Catching up on something that I made for “red week” in my Cook/bake-a-long this week: Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Bisque. It’s really hearty but tart and “spring like”. As usual with creamed soups, it’s really hard to photograph, so I tossed in a few garlicky croutons. This recipe makes a whole bunch so it will feed a crowd and/or freezes well.
I’ve been in Maine these last few days and decided to do a “from scratch” project: Corn Bacon and Lobster Chowder (recipe: ). By “from scratch”, I mean we bought the lobsters “off the boat” in Winter Harbor, then cooked the sea bugs ourselves and then made the lobster stock, then dealt with the corn and finally made the chowder. It was a bit of an “all day affair” but I have to say that the chowder was pretty spectacular. Perfectly seasoned, full of fresh corn, potatoes, bacon and lobster and super creamy. Normally I am not all that impressed with my own cooking, but this was great. Very pleased.
Continuing with the theme of “OMG is it cold in New England”, here is a bowl of homemade hearty winter Minestrone with Tortellini and Turkey Meatballs, sure to warm you up and fill you up. It’s delicious. Also, coincidentally, February 4 is National Homemade Soup Day. Yeah, not joking, but coincidental because I made the soup first and then I heard about the “holiday”.
winter is soup season, and this one turned out great: Carrot and Smoked Gouda Bisque. It’s sweet and savory at the same time, righ and smokey too. Might even be healthy, except for the rich cream. Either way, it was delicious.
It is, however, hard to photograph. You might have heard me complain before: soups and chowders aren’t fun to photograph — monochromatic, often light colored liquid. [Yawn]. This time, I went for adding a few carrot swirls, just to give it some contrast in the picture. Totally unnecessary for the recipe though. š
Comfort food.
We’re heading into January, the worst month of the year, and I am already seeking solice in comfort food. And this, for me, might be the most comforting of all the comfort foods out there in my opinion. Kartoffelschnitz und SpƤtzle (Potato and SpƤtzle Stew) It was a soup / stew that my Oma used to make when I was a child. It is winter food. Ward off the chills food. Very Swabian and regional to the Stuttgart area of Germany. It’s a rich, hearty, homemade beef broth, homemade spƤtzle (freshly made, frozen, or if you live in an area that has them, in the deli cases; avoid the dried) and not only spƤtzle, but doubling up on the carbs, also potatoes. Just what I needed today.