Host a Soup Parrty

 

This year was the third year in a row that our Church has hosted a soup party. It's a tradition that I hope to carry on & host, no matter where we are. It's fabulous. What other time do you get to taste 15+ home cooked, delicious soups?! Fall isn't over & we're coming up to the really chilly part of the year, why not host your own soup party!!  

What's a soup party? 

A soup party is a party filled with soup, obviously! It should also be filled with lots of friends! 

Zachary and I at our last soup party! (Sorry these next two pics are a little blurry, but they're the only ones we got this year! :) I must post them for memories sake, ya know?! )

Zachary & Nik at the soup party! 

What do you do?

Invite your family & friends, ask them to make a soup & bring it in a crock pot! Once you have all your soups lined up and ready, the eating begins! Have everyone try each soup. Once everyone has had their fill & tried each one, hand out peices of paper for everyone to select their favorites! Give the first, second and third place soup makers a prize! 

What do I need?

-Invites

-desserts & bread (if you want, or ask friends to bring a dessert & bread with their soup)

-spoons

-napkins

-Large paper plates

-small cups to be placed on top of the plate &  used as bowls like so;

If you want to get real fancy, why not decorate, too?

These potted flowers  in a pumpkin are easy & beautiful. Why not try a cinnamon pumpkin tea light holder, too? 

Need some delicious soup recipes for your soup party?! Try these!

Roasted Cauliflower & Aged Cheddar Soup

Tom Yum Soup

Quinoa Vegetable Chili

Chicken Soup

Clam Chowder

Also, not to brag or anything ;), but I won last year with a recipe similar to this one. This years top 3 were delicious, mine this year didn't stand a chance!! #1 was a pumpkin curry soup. #2 was a creamy onion soup and #3 was a delicious taco soup! Click for similar recipes!

Also, why you're at it, why not 'Click' and 'Save Image as' these  Soup Party Printables I made for you!

 

Let me know if you host one! I promise, it's tons of fun!

Roasted Cauliflour & Aged Cheddar Soup

This soup has become one of my favorites this season. It's light, savory & delicious. I've made it 3 times in the last month!  I found this recipe on Closet Cooking, where I seem to be finding all my recipes as of late. Kevin posts so many delicious looking recipes, that there's not enough hours or meals in my week, to try all the ones I'd like to. You'll love this soup, friends. It's oober easy , made with very few ingredients, but tastes like you spent hours in the kitchen! Also, it goes perfect with this beer bread. Enjoy! 

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 tablespoons oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups aged white cheddar, shredded
• 1 cup milk or cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cauliflower in oil and season with salt and pepper. Lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in a 400F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Heat oil in a pan, add onion & saute about 5 to 7 minutes. 

Add garlic & thyme. Saute one minute.

Add the broth & the roasted cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & summer for 20 minutes. 

Puree the soup in a blinder. Pour back into the pan.

Mix in the cheese. Stir. *Don't bring back to a boil.

Mix in the milk & season with salt & pepper. 

Top with more cheese, bacon or thyme! Enjoy!!

Fall Baking & Cooking List

 

 Apple Fritter Bites //  Apple Coffee Cake Muffins  // Persimmon Cake//  Glazed Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread //  Pumpkin Coffee Cake Donuts // Apple Crisp // Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake 

//  Slowcooker Apple Pie Steel Cut Oatmeal //  Melt in your Mouth Pumpkin Cookies

Seriously, all of these just look so amazing to me! I can't wait to make them! Zachary's kind of obsessed with Top Pot Starbucks apple fritters, so I think if I could perfect these little bites, I'd be in his favor for always. You know, even more than I am now. ;) I'm excited for the oat meals on chilly fall mornings in the future! Also, the donuts and muffins MUST only be baked when I am taking them to someone else. There is NO WAY those things can sit around my house for days. They wouldn't make it. They look like my favorite kind of pastries! Scones! Why are there no scones on this list?! I must change that. I added a persimmon recipe on here because there are tons of persimmons here in Qingdao every Fall and I've never known what to do with them. I'd also love to make a persimmon pudding or get a persimmon recipe from my Great Aunt. Yes, I should do that. Also, please know, that I will also, most definitely be baking pumpkin chocolate chip bread. But that's a given.

And because we can't eat sweets for every meal & snack of the day (like, who would want to do that anyway? ;)  ), here's 9 soups I'm X to the Cite to the Ed (excited, in case you missed it) about cooking! I'm a sucker for soup. Especially soup you can put in a crock pot which in my world, could be any of these (even if the recipe doesn't permit. I just do my own thang, you know, yo.).

Mushroom Risotto// Roasted Red Pepper Potato Soup //Chili //Creamy Roasted Red Pepper 

//Creamy Chicken Corn//Carrot Tomato Coconut Soup //Cauliflower and Aged Cheddar 

//Cajun Chicken and Mushrooms// Tomato Basil Chicken Stew

Is it crazy that I'm actually feeling all cozy and saying out loud, "Mmmm" at the sight of some of these soups? Can you tell I'm a sucker for creamy soups and red bell peppers? I would also love to make a Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda bisque. Yum. I love the uniqueness of some of the soups above and can't wait to try them! I challenge myself to bake & cook all of the above!

Self, I'll give you fall AND winter, so no excuses! If Julie Andrews could cook through the entire Joy of Cooking in a year, you can make 18 things in a fall and winter. You can do it!

Pep talks are good. Don't you worry though, I won't need any pep talks to eat any of the above!

What's on your fall baking and cooking list?

Delicious Clam Chowder

This past weekend we were both feeling a little sick and with it being so chilly outside we decided to just stay in and get cozy. This consisted of me sleeping the entire day after tutoring while Zachary made clam chowder. Not a bad day if I do say so. :)  Living on the coast, we have fallen in love with seafood, especially clams. I'm sure I've mentioned it before but I could eat them, actually I do eat them, like popcorn. I've never got really creative with the seafood here before, though. For some reason it hasn't really occurred to me to search out new seafood recipes. I just stir fry those babies for 5 minutes and we have dinner. Easy, peasy. Thankfully Zachary decided to branch out Saturday and was set on making clam chowder. 

Zachary's signature kitchen style, dish towel over the shoulder.

I love it when he cooks. He moves so slowly, plays music, cleans the dishes as he goes, makes sure each step is completed perfectly before he moves on to the next. It's quite peaceful actually and such an act of service. I'm so thankful for him. He doesn't cook often but when he does I always know it's out of love. The first meal he ever cooked me was in University in my flat, on a hot plate, since we didn't have ovens. He talked it up for a few days. It turned out being a steak patty with cream of mushroom poured over it. :) Hehe. It was delicious but as I told him at the time, guy food! I remember my dad often made this for himself when I was growing up. Good thing I love guy food, though! I'm a Texas girl all the way and love meat. It was just too cute the way he talked it up so much. 

Several years of our marriage he had also talked up his famous pie crusts, learned from his great-grandmother and grandmothers.  I always gave him a hard time about it since I always heard about it but never got a chance to taste one. Fast forward this summer when he made a delicious pie, the crust of which I don't remember, but still he made one. To Christmas day when he made a crust for the quiche I made. Oh. My. Goodness. I'm craving that crust just typing about it! It was fantastic. And so, I will from this point forward, fully support him in his being a "pie crust genius" claims!  If you're near the coast with an abundance of clams, or just like clams, here's Zachary's (a.k.a. Food NetWorks') famous clam chowder recipe from the weekend. 

4 pounds cherrystone clams, scrubbed  (Z used just regular fresh clams from our local grocery)
2 large red-skinned potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (Zachary used regular white potatoes)
1 slice lean center-cut bacon, chopped (He used ham instead)
1 medium onion, diced
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup fat-free half-and-half (He just used regular lowfat milk)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons unsalted butter, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions
Put the clams and 2 cups water in a pot. Cover, bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook 5 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until the clams open, 5 to 10 minutes (discard any that do not open); transfer the clams to a bowl. Pour the liquid into a large measuring cup. (You should have 3 cups liquid; add water if needed.) Wipe out the pot.

Pour the liquid back into the pot through a paper towel-lined sieve. Add the potatoes, cover and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove one-third of the potatoes. Continue to cook the remaining potatoes, covered, until soft, about 10 more minutes. Puree in batches in a blender until smooth. Return the soup to the pot.

Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaves and cook, stirring, about 3 more minutes. Add the bacon mixture and reserved potatoes to the soup. Cover and cook over low heat, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove the clams from their shells and roughly chop. Stir the clam meat and half-and-half into the soup; remove from the heat, cover and set aside, 20 to 30 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves. Season the soup with salt and pepper and reheat. Serve topped with a slice of butter, parsley, chives and paprika.

Recipe from here.

Enjoy! It was delicious!