Last week I was sick. It was very very very annoying. Lucky for me it didn’t keep me down for too long and 2 things got me through the week.
1. The first was watching Julie and Julia for the first time ever and then proceeding to watch it 2 more times throughout the week in between reruns of NCIS, Law and Order SVU and The Real Housewives of Orange County (don’t judge me… its just always on!!!!)
2. This fabulous, amazing and delicious soup saved my life. I made it a tad bit spicier than normal in hopes that it would clear my head and it did just the trick! I was breathing out of my nose in no time (sorry if that was too much info!)
I am happy to report that I am feeling much better, I had an excellent weekend which included me cooking for 9 hours on Saturday (so I have tons of great ideas to share with you this week), Christmas is in 11 days and I haven’t even started my shopping yet. So in honor of my being lazy and putting off my shopping until the last possible week I have decided to host my first ever giveaway on What’s Gaby Cooking! Today I will be giving away 2 things!
A Cuisinart Food Processor – which will come in handy when making this soup. Its kinda my best friend in the kitchen – I have 3… a mini (which I use for making pesto and other small things), a 4 cup (which I use when I am making hummus or for chopping onions when I am super lazy) and 12 cup (which is perfect for soups or making different kinds of dough!) … and they all get used on a weekly basis… so they are happy campers!
Also – a copy of the Julie and Julia DVD or Blu-Ray (whoever wins can pick what kind they want depending on if they have Blu-ray or DVD)
So here are the rules. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite food memory from around the holidays and be sure to include your email address so you can be contacted if you win! The contest will end Tuesday (12/15) at Midnight PST. A winner will be announced Wednesday morning. So be sure to check back on Wednesday to see if you were the lucky winner! (Full disclosure – this giveaway is not sponsored by anyone except for me – its just my way of sharing my love for the holidays and food!)
Alright – back to the soup that is sure to clear up your cold!
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Roasted Tomato Basil Soup (Recipe adapted from Ina Garten)
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons good olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 2 chopped yellow onions
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 (28-ounce) canned plum tomatoes, with their juice
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 quart chicken stock or water
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Toss together the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.
In a stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions and garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Add the oven-roasted tomatoes, including the liquid on the baking sheet. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Use an immersion blender to make a smooth consistency. Adjust salt and pepper and serve!
Around Christmas, my grandmother always makes her famous spice cookies and eggnog. Covered in powder sugar, the spice cookies smell, look, and embody all things Christmas to me. Not to mention, the egg nog surprisingly has a good heaping serving of alcohol in it to leave anyone feeling merrier and bright after a cup. I’ve always enjoyed helping her make the cookies and hope to carry on the tradition, and the recipe, to my children some day.
my favorite memory was when my family had thanksgiving last year. We make a fruit salad to go with dinner just because it’s tradition. But when we sat down to eat we forgot to bring it out.
Favorite memory, my mom putting frozen pumpkin pies in the oven to bake, and then being so exhausted from working full time, and cooking for a family of four, that she’d fall asleep before the pies were cooked, or actually, long after they were cooked. I can recall many a carbon-pie for Christmas and how much we laughed with joy at the product. It always had a place of honor at the table. We loved her effort.
My favorite food memory is making ginger bread houses with my mom growing up. Oh the icing! And the candies! Great kid memories!
My favorite food memory, is every year decorating gingerbread cookies with my fiance’s family. All of the brothers have a contest of who can make the most random and deformed gingerbread characters ever!
The southern side of my family always has a salty Virginia ham at Christmas, and my favorite part of the meal was always sneaking downstairs at midnight–after everything was over–and making a sandwich with leftover ham and a cold biscuit.
[...] all think (although some of us still think in the back of our heads tomatoes are good for you' …Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and a Giveaway!Roasted Tomato Basil Soup and a Giveaway! by Gaby on December 14, 2009. Last week I was sick. It was [...]