Thanksgiving Day Soup Recipes

For many, the turkey is the main attraction on Thanksgiving but being all about soups, I was focused on finding some interesting and delicious soup recipes to start the feast. I'll be making a variation of Daniel Boulud's chestnut, apple and celery soup, but if that isn't what you are looking for hopefully one of these soup recipes will inspire you this Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day Soup Recipes

1. Oliver Baussan's Chestnut Soup- Forwarded to me from my friends at Top Ten Dishes, this velvety holiday soup is packed with flavor from the cardamom pods, black truffle oil and chestnuts. I also love the addition of porcini powder, which have I never cooked with but would be excited to try out in this soup.

Celery and Blue Cheese Soup by Deja Vu Cook

2. Celery and Blue Cheese Soup - Kathleen of Deja Vu Cook recently made this delicious celery and blue cheese soup that she describes as having an "unforgettable taste thanks to the blue cheese." Adding, "If you have never tried celery soup this is a must." I certainly agree with that and love the combination of simple flavors in this soup (garlic, onions, butter and stock) that will surely leave your guests with a meal to remember.

Cranberry Bean and Pearl Barley Soup - Photo Credit: Saveur.com

3.  Cranberry Bean and Pearl Barley Soup - Very excited to see a cranberry bean soup and this one from Saveur.com also includes barley, pancetta, and various fresh seasonings (parsley, rosemary, basil, and sage). The directions also noted that farro can be used to replace the barley.

4. Gingered Butternut Squash Soup with Spicy Pecan Cream - I'm a huge fan of butternut squash and having been making my variation - roasted butternut squash with carrot soup - for months. The beauty of soups is that there are so many variations using the many of the same ingredients that can completely change the taste of a soup much like this gingered butternut squash soup. Featured on Food and Wine.com, the recipe by Dean Fearing includes the classic staple - butternut squash - along with pecans, butter, coconut milk, ginger and hazelnut oil - creating a delicious twist to the classic recipe.

Harvest Corn Chowder with Chirzo - Photo Credit: Bon Appetit

5. Harvest Corn Chowder with Chirzo - Described as a "smoky soup," this corn chowder with chirzo includes fresh corn, red potatoes, Spanish chirzo, thyme and cayenne pepper for a kick. A hearty way to start Thanksgiving that can also be varied as a simple corn chowder without the chirzo. 

6. Selection of Soups from the NY Times - As you can see, I love lists and this featured on the NY Times.com is collection of soups from their archives that might be perfect for your Thanksgiving. Featuring a peanut soup, cranberry borscht, and game stock - I'm sure you'll find some soup ideas from this list.

This is just the tip of the soup iceberg for Thanksgiving recipe ideas. Please feel free to leave your soup link or recipe ideas in the comment section.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Seriously Soupy Serena

 

Holiday Soup Ideas: Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup with Roasted Chestnuts

Holiday Soup Ideas: Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup with Roasted Chestnuts

It's been a few weeks since I was 'Seriously Soupy' - a combination of non-blogging priorities and sheer exhaustion have kept me away. But, I was recently inspired to return to my soup pot thanks to Emily (of Brooklyn Cookery) who told me about this delicious root vegetable soup recipe by Daniel Boulud. I didn't have the celeriac root so I substituted for celery and used Fiji apples instead of McIntosh. Emily made this soup before me and noted that she used less stock then the recipe asked for. She also added more heavy cream and some butter. I also wanted a thicker soup and used two cups of stock (instead of 4 quarts). I also roasted some chestnuts as a garnish, that when mixed into the soup, made the soup a very rich with a nice crunch. This is definitely one to try out over the holidays and one that is easy enough to vary depending on what ingredients you have at home.

Chestnut, Celery and Apple Soup, Adapted from Daniel Boulud's Recipe
From Daniel Boulud’s Café Boulud Cookbook, Daniel Boulud and Dorie Greenspan, Scribner 1999.
Makes 4 servings 

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium leek, white part only, trimmed, thinly sliced, washed and dried
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and cut into ½-inch cubes
*4 celery ribs, cut up or from Daniel Boulud's recipe -10 ounces celery root, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
*Pinch of celery salt
3/4 pound peeled fresh chestnuts from 1 ¼ pounds chestnuts in shells, or 3/4 pound dry-packed bottled or vacuum-sealed peeled fresh chestnuts
2 quarts homemade unsalted chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream

*Changes to the original recipe

Directions:
1) Heat the oil in a stockpot or large casserole over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, apples, celery root, bay leaf, thyme, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the onions and leeks are soft but not colored. Add the chestnuts and chicken stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, skimming the surface regularly, 35 to 40 minutes, or until the chestnuts can be mashed easily with a fork. Add the heavy cream and simmer 5 to 10 minutes more, then discard the bay leaf and thyme.

2) Purée the soup until smooth using a blender, food processor or hand-held immersion blender, then pass it through a fine-mesh strainer. At this point, you should have about 2 quarts of soup. If you have more, or if you think the soup is too thin – the soup should have the consistency of a velouté or light cream soup – simmer it over medium heat until thickened. Taste and, if necessary, adjust the seasoning. (The soup can be cooled completely and stored in a covered jar in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to a month. Bring the soup back to a boil before serving.)

* 3) Place a few chestnuts in a pan and let cook on a medium heat. Add some soup (about 2 tablespoons) and let the mixture cook with the chestnuts (about 5 minutes). Top the soup with the chestnuts and enjoy!u 

To serve: Reheat the soup, if necessary – the soup really needs to be hot – and ladle it into warm bowls.

What soups will you be making over the holidays?

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

Chestnut Soup is Everywhere!

Great mind's think alike. A rather obnoxious statement, but that perhaps rings a little bit of truth, especially as I just finished reading the article Everything From Nuts to Soup from the New York Times. The article, written by Melissa Clark talks about her preparation of chestnut soup for the holidays, and as some of you already know I posted this morning about potentially making a chestnut soup in the Holiday Redux Part Two series. Although my chestnut soup never came to fruition and another took its place I enjoyed reading about Clark's approach to her soup (adding prunes, apples, and mushrooms) and how she prepared the chestnuts (I had not gotten that far).  One of these days I will get my hands on chestnuts and when I do you will sure to be the first to know!

Article:
Everything from Soup to Nuts

Recipe:
Chestnut-Apple Soup With Calvados Cream


I also found this great chestnut cook book; if you find any of these recipes inspiring write to me at seriouslysoupy@gmail.com and share your experiences!

Seriously Soupy Serena

P.S. Has anyone ever made a chestnut soup? I would love to hear about it.