Nick is looney for lentils!

This week the souperstars gathered for an Indian themed soup night. Nick was the chef and he did not disappoint. I’m sorry to the other souperstars, but this has been my favorite soup to date. It was very hardy and perfect for the coldest day of the year in Chicago so far.

Menu
Mushroom and Almond Spinach Salad
Coconut Red Lentil Soup with Naan
Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango

Mushroom and Almond Spinach Salad
Kaitlin made this recipe up, so nothing is precise. It was more of an improvisation. Make sure you season to taste.

Ingredients
Spinach
Portobello Mushrooms, sautéed
Almonds

Dressing
½ onion, diced
butter
balsamic vinegar
dijon mustard
olive oil
freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Sauté mushrooms and set aside. Caramelize onion in a sauté pan. Once the onion is nice and brown, add a few hefty splashes of balsamic. Let the balsamic reduce. Add a dollop of mustard, stir, and remove from heat. Pour mixture in a glass jar, add a few glugs of olive oil, orange juice, brown sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Shake well. In a large bowl, add spinach, mushrooms, and almonds. Toss salad with dressing and serve.

Coconut Red Lentil Soup
Serves 6
*adapted from 101 cookbooks

Ingredients
1 cup yellow split peas

1 cup red split lentils (masoor dal)

7 cups water

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 tbs fresh peeled and minced ginger

3 tbs curry powder

2 tbs butter 

8 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
½ cup golden raisins

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

1 pinch of brown sugar
2 tsp fine grain sea salt

small handful cilantro, chopped
cooked brown rice or farro, for serving (optional)

Directions
Give the split peas and lentils a good rinse - until they no longer leave murky water. Place them in an extra-large soup pot, cover with the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the carrot and 1/4 of the ginger. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the split peas are soft.

In the meantime, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until it is quite fragrant. Be careful though, you don't want to burn the curry powder, just toast it. Set aside. Place the butter in a pan over medium heat, add half of the green onions, the remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for two minutes stirring constantly, then add the tomato paste and saute for another minute or two more.

Add the toasted curry powder to the tomato paste mixture, mix well, and then add this to the simmering soup along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The texture should thicken up, but you can play around with the consistency if you like by adding more water, a bit at a time, if you like. Or simmer longer for a thicker consistency. The thicker this soup got, the more I liked it.

Cook Rice, and place a portion in each bowl. Ladle soup into bowls, and garnish with green onions and cilantro. Serve with Naan, the Indian flat bread.

Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango
This is another Kaitlin original, enjoy!

Depending on how many people you are serving, follow the directions on rice box for ratio of rice to water. Substitute coconut milk in for about 1/3 of the amount of water. Add tablespoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt to the water/coconut mixture, let dissolve. Add rice and cook as the package directs.

While the rice cooks, bring a can of coconut milk to a simmer in a saucepan. Add sugar and salt until it tastes deliciously sweet, salty, and coconutty (the salt really brings out the coconut flavor.)

Pour sauce over cooked rice, combine and let sit covered until ready to serve (at least 10 or so minutes.) Serve with sliced mango.

Beer Served

Wine served

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you are stumped for some holiday cooking ideas, worry no more! This week Mari hosted an amazing thanksgiving themed soup night. It was a great time to give thanks…..thanks for soup! The soup was made with tofurkey, which I know sounds scary, but was actually quite good.

Menu
Cornbread
Butternut Squash and Tofurkey Soup
Sweet Potato and Pecan Pie with Pumpkin Ice Cream

Cornbread
Serves 10-12
*adapted from spark recipes

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbs. sugar or honey
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
3 Tbs. butter (plus some to grease the pan)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in cast iron skillet or baking pan. Combine dry ingredients. Mix egg with buttermilk. Pour wet ingredients in dry and mix until just combined. Pour batter into pan (with butter) and mix again. Bake for 20 minutes.

Butternut Squash and Tofurkey Soup*adapted from family oven

Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
2 leeks, trimmed, thoroughly cleaned and chopped (3 1/2 cups)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, (2 medium), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbs chopped fresh thyme, or 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 pound tofurkey
2 cups frozen corn kernels
2 tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp honey
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add leeks and pepper; cook, stirring often until the vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute more.

Stir in broth, squash, thyme and cumin; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add to tofurkey and corn; return the broth to a simmer. Simmer until the tofurkey is just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lime juice and crushed red pepper and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Sweet Potato and Pecan Pie
*adapted from food network

Ingredients
1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
3/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
5 egg yolks
Salt
1 (9-inch) deep dish, frozen pie shell
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tbs maple syrup
Special equipment: steamer basket

Directions
Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt, to taste, and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165 to 180 degrees. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.

Wine and Beer served

Juliana's Butcher Block

Last night Andrew and I had a hankering for soup…big surprise! I decided to raid the cupboards and fridge to see what I had. I found curry paste, chile sauce, chicken broth, chicken, jalapeño, frozen peas, and soba noodles. With the addition of a few ingredients from the store, I decided to make a curry chicken and soba noodle soup. It was really easy to make and tasted fantastic.














Curry Chicken and Soba Noodle Soup
serves 6
*adapted from bon apetit.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 jalapeño, de-seeded and minced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon hot chili sauce
1 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
6 cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons sugar
3 cups frozen peas
1 red pepper chopped
1 pound soba noodles
3/4 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs, thinly sliced
juice of one lime

Garnish
sliced green onions
chopped fresh cilantro
red jalapeño chiles, thinly sliced with seeds

Directions
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients; stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in curry paste, curry powder, and chili sauce. Add 1/2 cup coconut milk (scooped from thick liquid at top of can). Stir until thick and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add remaining coconut milk, broth, and sugar; bring broth to boil. Add chicken; simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Add peas and red peppers, heat until warm. Add noodles, and cook until tender. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with green onions, cilantro, and chiles.

Do you know what spaghetti balls are? Cause we do.

I'm very sorry for the soup night delay. We took a two week break for my birthday and traveling. We are back now, and last night was jeff's turn. The meal was amazing. We also had a new soup night guest. It was a long time coming but we finally got him. My big bro Dan!











Menu
Pear, Walnut, and Blue Cheese Salad
Three Bean Soup

Spaghetti Rolls
Cannolis

Pear, Walnut and Blue Cheese Salad

The salad consists of romaine lettuce, walnuts, blue cheese, and dressing

dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic minced
5 large basil leaves minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp. honey

whisk together briskly

Three Bean Soup
Serves 4
*adapted from Simply Cooking

Ingredients
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ minced onion
2 tbsp. minced celery
2 tbsp. minced carrots
salt, pepper, paprika, sage, and cayenne to taste
½ pound Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup canned three-bean mixture (like kidney, pinto, and garbanzo)
1 bunch chopped kale
grated Parmesan to garnish

Directions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium. Saute the onion, celery and carrots until soft. Season with salt, and pepper. Add the potatoes and stir. Add broth, tomatoes and beans. Add paprika, sage and cayenne to taste. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Add the kale. Reduce the heat and let simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the greens are cooked. Garnish with grated Parmesan.

Spaghetti Rolls
Serves 4
*adapted from Better Recipes

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
vegetable oil
2 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp. chopped green chilies
1 tbsp. red chili powder
Salt, according to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
White Sauce (see below)
1/2 cup cooked potatoes
1/4 cup cooked peas
1 cup cooked spaghetti
Bread crumbs

Directions
Put a little oil in a pan. Add onions & saute them. Add chopped ginger, chilies, chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook them for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare White Sauce: Heat 1 Tbsp butter or oil in a saucepan; add 2 tbsp refined flour (maida flour). Saute for a couple of minutes. Gradually add 1 cup milk, stirring all the while to avoid lumps. Add salt, pepper and ground mustard to your taste; stir to mix well. Take pan off the heat & stir in desired amount of grated cheese. Ready to use. In a bowl, combine cooked potatoes, peas, the White Sauce, cooked spaghetti, and onion mixture. Mix them properly. Form it into a roll. Roll in bread crumbs. Fry till light brown. Serve hot.

We added the spaghetti balls directly into the soup.

Cannolis

Beer and Wine served

Juliana's Butcher Block

In the absence of Soup Night this week, I decided to have Juliana's Butcher Block. In the first installment of the season, Juliana's Butcher Block made Spinach and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs. It was great and very hearty.



















Spinach and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
serves 4
*adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients
Meatballs
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
12 oz. lean ground turkey
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 ttsp ground black pepper

Soup
8 cups chicken broth
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup orzo
4 cups chopped spinach

Directions
Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl. Mix in breadcrumbs; let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper; gently stir to blend. Shape turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet; cover and chill 30 minutes.

In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add onion, and sauté until browned. Add chicken broth, and bring to a boil. Add carrots and orzo; reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in spinach and simmer until turkey meatballs, orzo, and escarole are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season soup with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan.

Chowder and Troll 2

This week was my, Juliana's, turn to host soup night. I made a butternut squash and corn chowder with goat cheese croutons. It was great, however, the highlight of the evening was definitely Troll 2. It was so bad it was good. I am pretty sure we are all rethinking our halloween costumes.

Butternut Squash and Corn Chowder with Goat Cheese Croutons

*adapted from epicurious

Ingredients

Butternut Squash and Corn Chowder

4 oz. thick cut bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 2 1/4-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped

4 1/2 cups chicken broth 

2 tsp minced canned chipotle chilies

1 16-oz. canned corn

2 tsp minced fresh sage

Goat Cheese Croutons

4 oz chilled soft fresh goat cheese 

2 large eggs, beaten 

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tbs olive oil

Cut cheese into 8 rounds. Place eggs in small bowl; place cornmeal in another bowl. Dip cheese into eggs, then into cornmeal, turning to coat. Press cornmeal gently to adhere. Place on baking sheet. Freeze for 1 hour.

Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towels. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add butternut squash, broth and chilies; simmer until squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Using a potato masher, break up squash. Mix in corn. Add sage and season with salt and pepper. 

Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add frozen cheese; brown well, about 1 minute per side. Ladle soup into bowls. Top with pancetta and cheese croutons.

Walnut Fig Salad

The salad consists of mixed greens, arugala, figs, toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan, and balsamic dressing.

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes

Ingredients

Jello cheesecake no bake

Store bought mini graham cracker crusts

1 egg white

pecans

chocolate chips

chocolate sauce

carmel sauce

Directions

Lay crusts on a baking sheet. Mix egg whites in a bowl; brush onto crusts. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Toast pecans on another baking sheet for 5 min. Make cheesecake as the box directs. Fill cups evenly with cheesecake mixture. Top with toasted pecans, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce. Chill for at least an hour.

Wine, Beer, and Faygo served

Kaitlin's soup night and pumpkin carving

That time has come again! Soup night is back and better than ever. We had a pumpkin themed soup night. We ate pumpkin soup, carved pumpkins, and had pumpkin bread pudding. It was great to be back with soup-minded people.

our amazing pumpkins

We also have some new soup night members. Welcome Jason and Sarah!

Black Bean Pumpkin Soup
Serves 8
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
4 1/2 cups black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup drained canned tomatoes, chopped

1 1/4 cups chopped onion

1/2 cup minced shallot

4 garlic cloves minced

1 tbs plus 2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup unsalted butter

4 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup dry Sherry

1/2 pound cooked ham, cut into 1/8-inch dice

3 to 4 tbs Sherry vinegar
Garnish: sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
In a food processor coarsely mix beans and tomatoes. In a large stock pot sauté onion, shallot, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper in butter over medium heat, stirring until onion is softened and starts to brown. Stir in bean puree. Add broth, pumpkin, and Sherry. Stir until combined. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until the soup thickens. Just before serving, add ham and vinegar and cook until heated. Season soup with salt and pepper and garnish with sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Kaitlin served this soup with a salad.

Roasted Beets

and Nick's homemade bread.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding
(this recipe was adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs plus 1 yolk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground allspice

Pinch of ground cloves

2 tbs bourbon (Kaitlin used buffalo trace, which is the best)
5 cups cubed (1-inch) day-old baguette or crusty bread

3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Directions
While preheating oven to 350°, melt butter in the bottom of a 8-inch baking dish. Once it is melted, take it out of the oven and toss bread cubes with butter, coating thoroughly. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the remaining ingredients. Pour them over buttered bread cubes in baking dish, stirring to make sure all pieces are evenly coated. Bake until custard is set, 25 to 30 minutes.

Apples and Caramel 

Wine and Beer served