Roasted Tomato Soup ~ Served Hot or Cold

Hot or Cold, Roasted Tomato Soup

This is a robust savory soup served hot or cold.  On this occasion, I served it hot for lunch.  The garden is overloaded with tomatoes!  Two varieties of Heirlooms, Celebrity, Roma and small Cherry tomatoes bursting with flavor.  Basil, yes, we have tons of that too!  Perfect for our delicious soup and easy to put together.

Roasted Tomato Soup, Served Hot or Cold,

adapted from CIA Master Chefs

The Chef In My Head

Yields 8 cups

12 fresh tomatoes, any variety, quartered

4 T extra virgin olive oil, divided use

2 tsp kosher salt, divided use

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, divided use

2 large onions, rough chopped

2 stalks celery, rough chopped

4 garlic cloves, 2 peeled rough chopped, 2 whole

4 C vegetable broth

1/4 C dry white wine

1 bay leaf

1/4 C fresh basil, chopped + more for garnish

Place tomatoes along with 2 whole garlic cloves on baking sheet, drizzle with 2 T olive oil and sprinkled with half of salt and pepper.  Roast in 450 degree oven about 30 to 45 minutes until they are browned and have a rich, roasted aroma.  Set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute, stirring frequently until the onion is translucent, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add the remaining garlic and the bay leaf and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the roasted tomatoes, the remaining salt and pepper and roasted garlic along with the broth and white wine.  Scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Remove the soup pot from the heat and discard the bay leaf.  Carefully pour contents into the awesome Vitamix and add the basil and secure the lid.  Turn on machine on and quickly increase the speed to Variable 10, then to high.  Blend for 45 seconds until smooth.   Note: If you do not have a Vitamix yet, then you can use your food processor or blender, blending in smaller batches. 

If serving HOT, pour into serving cups or bowls, garnish with reserved basil sprigs.  

If serving COLD, chill the soup for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours.  Check for seasoning just before serving.  Pour into cups or bowls and garnish with basil springs.

Enjoy!

Delicious with crispy garlic croutons or my favorite, a rustic Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

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Southern~Inspired Crawfish Fettuccini

Crawfish Fettuccine

Rich and delicious, crawfish in spicy cheese sauce in this Southern-inspired recipe!!

Crawfish Fettuccine 

The Chef In My Head 

Serves 4

1/2 C Butter

1 large clove garlic, minced

3 large shallots, sliced

4 green onions, chopped

1/4 pound sliced fresh button mushrooms

1/4 pound sliced fresh shitake mushrooms

3 T. flour

1/2 C dry white wine

3/4 C half-and-half cream

2 jalapenos, minced

1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 (16 ounce) package cooked and peeled whole crawfish tails

1/2 tsp Creole seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's)

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 C Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1/2 (16 ounce) package fettuccine pasta

Melt butter in large pot over med-high heat.  Stir in the garlic, shallot, onion, jalapeno and mushrooms.  Saute until translucent.  Add flour and saute for a 1-2 minutes to cook off raw flour taste.  Deglaze pan with white wine.  Add half-and-half and mozzarella cheese, season with Creole seasoning, salt and pepper; reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes.  

Fill a large pot wit lightly-salted water and bring to a rolling boil.  Stir in the fettuccine and return to a boil.  Cook according to package directions.  Drain well.  Serve the crawfish over the hot pasta.

Enjoy!

Add a fresh salad and crusty French bread and you have a beautiful meal!

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Lemony Baked Chicken

With fresh herbs, white wine and tangy lemon juice this is a recipe to use both on chicken and fish.  It's so easy to throw together and pop into the oven and ready in well under an hour.  Oh and did I mention, it's healthy too!  Perfect to pair with Escarole & Cannellini Beans with Parmesan & Hazelnut Crust.

Lemony Baked Chicken adapted from Weight Watchers

The Chef In My Head

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz halves

Juice of one lemon

1/2 C white wine

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 Tony's

1 T.  fresh Thyme, chopped

1 T.  fresh Parsley, chopped

1 medium lemon, quartered for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Coat a small , shallow roasting pan with olive oil cooking spray.

Season both sides of chicken with dry seasonings.  Transfer chicken to prepared pan and drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with lemon juice, thyme, and parsley.  Pour white wine around chicken to coat bottom of pan.

Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.  Garnish with lemon quarters and serve.

Enjoy!

Serves 4

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Succulent Steamed Mussels with White Wine

Years ago I traveled to Nashville to help care for my nephew while my sister went to NYC to celebrate her 30th birthday with her girlfriends. Did I say YEARS ago, oh yes, it was YEARS ago when my sweet baby sister turned 30! My brother-in-law was working so I took care of Jackson during the day, what a joy! My sister had been teaching Jackson sign language before he learned how to talk. I didn't know the "signs" very well for "all finished", "I'm hungry", "thank you", "more", etc., let's just suffice to say his arms were really tired by the time I left.

My brother in law, Jeff is a fabulous cook (remember the Beer Eyed Black Eyed Peas) and one of the many things I love about him is his willingness to be my guinea pig when it comes to food. What better time to try something new! We had a beautiful dinner of fresh steamed mussels in white wine with crusty French Bread. Shamefully, this is the first time I have made that dish again in many many YEARS.

If preparing mussels is something new for you, be not afraid! They are delicious and super easy! Here is a website I found for you with good basic info on how to select, store and cook mussels Discover Mussels. And here is my recipe. Enjoy!

Steamed Mussels with Garlic, Thyme, Saffron, White Wine and Butter adapted from Tyler Florence recipe

4 Servings

3 pounds mussels

Extra-virgin Olive Oil

4 T Butter

4 Garlic cloves, minced

6 Green Onions, chopped, separate white and green parts

2 T fresh Thyme, pulled from stems

6-8 strands Saffron

1-1/2 C dry White Wine

1/4 C Fresh flat-leaf Parsley, chopped

Rinse the mussels under cold running water while scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Remove the stringy mussels beards with your thumb and index finger as you wash them. Discard any mussels with broken shells or that will not close when tapped.

Heat 1 T olive oil and 2 T butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add white tops of green onions, garlic, thyme along with saffron and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the mussels and give everything a good toss. Add the white wine. Cover and steam and steam over med-high heat for about 10 minutes, until the mussels are open. Stir occasionally so that all the mussels are in contact with the heat. Add the remaining butter and drizzle with remaining olive oil, green parts of green onions to the sauce in the pot and swirl to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately with good crusty French Bread!

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