February Soup Night turned out to attract a fantastic mix of both new faces & good old stand-bys. Everyone brought great dishes to pass, and I'd venture a guess that a pretty great time was had by all.
New faces included Rachel from Cream City Green. You may recall a little fund raiser we did last fall called the Gumbo Git Down -- well, Rachel was the other mastermind behind that event. We've been trying to keep in touch ever since, so it was great that she and her hubby, Greg, were able to join us this month.
Other welcome new guests included Joe from Eating Milwaukee and Nicole (from On My Table), with husband Nate (of NathanAle's Brewery), who happens to be brewing up some pretty amazing beer. Nate was kind enough to bring a variety pack of his craft brews for us to sample! And both Joe & Nicole supplied our table with some pretty amazing bread, including this Soda Bread, which was served with beer butter!
We were also pleased to see our good friend Rebecca from CakeWalk, whose return to Soup Night was a particular delight. After all, she brought samples of a truly amazing cinnamon plum Panna Cotta that you should read about. A.Maze.Ing.
It was a great night of food and conversations, and again we both feel so blessed to have so many great people in our lives. So what did we have??
Here goes...
Roasted Red Pepper and Fennel Soup
This soup is a great remake of a favorite served at one of our favorite local restaurants, Kil@wat. It brings together the lovely, sweet flavor of roasted red sweet peppers, the pleasantly licoriced aroma of roasted fennel, and a hint of kick from jalapeno peppers. Whirred together into a soup with leeks, celery, and cream, this soup is one of our favorites.
Creamy Smoked Turkey and Apple Soup
This soup is a brand new addition to our repertoire. The creamy broth consists of pureed apples and onions, a pinch of thyme and just a hint of cream. But, the soup is made hearty with the addition of carrots, smoked turkey (we used leftover maple brined turkey that we smoked with a bit of applewood), and applewood smoked corn leftover from our summer harvest.
Lasagne Soup
This soup is our variation on the many great Italian inspired soups out there on the Internet. Chock-full of Sweet Sicilian sausage, basil, oregano, and garlic, this soup is embellished with fire-roasted tomatoes and plenty of fresh spinach. YUM.
The Turkey and Apple soup was the clear favorite since the crock pot containing it was emptied well before 6:00pm. That might be a new record. But since we don't really keep track of that stuff, it's kinda hard to say.
Regardless, all of the soup was devoured and before I knew it, the house was emptied, the dishwasher was humming, and Lo and I were sitting and sipping on a glass of wine in front of the fireplace.
*Phew*
Soup. It's such rewarding work.
©BURP! Where Food Happens
Want more? Read Lo's latest ruminations at FOODCrush, her Milwaukee Magazine blog.
Oh Lo. It all looks/sounds so good. I was just saying on FB the other day how I long for the day when my kids like soup. It's a tough sell for little ones. I'm told in about another 4 years. *crying*
ReplyDeleteI think I want some of each. I have a big pot of stock in my freezer and I needed some inspiration to use it. I think i found it!
ReplyDeletelasagna soup is brilliant!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun thing to do. I've heard of events like this, but sadly, none here. I make a red pepper soup we love, but the fennel in the first one sounds delicious. Yep. Still hungry. :/
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed it! Looking forward to the next...
ReplyDeleteI just looooove soup! Almost any soup and there are quite a few good ones up there!
ReplyDeleteWew!This is the best soup!
ReplyDelete