Finally, the weather turned cool enough to put soup back on the menu! Yippee! Bring back the Fall color palette and a hot, hearty helping of soup. I couldn’t wait to use these adorable individual soup terrines. It was Sunday lunch with Michael, my mom, Sue, and Deloris. Soup was the star, but we also had some Chipotle Hummus, a salad with everything in it, and Parmesan Garlic Wings made with George Stella’s awesome recipe.
For the soup, I actually started with a quart of broccoli cheddar from the soup bar at Sunflower Market. With that in the saucepan, I added 3/4 of a box of organic chicken broth and 3 cups of lightly steamed broccoli florets. Much better!
Let me share another trick. I put the soup tureens and the little green plates that go under them into the warming drawer for about half an hour before I filled them with soup. I didnt put the lids in, because I didn’t want them to be too hot when guests were taking them off. The warmed bowls kept the soup at just the right temperature as it was consumed. If you don’t have a warming drawer, preheat your oven to 150 degrees, place your soup bowls or mini-tureens on a large baking sheet, and place them in the warm oven.
A few sprinkles of finely grated cheddar cheese added to the top just before serving taking the terrines to the table added a nice finishing touch. Looking at the pics, I wish I had also added just a sprinkle of a finely minced fresh herb, such as parsley or chives. A little crumbled cooked bacon would have done nicely, too. Even a dash of cracked black pepper would have produced a nice contrast.
See my fancy ice cubes? I had a surplus of berries — blackberries, raspberries, blueberries — so I washed them, allowed them to dry on a paper towel, then put them into individual ice cube slots in a silicone ice tray. The berries looked a little lonely by themselves, so I added small mint leaves. Here’s what astonished us — how long the cubes stayed frozen and how absolutely garden fresh the berries looked and tasted once all the ice melted (which, by the way, took until after dinner was over). There were squeals of delight generated by the sight of these beautiful ice cubes. It’s just the sort of extra touch that makes an impact. These may become a staple around my house!
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