10.19.2011

Bread Baking, and More Soup Making!


Believe it or not after last weeks excitement over the boot wearing and soup making weather, I still haven't come down from the high. Still not ready to show you my sweet dance moves just yet, I am not sure you can handle it. Hopefully you can handle all this soup I've been dishing up lately. Since the white bean chicken chili last week I have stirred up two more pots of soup. 

The first was a lovely roasted red pepper and tomato soup served with a green salad topped with goats cheese and pecans, and a crusty warm baguette. I was lucky enough to share this soup with friends along with several bottles of wine! Food and wine are really best when shared with good company, don't ya think?!

The second soup was last nights dinner. A cheesy creamy broccoli cheddar soup served in a....wait for it... bread bowl! I had it in my head that broccoli cheddar would be much more exciting in a vessel made of bread. Sadly it was not nearly as exciting as I had hoped it would be. This is not to say that my bread bowl wasn't any good. I have however decided that I'm simply not a fan. Problem number one; the soup to bread ratio is way off in favor of the bread. Problem number two; I am not a huge fan of soggy bread. My husband on the other hand seemed pretty happy. He is a cup of crushed crackers in his bowl of soup kind of guy anyway. So lots of soggy bread is right up his alley. 

All excitement was not lost for me. I had a great time making the bread, and the presentation was so much fun all disdain for the bread bowl went right out the window. 

So here is how the whole broccoli cheddar bread bowl thing went down:

I made the bread the night before using this recipe


The next day I got busy prepping ingredients for the soup.

I sautéed the onions, carrots, and celery in a little butter and olive oil. 

Then in goes the garlic and broccoli. Saute for a few more minuets before adding chicken broth. Cover the pot and allow broccoli to cook.

When the broccoli is just on the verge of being cooked all the way through remove a little more than half of it and set it aside to be added back at the end.

Simmer the soup for about 10 minuets longer until remaining broccoli is soft. Use emulsion blender to puree contents of the pot. If you don't have an emulsion blender, carefully ladle the soup into a food processor to puree.

Add cream or milk, up to you! Obviously cream is best!
If the soup seems too thin you can mix up a small amount of flour and milk together and add that to the soup to thicken it.

While soup is bubbling away and thickening you can begin prepping your bread bowls.
Using a bread knife slice off the top half of the bread ball.


Then without cutting all the way through to the bottom remove the center portion of the bread. I had to remove it in a few different pieces. And FYI the insides can be toasted and made into croutons or bread crumbs for other uses. 


Finally add the cheese to the soup and allow it to melt stirring thoroughly to incorporate.

Add the remaining broccoli back to the soup about five minuets before serving. 

Ladle into bread bowl and enjoy! Or in my case eat all the soupy goodness and give your husband 75% of your soggy bread.


1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium/large chopped onion
1/2 lb fresh broccoli (chopped into bite sized pieces)
1 cup carrot, julienned
2 stalks of celery finely diced
2 cloves garlic minced
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream (or milk) + 1/2 cup mixed with 2 heaping tablespoons of flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

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