Seventy Five Degrees with a Chance of Soup

The weather this week didn't make me terribly interested in posting about soup.  It's been unseasonably warm here in Milwaukee -- to the tune of  75ºF and sunny -- which means that we've been spending our time firing up the grill and spending some time out on the patio.

Of course, that doesn't mean that the soup at our final soup night of the season weren't delicious.  In fact, we used the opportunity to showcase some delicious spring vegetables.

First -- there was a pot of brilliantly colored beet borscht made with homemade corned beef stock.  The soup was seasoned with garlic, onion, and dill.  We finished our bowls with a sprinkling of smoked blue cheese.

There was also a creamy asparagus soup -- which made full use of three pounds of fresh asparagus. The woody ends were used to make stock. The mid-stems were cooked and made into a silky puree. And the tender fresh tips were blanched and added as a last-minute garnishment.  The soup was seasoned with a hint of tarragon and finished with a bit of creme fraiche.

And, finally, we made a roasted potato soup with a rich porcini mushroom stock.  The earthy soup was so thick and delicious, we didn't even end up stirring in the last bit of heavy cream we thought we'd use to finish it.

Of course, we can't talk about soup night without mentioning that the company was also fantastic.  We had about 20 guests at our house Sunday -- including a couple of new food blogger friends.  This time around, it was Dan and Melissa Polley from A Duo of Chefs who decided to join in.   Julia (from Yulinka Cooks), Rebecca (from Cakewalk), and Jenn (from Mrs. Jenn Peters) also showed up, so we had a nice little blogger gathering going.  Next year, I'll be making it a point to invite even more of our online friends, since it was so much fun getting to know so many new people this year.

In addition to adding to the conversation, our guests brought an impressive array of desserts to supplement our soup feast.  We had homemade apple crisp, cheesecake bars, chocolate chip cookie dough brownies, butterscotch oatmeal cookies, and cupcakes, in addition to the chocolate hazelnut schaum torte we made for everyone to sample (We're finalists!  Vote for us here.).  Rebecca also brought the Orange Tian from her latest Daring Bakers Challenge.

It made me a little bit sad to bid farewell to the 2010 soup night season. But, as I sit in the office, warm breeze blowing through the open window, I'm fairly sure we'll be cooking up something new in no time!

Until then, we send all of you Happy Spring thoughts and wishes for a very Blessed Easter!



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