Recipes for Hot Soups
Now that we've turned on the heat (at least for one night), soup recipes immediately came to mind. Served with French bread or rolls and a glass of wine, they make a hearty lunch. Add a salad and you have a great light dinner. The French Onion Soup recipe is probably the most popular dish served at the Famous-Barr restaurants (part of the May Department Store group). Its popularity is so great that the frozen soup is even available (along with the cheese and bread) as a carry-out item in their gourmet food sections. This recipe takes some time to complete, but the finished product is extremely good and provides extra soup for the freezer.
This minestrone recipe appears to make enough for a small army even though it has never had a number of servings associated with it. The first time we ever made it, we incorrectly judged the total volume. As more and more ingredients were added, it became apparent that the pot we had chosen was much too small and we had to eliminate the macaroni. It was also obvious that this was not a typical "serves 8" type of recipe. You can easily serve 8 and still have leftovers.
The vegetable and cheese chowder is a wonderful one-dish meal, especially if you ignore the fat content. As with most soups containing vegetables, there is some flexibility in adding or eliminating ingredients. Don't leave out the green pepper - for some reason it is a crucial part of the overall taste. All of these soups can be made ahead and re-heated.
