Category: Soup of the Week (Page 20 of 25)

Cynthia Nimms joined us on our very first radio broadcast from Seattle where she lives and writes about the joys of cooking and dining. Her latest book Gourmet Game Night: Bite-Sized, Mess-Free Eating for Board-Game Parties, Bridge Clubs, Poker Nights, Book Groups, and More is designed to liven up any event or party and allow you play games without getting your hands messy. Check it out for your next fun night, and in the meantime, enjoy her wonderful Chilled Avacado Soup with Roasted Poblano Cream

Ingredients

Soup

• 2 small ripe avocados
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth (see box)
• 1⁄3 cup thinly sliced green onion, white and pale green portions
• 1⁄4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2 tablespoons tequila
• Few dashes Tabasco
• Salt
• Slivered green onion tops, for garnish (optional)

Roasted Poblano Cream

• 1 poblano chile
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt

To make the soup, peel, pit, and coarsely chop the avocados. Purée them in a food processor with 1⁄2 cup of the broth, the green onion, lime juice, and tequila, scraping down the sides as needed. With the motor running, add the remaining broth. Season to taste with Tabasco and salt. Transfer the soup to a large lipped measuring cup or bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To make the roasted poblano cream, roast the chile under the broiler until the skin blackens, turning occasionally to roast evenly, 10 to 15 minutes total. Put the chile in a plastic bag, securely seal it, and set aside to cool. When the chile is cool enough to handle, peel away and discard the skin. Remove the core and seeds and chop the chile.

Put the chopped poblano in the food processor with the sour cream, cumin, and a pinch of salt. Process until very smooth, scraping the sides once or twice. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

To serve, pour the avocado soup into tall shot glasses or espresso cups of about 1⁄4-cup capacity and top each with a small spoonful of the poblano cream. Top the cream with a pinch of green onion slivers and arrange on a tray to serve.

Makes 14 mini soups

Double all the ingredients.

Halve all the ingredients, or serve larger portions of the soup in larger glasses.

Make the roasted poblano cream up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate. Make the soup up to 4 hours ahead and refrigerate.

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About Cynthia Nims

Cynthia Nims studied at La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine and assisted owner Anne Willan with various cookbook projects. She has authored or coauthored twelve cookbooks, including Memorable Recipes, Rover’s, and the Northwest Homegrown Cookbook series. Cynthia has been editor of Simply Seafood magazine and food editor for Seattle Magazine. She contributes to Cooking Light, Coastal Living, and Sunset. Cynthia and her husband live in a house with a game-lover’s basement in Seattle, Washington. Check out here latest book click the link below. 

Gourmet Game Night: Bite-Sized, Mess-Free Eating for Board-Game Parties, Bridge Clubs, Poker Nights, Book Groups, and More

We met Emily Greenland of Emily’s Events at an event in Scottsdale and immediately hit it off. In addition to being lovely, she is one of those characters that strikes you with their honesty. What she tells you is the real deal. Emily has been our goto caterer when our best partners and friends need a referral to handle events large and small. She has always made us look good as a result. Try some of her fare yourself with this Zuccini Soup. 

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Each Medium Onion, Thinly Sliced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 26 Ounces Chicken Broth
• 4 Each Medium Zucchini, Thinly Sliced
• 2 Each Stalks of Celery and Leaves, Thinly Sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Parsley
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• ½ Teaspoon Each:  Dill; Basil Leaves; Fresh Ground Pepper
• 1 Cup Milk

Procedure:

1. Heat Butter until melted. Sauté Onions and Garlic until tender but not brown.
2. Meanwhile, combine Chicken Broth, Zucchini, Celery, Parsley, Salt, Dill, Basil, and Pepper in a large saucepan.  Heat to boiling. Stir in Onion mixture. Simmer 30 minutes.
3. Blend soup in 2 or 3 batches in blender until smooth.  Return to saucepan and stir in Milk.
4. Soup may be served Hot or Cold.  Garnish with fresh grated Parmesan Cheese or Lemon Slices.

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Contact Emily’s Events for your next occassion  (480) 707-2251

This Minestrone Soup was the subject of a recent video shoot we are doing on behalf of our partner, Savory Choice. It was so good on set, we had to share it. It took less than an hour to put together and less than 5 min for our crew to eat it up. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 1⁄2 pound ground beef (optional)
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 medium onion or one small leek, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 zucchini, quartered and sliced
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained
• 2 cups cooked macaroni pasta
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 6 packets Vegetable Broth Concentrate
• 5 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
In a large pot, brown the ground beef and drain the fat. Add onions, leeks, celery and garlic and stir until soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 20 minutes. Sprinkle each bowl with Parmesan cheese to taste.

For richer flavor, try substituting 3 broth packets with Savory Choice Beef Broth Concentrate.

Serves 4.

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One of the coolest things for me about Chef Gross is not that he has opened some of the best restaurants in Phoenix or that he has cooked for presidents, but that he actually cooked FOR Julia Child. Add that to the way he gives back to the community, and I am impressed. The week before he was on our radio show, we visited his restaurant and sampled some his grub… outstanding! I have to say that Julia was a lucky gal. Chef provided us this wonderful soup for our fans and members. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Eden Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 Red Bell Peppers, Cored and Chopped
• 2 Leeks, White Only, Chopped
• 1 Medium Carrot, Peeled and Chopped
• 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 2 Cups Miso Stock (1 tbsp. Eden Hacho Miso  per 2 cups of water)
• **2 Cups Whipping Cream
• Salt
• White Pepper, Freshly Ground

Melt 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium – low heat.  Add vegetables and sauté until tender about 10 minutes.

Add the stock and cream (you may substitute 2 additional cups of miso stock for the cream).  Increase the heat and simmer until reduced by one third, about 30 minutes. 

Puree in blender in batches.

Strain soup back into the saucepan.  Simmer 15 minutes or until reduced to desired consistency.

Season with salt and pepper and serve. (When adding the salt and pepper you may elect to stir in two tbsp of butter to finish the soup.)

**Optional

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About Chef Christopher Gross

Christopher Gross has a love of food and wine. He has spent years discovering and learning about food and wine in kitchens throughout Europe and the great dining rooms of notable American restaurants. Today, he has a solid reputation of a highly regarded, award-winning chef. From renowned kitchens in Europe to the great dining rooms of American restaurants, Christopher Gross discovered and perfected his love of food and wine, devoting all of his knowledge and experience to establishing his reputation as a highly regarded chef.

In 1997 Christopher was the first chef in Arizona to be bestowed the honor of the Robert Mondavi Culinary Award of Excellence.  In 1995, Perrier Jouet and the James Beard Foundation named Christopher Best Chef Southwest. 

Cooking for Christopher is not only a career, it is also a passion which he enjoys sharing through cooking classes, cooking segments on local TV, and his featured articles in Front Doors Magazine.  He and his recipes have appeared in numerous cookbooks, including the Julia Child PBS series and cookbook; “In the Kitchen with Master Chefs.”  Christopher orchestrated the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food (AIWF) and was its founding chairman, along with being the Chair of the American Liver Foundation’s “Flavor of Phoenix,” and the Chair of the Share Our Strength’s “Taste of the Nation”, the nation’s largest hunger relief program.  Christopher also sits on the National Advisory Board for the James Beard Foundation and the Advisory Board of the Art Institute of Phoenix.

Christopher makes it a priority to give back to the community by donating his time, talent and cuisine to such charitable organizations as the Center Against Sexual Abuse, Cystic Fibrosis, American Liver Foundation, American Heart Association, Share Our Strength, West Side Food Bank, the James Beard Foundation and others.  He was also a featured chef at Dinner of the Decade, “A Salute to Peter Kump,” at the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games, and at a political dinner for President Bush. He has also cooked for President Ford, President Reagan and Vice President Al Gore. You can experience Chef Christopher Gross’ food at Christopher’s Crush. Click here to learn more.

When cooking at home, I like to roast a whole chicken sometimes, but, invariably, there are leftovers. I use that chicken for this soup, as well as various vegetables or things in the pantry. This is a light, broth style soup that can be adapted in many ways. Have fun and just be sure not to use the chicken skin.

Soup of the Week

1 quart – rich, dark chicken stock. If you do not have fresh stock, you can use a base such as Savory Choice and maybe add a little beef broth to it for some depth.
Keep your knifework small to medium pieces, as you want a good mixture of ingredients in each spoonful.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups cooked chicken, medium dice or shredded rustically (dark meat is better)
• 1/2 cup – dry white wine
• 2 each – Bay Leaves
• 1 each – large Beefsteak Tomato
• 2 cups – cooked pasta, such as small elbow macaroni, pastini etc.
• 1 each – Zucchinni Squash
• 1 each – Golden Italian Squash
• 1 large bunch – spinach, cleaned and chiffonade
• 6 each – large Basil leaves, chiffonade
• 1 Tablespoon – finely minced garlic
• 2 cups – really good white wine, such as Kung Fu Girl Riesling or L’Avion Viognier

Method
In a large saucepot, heat some olive oil over medium high heat. Start by adding the squashes, and cook till slightly soft. Add the tomato and garlic and increase heat, deglaze with the dry white wine. Add the bay leaves, chicken and pasta, then cover with stock. Bring this to a slow boil, all the while enjoying your glass of really good white wine. Check for seasoning, and adjust with salt and white pepper. Add the spinach and herbs to your serving dish and ladle the hot soup over it.

Serve this with some good quality rustic bread, such as ciabatta, perhaps grilled with olive oil, to provide some charred flavor to it. Prepare to receive the accolades of your guests, a complimentary scholarship to Le Cordon Bleu, and the Keys to the City.

Bon Appetit!

Brian

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My husband and I spent our second anniversary at Chef Eddie Matney’s restaurant in Phoenix AZ. It was a grand experience. Now, I could not be more proud to feature his Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup as our Soup of the Week.

Ingredients

• 4 – Heirloom Tomatoes

• 2 – Cloves- Fresh Garlic

• 1/4 Cup – Chopped Red Onion

• 10 Large – Fresh Basil Leaves

• Juice from  – 2 Lemons

• dash – Worcestershire sauce

• 1/4 cup – Olive Oil

• 1/4 Cup – Shredded Parmesan Cheese

• Salt & Pepper

Blend all ingredients until smooth, chill for at least two hours. Serve in shot glass topped with fresh chopped avocado and creme.

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About Chef Eddie Matney

One of the biggest personalities in town and affectionately known as “the most colorful chef” in the Phoenix Metropolitan area, Eddie Matney’s approach to New American Cuisine embraces the belief that the “melting pot theory” applies equally well to cooking as to sociology. According to Chef Eddie, his cooking is a “Mirror of America”, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and utilizes the many flavors that are native to classic American and Mediterranean cooking. Chef Eddie is a co-host on “Your Life A to Z” on Arizona’s Channel 3, two times a week. Along with being dubbed the “Number One Chef in the Valley” for five consecutive years by Phoenix Magazine, he has been celebrated for his unique culinary style in a number of prestigious publications including Food and Wine, USA Today, Bon Appétit, Food Arts, Nation’s Restaurant News and Money Magazine. While in New York for his dinner presentation at The James Beard House, Chef Eddie was featured on CBS’ The Early Show. He also found time to co-author Heartfelt Cuisine, which is a quick and easy heart healthy comfort food cookbook.

Check out his restaurant Eddie’s House by clicking here.