in Everyday Food, saw that it was a slow-cooker recipe (read: very hands-off), and decided to give it a whirl.

Broiled Vegetable Soup

I had been reading and hearing about Plenty everywhere (first from my friend Molly - thanks, Molly!). And the more I read and heard, the more I wanted the cookbook, which is chock-full of interesting and innovative vegetarian recipes. During the week after Christmas, I headed to Barnes & Noble on a mission to get the book. I searched the whole cookbook section, and finally the realization set in that the one empty spot on the shelf among the featured cookbooks was the home of the book I was after. Just to make sure, I checked with a sales associate, and it was confirmed. And I learned that unless I had reserved a copy, I was not getting my hands on Plenty.

Bummed, I left. I contemplated ordering the book on Amazon, but for some reason I didn't. Maybe because there's something about wandering into a store and paging through a book before buying it.

Homemade Turkey Soup (And Stock)

I'll bet a lot of you are going to have a turkey carcass hanging around on Thursday. But don't throw it away without a second thought. After the bird gets picked over, it still has something more to offer -- deeply flavored stock that can be turned into a warm, comforting turkey soup.

After I roasted a turkey and had Jeff carve it this past weekend, I took the carcass, neck, and thighs (for extra meat for the soup) and used them to make turkey stock. It doesn't take much time at all to get the stock going, and once it's going, all it needs is time and some occasional skimming. I prepped all the ingredients I'd need for the stock while the turkey roasted, so once the turkey was carved I could just throw everything in the pot.

After the stock had simmered for 4 hours, I strained it and then picked through the bones, salvaging any of the moist flavorful dark meat for the soup. I also picked over the wings, which I hadn't put in the stock, and added their meat to the pile. I had prepped all the ingredients for my soup at the same time that I had prepped the stock ingredients, so it was super easy to throw the soup together too.

If you'll have a free burner after Thanksgiving dinner has been made, you can start your stock simmering as soon as you've carved the turkey (as long as you prep the other ingredients in advance too). Before you head to bed on Thanksgiving night, your soup will be done, and you can eat it all week long in addition to your Thanksgiving dinner leftovers, or divide it among freezer bags and save it for when the next turkey craving strikes.

Turkey Stock (adapted from Cook's Illustrated, November 2000)

Ingredients

Carcass, neck, and thighs from 12- to 14-pound turkey
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 cups dry white wine
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh parsley
3 sprigs fresh thyme

Preparation

Bring turkey carcass, neck, thighs, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, wine, bay leaf, and 4 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large stockpot set over medium-high heat. Skim any fat or foam that comes to the surface of the stock.

Reduce heat to low and simmer stock, uncovered, for 2 hours, skimming when needed.

Add parsley and thyme, and simmer stock for another 2 hours.

Pour stock through strainer set over large bowl.

Pick through solids, and reserve any meat.

Cool stock for about 20 minutes, and skim any fat from its surface.

Use entire batch of stock in soup recipe below.

Turkey Noodle Soup (adapted from Cook's Illustrated, November 2000)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon reserved fat from turkey drippings or butter
1 onion, chopped fine
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 celery rib, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Turkey stock (from above)
Reserved turkey meat (from above, plus additional from turkey leftovers if desired)
Egg noodles, prepared according to package directions

Preparation

In a large stockpot set over medium-high heat, melt reserved fat from turkey drippings (or butter).

Add onions, carrots, celery, thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt to the pot and sauté until vegetables are just softened, about 5 minutes.

Stir in turkey stock, and cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in reserved turkey meat, and simmer 5 minutes to warm.

Serve soup spooned over prepared egg noodles and seasoned with salt and pepper.

I truly enjoyed this soup and am so excited that I have three bags of it in the freezer for future dinners.

I never listen to recipes when they say to cook the noodles in the soup because the noodles are apt to get soggy. Instead, I always make a batch of noodles on the side and simply spoon the soup over the noodles (something I learned from my mom). This way you're sure to have tender, but not mushy, noodles in every bowl. I didn't specify an amount of pasta above, so you can just make however much you'll need for however many people you're feeding.

I doubled the amount of carrots the recipe called for, and I still don't think there were enough, so next time I would probably use 6 carrots, and I'd amp up the amount of celery too. While the recipe doesn't say to sauté the vegetables first, my dad told me my soup would have more flavor if I sautéed them in some of the fat I had scooped off the turkey drippings before I made my turkey gravy, so I tried that. I can't exactly compare my soup to the original since I didn't make the original, but I know I ended up with a really delicious, flavorful soup, so I think it was a good move.

Do you ever make your own turkey stock or soup?

Easy No-Bean Chili

Looking for a quick, easy chili recipe to make this weekend? Well, this is it. After you do a tiny bit of prep work and wait out a little more than an hour of simmering, you'll be serving up steaming bowls of hearty chili. This chili has no beans and is mildly spiced -- if you like heat, I recommend adding some hot chile peppers. I served it over rice and melted Monterey Jack on top.

Easy No-Bean Chili (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, diced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 Anaheim chile pepper, chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
3 pounds ground chuck
5 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
Kosher salt and pepper
Cooked white rice (optional)
Shredded Monterey Jack (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, bell pepper, Anaheim pepper, and garlic.

Sauté until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. 

Add chuck and sauté until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix chili powder, cumin, basil, oregano, and thyme together in small bowl.

Stir spices into meat mixture and cook 2 minutes.

Stir in crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to a simmer.

Simmer until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over white rice, top with Monterey Jack, and melt cheese under the broiler, if desired (make sure to use broiler-safe bowls).

And if you have leftover chili, I've got a great leftover idea for you, inspired by Kerstin's loaded sweet potato skins: chili-loaded potato skins! (This is just a basic guideline... I made two potatoes since there are only two of us, but you can easily make more.)

Poke holes in potatoes, and bake potatoes for 1 hour at 400 degrees.

When cool enough to handle, halve potatoes lengthwise and scoop out the middles.

Mix some olive oil and salt and pepper in a small bowl, and brush potatoes with the oil on all sides.

Return skins to oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Fill skins with warm chili, top with cheese, and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until heated through. If cheese isn't melty enough, heat skins under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes.

Top with sliced scallions.

How do you like your chili?