Soup Season: Vegetable Beef
Saturday was a good day for soup! I had a good amount of leftover roast beef and after we made open faced roast beef sandwiches, we still had enough leftover for another meal. So what to make? Soup of course! And it was nice because I used what we already had on hand so there was no waste and no trip to the store!
Soup Season: Cream of Potato
Although the weather wasn't terribly cold, we raked a lot of leaves and needed something filling for lunch. I had some potatoes on hand and had some leftover bacon from breakfast, so why not Cream of Potato soup?
There are two ways I make this, either starting with a butter and flour roux, or heavy whipping cream. I went with the former, addin half and half to make it thicker, then a little milk to thin that out. It's really a matter of patience and adding a little bit of liquids at a time to get just the right thickness. I also add a dollop of sour cream, gives it a little tanginess and also helps thicken if you've thinned it out too much. The potatoes, you can boil them ahead of time, or if you have time, just throw them right into your cream and let them simmer. That's what I usually do as long as I plan ahead of time, because it does take some time to cook them! Salt and pepper are a must and I usually add some rosemary, but n herbs de province would work as well, but here is what really brings out the flavor: nutmeg. There is something about that nutty nutmeg that tastes so good in a creamy soup!
Top with cheddar cheese and bacon, or one or the other, or neither! Just enjoy!
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Soup Season: French Onion
Yesterday was the perfect day to shift into soup season. Although I eat soup all year, it hits different when it gets colder!
I had some extra onions on hand, a baguette (really, who just has a baguette on hand? This girl.) and of course we are always stocked on cheese. There was no other option, French Onion soup was the only soup du jour option! I'm not sure if I really make it right, I kinda just wing it. I carmelized a couple of sweet onions in butter and herbs de province. Then added just enough beef stock (it's what I had on hand, I forgot to mention that earlier), I like my soup to be a little more brothy. Toasted a few pieces of the baguette with a gruyere/swiss combo on top. Put those in the bottom of a soup crock, filled the rest up with the soup, put plenty of the gruyere/swiss combo on top, and put it under the broiler on hight for a few minutes. Yum!
A few notes: Herbs are up to your personal preference. Vegetable stock is also acceptable, I just didn't have any. I usually toast my bread with parmesan and top the soup with provolone, but I was feeling fancy. Make sure your soup crock is broiler safe!
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The Olive Garden "Never Ending Pasta Pass" goes on sale Thursday... but wait there's MORE!
For the last six years The Olive Garden has annually sold their "Never Ending Pasta Pass", which entitles the lucky card-holder to dine on unlimited OG Pasta once a day, every day, for a designated period over the course of about 8 weeks.
This year, as promised, the offer is bigger than ever - they've added an additional week to the traditional 'Pasta Pass', BUT they have also added a chance for 50 lucky folks to get the new "LIFETIME Pasta Pass" that will never expire!
The "Never Ending Pasta Pass" goes on sale this Thursday August 15th and will cost about $100. As these have typically sold out in minutes, if not seconds, anyone that is able to purchase one will have the chance to "Opt-In" for the $500 "Lifetime" pass, but only the first 50 to Opt-In that have successfully purchased the basic pass will be given the opportunity on the following day - Friday August 16th - to pay the extra $400 and earn the right to eat as much Pasta, Soup (or Salad) and Breadsticks as they can handle for many years to come.
For more details, CLICK HERE
(Courtesy of FoodAndWine.com)