Soup Links—A weekly rundown of soup in the news

There has been quite a lot of soupy action going on this week. Check out some of exciting things in the world of soup, including voting for a soup created by yours truly —seriously:

• The Gift of Soup. Congrats, you just had a baby! Now, here's your soup. Maybe this will take some time to take flight, but the recent article in the San Francisco Gate by Amanda Gold is surely a proponent for this novel idea. Entitled The Gift of Soup, the article illustrates how the gift of frozen soup can be a creative way to comfort new parents, while providing them with a nourishing meal, which is much-needed during those sleepless early days. Gold also goes one to give some rules for the preparation and which soups can be frozen. Now, I'm not much for rules when it comes to soups, but Gold's suggestions are very helpful, especially when she discusses what ingredients last in the freezer (vegetables, meat and beans) and those that should be eaten in a few days (mushroom). Additionally, she includes handy tips for the thawing out process and recipes, along with wine pairings for each individual soup. Not sure if these soups would even make their way to my freezer, especially the Winter Ribollita and the Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, but I really enjoyed this step-by-step style article. You can check it out at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/c/a/2010/01/10/FDCJ1BC0JJ.DTL#ixzz0chC8nJwn
  

• Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crème Fraiche. So, I have become a little obessed with chestnut soup. And this is not because I have been savoring this soupy, but have been seeing it everywhere since I have been trying to find this rare ingredient (at least in my neck of the woods) for my Christmas soup. Although it worked out for the best with my Sweet Potato and Cranberry Soup, I can't help but grit my teeth in frustration at not being able to create it myself. This week I stumbled upon yet another chestnut soup creation with a Roasted Chestnut Soup with Crème Fraiche recipe from Ceramic Canvas. I immediately loosed my jaw, as it dropped in amazement at the sight of the gorgeous food pictures taken by the author, Reginald, and then of course there was the recipe. Loosely based on a recipe from Metropolitan Home magazine, this recipe incorporated seasonal ingredients such as fresh chestnuts, onions, thyme, and crème fraiche (my other nemesis). You can find the recipe here: http://ceramiccanvas.com/2010/01/roasted-chestnut-soup-with-cream-fraiche/ and hopefully you will have more luck on your quest for the chestnut.
  

• Spicy Roasted Corn Soup. And now on to the shameless self-promotion part of the evening.... I recently entered the food52 "Best Home Alone Dinner" challenge, which asked contestants to submit a recipe based on meal that they would create if they were having a meal for one. Of course I opted to create a soup and decided since I was home alone (in fantasy world, of course) that I would keep it sort of simple by using what I had in my house (corn, parsnips, onions, some spices, etc). Rather than boiling the corn, I decided to roast the corn with garlic, salt, butter and olive oil, which blackened the corn a bit. I then transported it into a soup pot to cook for another 15 minutes or so with a minimal amount of water, some lemon, and spices. What resulted was a chunky soup with tons of flavor that started out sweet from the corn and ended with a slight kick from he spices. I would even opt to increase the spice a bit next time, but that's up to you. Check out the recipe here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/2659_spicy_roasted_corn_soup_for_one and don't forget to vote for me!

Seriously Soupy Serena