My Favorite Soup

It didn't take me very long to discover the French Bakery and Restaurant La Madeleine in Dallas. They have, in my opinion, the best Chicken Caesar Salad out there. The chicken is so tender and flavorful, unlike the typical bland chicken you find on most Caesar salads. They also happen to make my very favorite soup -- Tomato Basil. I was addicted to this soup from the very first time I tried it. I'll eat it any time of year, even during the summer.

I was raving about this soup at work when a co-worker told me that she had a copy of the recipe. I was instantly intrigued and asked her if she wouldn't mind sharing it with me. Well, before she had a chance to, my friend Aria saw me mention the soup in my Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup post and gave me the link to the recipe, on RecipeZaar. Thanks Aria!

The recipe itself is fairly simple, but is even easier because of the wonderful immersion blender I have. When we got married, we registered for the Braun Multiquick Professional Hand Blender (model MR5550MBC-HC) at Bed Bath & Beyond; at the time, it just seemed like a cool gadget to add to my kitchen. I never realized how useful it would really be until after we received it. I use it all the time now; in fact, it's probably the wedding gift that we have gotten the most use out of :) It has multiple attachments, including a wire whisk and blades for blending and food processing. Unfortunately, I don't think this exact set is available anymore, but there are definitely similar ones you can purchase that are made by Braun.

I typically substitute fat free evaporated milk for heavy cream in most recipes, but had some leftover cream I needed to use so I did not do that this time. Next time I will try the substitution and see if there is a significant difference in taste. This soup doesn't come out quite the same as what you get at La Madeleine -- I think theirs is a little thicker and must have a lot more cream in it -- but it's still a great creamy tomato basil soup recipe regardless and I will be making it again soon :)

Tomato Basil Soup
from RecipeZaar

4 cups tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (approx. 8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
12-14 fresh basil leaves, washed
1 cup heavy cream (I used 1-1/4 cup)
1/4 lb (1 stick) sweet unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
salt, to taste
lemon juice, optional (I did not use this)

Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes.

Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan). Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

There's no such thing as too much chocolate!

Today is our 2nd anniversary! I can't believe it's already been 2 years since we tied the knot in Hawai'i :) What I would give to be back in Hawai'i right now, enjoying the breezy weather and beautiful beaches!


So for our 2nd anniversary my husband gave me a huge ninety-eight piece box of my favorite chocolates from Woodhouse Chocolate, a small chocolatier in Napa Valley, CA.

I first discovered these chocolates a few years ago when I received my first box for my birthday from my college friend Joy. Since then, I cannot get enough of them... and ask for them on every special occasion :) They have a large assortment of chocolates with wonderful flavors; here are descriptions of just a few:

• Quatre Epices: milk chocolate ganache spiced with black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, enrobed in a layer of dark chocolate topped with a rectangle of white chocolate
• Thai Ginger: dark chocolate ganache infused with coconut and lemongrass surrounding a piece of crystallized ginger, covered in dark chocolate
• Honey: a milk chocolate honey butter mousse, in a dark chocolate shell dusted with gold
• Pistachio: a layer of pistachio gianduja with caramelized almonds topped with a pistachio cream, bathed in dark chocolate
  

Their assortment is great, but in general I prefer their white chocolates so that's what he got me for our anniversary. Some of my favorites:

Brown Butter Ganache:
a creamy ganache of milk chocolate and browned butter, coated in white chocolate

Champagne Truffle: white chocolate ganache with a splash of Grande Champagne Cognac, surrounded by white chocolate

Passion Fruit: a white chocolate ganache exploding

with passion fruit, covered in white chocolate

And my absolute favorite, Bananas Foster: fresh cream whipped with butter and rum flambeed bananas accompanies a layer of brown sugar caramel, in a white chocolate shell



So, as we celebrate our 2nd anniversary and look forward to many more, I have the pleasure of indulging in ninety-eight little pieces of heaven :)

And what did I get him for our anniversary? Well, there's no such thing as too much chocolate in this household :) He loves chocolate as much as I do, but he's trying to watch his weight right now. So I knew I didn't want to blow his diet by giving him a bunch of sweets. Instead, I gave him a small box of truffles from Noka Chocolate and we're going to go shopping for a new watch together.

Noka Chocolate was ranked #1 luxury chocolate in the world by the food editors of TASTE. This year, it received the distinction of being rated the best chocolate in the United States in Nikkei, the world's largest business daily newspaper.

The Grand Cru Collection™ is an exclusive offering of the finest, single-estate dark chocolate truffles. Handcrafted with rare, single-estate dark chocolate (min. 75% cacao) and fresh organic cream, each one-of-a-kind delicacy is an exploration through the finest cacao regions in the world: Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad and Côte d'Ivoire.

Cream Cheese Squares

When I saw this recipe posted on the What's Cooking Board, I knew I had to try it. It's from allrecipes.com What I really like is the simplicity of the recipe -- the prep time is minimal and the result delectable :) I made several modifications based on the many reviews found on the website, reflected below in red.

Cream Cheese Squares
from allrecipes.com


2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (I only used 1 package)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1/2 cup margarine, melted (I only used 1-2 tbsp)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
18 ounce jar of fruit preserves, I chose apricot and used ~3/4 jar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, vanilla, and egg until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent layer. Spoon fruit preserves over the cream cheese. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan (I spread the melted butter across the top with a pastry brush). Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

I love sun dried tomatoes. We buy them in bulk from Sam's Club or Costco and I love to cook with them whenever possible. So when I came across this recipe from Ina Garten on foodnetwork.com, I knew I had to try it! The recipe says to serve it at room temperature, but I found it was good chilled too.

I also found that this was great as a spread... I used it in pitas and wraps. Then I added some chicken and veggies, and I had quick, easy meal to bring to work for lunch!

Sun Dried Tomato Dip
from the Barefoot Contessa

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (8 tomatoes)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
10 dashes, hot red pepper sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Puree the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and pulse twice. Serve at room temperature.

Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup

After I saw this recipe in Annie's Eats, I knew I had to try it because broccoli cheddar soup is one of my favorites (second to Tomato Basil). My experience creating this soup reminds me of a similar experience I recently had while visiting my sister-in-law in Washington DC. We always enjoying cooking/baking together, and during this particular visit, we decided to make strawberry ice cream. While we were making it, she joked about how horrible she is in the kitchen and how she always feels like she is messing up recipes. So to make the ice cream, she started reading off the directions for the recipe while I threw everything together in the kitchen. Well, it wasn't until after I had mixed all the sugar with the strawberries to macerate them, that she read off the part about dividing the sugar into two parts. So, in an attempt to salvage the recipe, we tried to pull out as much of the sugar out of the strawberry/sugar mixture as possible (we weren't very successful). Lesson learned: even if you're in a rush, always read the full recipe before starting. So when I made this soup I followed the instructions exactly. I started out and mixed the broth and flour until smooth. I proceeded to combine the remaining ingredients, as instructed, until I got to the line that read: "Gradually stir in flour mixture." OOPS! It was at that moment that I realized I was supposed to set the broth/flour mixture aside after creating it, and I laughed at myself and instantly thought about this previous ice cream mishap :) Luckily, I don't think it made much of a difference. However, I have modified the recipe instructions below to reflect this, to help other cooks avoid the same mistake ;) And although we keep our fridge/pantry fairly well stocked, I did not realize we were out of milk until I got to that step of the recipe (we always have milk!)... so I substituted 1 cup of half and half for the milk. The only other thing I did differently was with regard to the cheese. For convenience, we buy pre-shredded cheese. I'm not sure how many cups of shredded cheese can be produced from an 8 oz block of cheese, so I just continued adding shredded cheese until the soup seemed cheesy enough for me :) I did not have any problems melting the cheese, either, despite the note at the bottom of the recipe. This soup would be wonderful in a bread bowl, or served with some sourdough on the side.

Baked Potato and Broccoli Soup
from CookingLight

Ingredients:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
29 oz (2 x 14.5 oz cans) low sodium, fat-free chicken broth, divided
3 cups peeled, cubed potatoes (about 1.25 lbs)
2 cups broccoli florets, chopped (I used frozen for convenience)
1 small onion, chopped
1 ¼ cups 2% reduced fat milk (I used 1 cup half and half since I was out of milk; another time I used skim and it was still good)
1 (8 oz) block 2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used 2-1/2 cups shredded)
2% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, for topping (optional)
Chopped green onions for topping (optional)
Fully cooked bacon pieces for topping (optional)
Freshly ground pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)

*Note: Freshly shredded cheese is recommended (versus pre-shredded) for additional creaminess and even melting.

Directions:
Whisk together flour and 1/3 cup chicken broth until smooth. Set aside for later use.

Combine remaining chicken broth, potatoes, broccoli and onion in a Dutch oven (or large saucepan). Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Gradually stir in flour mixture. Cook, stirring often, 5 minutes.


Stir in milk & 8 oz. of freshly shredded cheese. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until cheese melts. Add salt and pepper to taste (I found it to be too bland otherwise). Top each serving of soup with shredded cheese, green onions, and bacon pieces as desired.

Gooey Caramel Brownies

This is my favorite brownie recipe, and it is so simple. Instead of using a regular boxed brownie mix, it calls for a boxed chocolate cake mix. The layer of gooey caramel in the middle is so good!

Caramel Brownies
from VeryBestBaking.com














1 pkg (18.25 oz) chocolate cake mix
1 cup chopped nuts (I don't like nuts, so I usually omit these)
1 cup evaporated milk, divided into 2/3 cup and 1/3 cup
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
35 (10 oz pkg) caramels, unwrapped
2 cups (12 oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 350° F (*325° F if using a dark pan)

Combine cake mix and nuts in large bowl. Stir in 2/3 cup evaporated milk and butter (batter will be thick). Spread half of batter into ungreased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Heat caramels and remaining 1/3 cup evaporated milk in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted. Sprinkle morsels over brownie; drizzle with caramel mixture.

Drop remaining batter by heaping teaspoon over caramel mixture.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 24 squares.

The Famous 'Crack Dip'

There are always a few posts each week on the What's Cooking? Board requesting the 'Crack Dip' recipe. So, after hearing so many great things about it, I thought I would try it. There are several variations out there, but here is the recipe I used:

Buffalo Chicken Dip (aka Crack Dip)
from What's Cooking Blog


4 boiled chicken breasts
8 oz. Hot Sauce
8 oz. Ranch Salad Dressing
8 oz. crumbled Bleu Cheese (I omitted this, as I don't like bleu cheese)
8 oz. shredded Cheddar Cheese
16 oz Cream Cheese, softened

Mix all ingredients, bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Serve with celery and tortilla chips.


I have to say that the recipe was good, but not so great that I would call it crack dip, but that's just me I guess. I halved the recipe, and it was enough to fill a 9" pyrex pie pan. I think the half recipe would be enough for 6-8 people.