Olive Garden's Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup

If you go to Olive Garden's website, they offer a lot of their recipes so you can try them at home. I tried making their Cream of Tomato and Basil Soup tonight (with grilled sourdough cheese sandwhices...yum). It was great! It did take MUCH longer than the 15 minute. It took me close to an hour to reduce everything. I used a normal sauce pan. Maybe use a larger pot so it'll reduce quicker? A couple other things I tweaked:

1) I didn't have the full 2 cups of white wine. So I used what I had and then finished the 2 cups with chicken broth.

2) After I pureed it up (hint--use a hand immersible blender aka stick blender if you have it. It makes like a lot easier!) I felt like it wasn't as tomato-y as I wanted. So I chopped up a tomato we had from the garden. That helped. I think next time I do this I'll try using 2 cans of diced tomatoes instead of just one.

3) We have Basil in our garden, so we have an ample supply of the fresh herb. I don't know how dried basil would taste though. I would recommend getting the fresh stuff, if you can.

4) Taste, taste, taste! AFter it's all pureed, keep tasting and adding salt/pepper as needed.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Serving Size: 4

Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
1 ea small red onion, diced
2 cups dry white wine
3 cups canned diced tomatoes (or 1 12-oz can)
2 cups heavy cream
3 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Procedures
1.MELT butter in a heavy sauce pan. Add red onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add white wine and reduce by 3/4. Add tomatoes and heavy cream, bring to a simmer and reduce by 1/2.
2.PUREE soup in a food processor. Stir in 2 Tbsp chopped basil, salt and pepper.
3.GARNISH with remaining fresh basil and tomatoes and serve.

Clam Chowder

I love soup. Darrin doesn't. Except Clam Chowder. He LOVES Clam Chowder. So I decided to make clam chowder for dinner so we all could enjoy a nice big bowl of yummy soup on a cold fall day. I was reading him different titles and when I read this one, his ever-cheese-loving Dutch ears perked up. Marilyn's Cheesy Clam Chowder. Now, according to some Food Network judges - seafood and cheese are a BIG no no. But I'm not married to a Food Network judge. I'm married to a Dutchman who loves his cheese. And his clam chowder. So I decided to put away what the TV told me and jump head first into the forbidden culinary concoction.

Lo and behold ....it was pretty good!!!! :) :) You really couldn't taste the cheese, it just help make the soup thick and silky. Even the kids liked it! :) The only bad part is that it's not the cheapest meal. The jars od Clam juice were $2 each (total of $4) and the canned clams were $3 each (total of $9). So right there is $13. Not to mention the half and half and cheese....it can just get a little pricey. But it was still good and it made a good amount. I even froze some! :) Here's the recipe. Enjoy!


Ingredients
6 slices bacon
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 (8 ounce) cans clams
2 (8 ounce) jars clam juice
4 cups milk
1 cup cubed potatoes
1 (8 ounce) package white Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions
1.In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon, drain on paper towels, and crumble. Reserve. Drain clams, reserve juice.

2.Cook and stir carrot, celery, and onion in bacon fat until onion is transparent.

3.Stir in flour, cornstarch, potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until mixture is bubbly. Add reserved clam liquor to clam juice to measure 3 1/2 cups; stir juice and milk into the vegetable mixture. Heat just to boiling, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens.

4.Add clams, and cheese; stir until cheese is melted and potatoes are done. Sprinkle with reserved bacon, and garnish with chopped parsley.

Apple Walnut Sticky Buns

I've been trying a couple new recipes for options of "breads" to bring to my Moms group. I ran across this recipe for Sandra Lee's Apple Walnut Sticky Buns. What drew me to them was that not only did they look super yummy, but in Sandra Lee fashion, they were also SUPER easy. You can check out the video of her preparing them HERE.

*Tip -- The Cinnamon rolls come in packages of 8. This recipe calls for 2 packages - to make 12 sticky buns and then to use the other 4 in another recipe. Just get 3 packages, increase apple/walnut mixture bit and then use 2 muffin tins to make 24 rolls. :)

Ingredients
1 Granny Smith apple
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 (8-count) tubes refrigerated cinnamon rolls
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 to 2 teaspoons water

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously butter a 12-count muffin tin.

Peel, core and dice the apples into 1/2-inch cubes. In a medium bowl stir together the diced apples with the walnuts and brown sugar.


Divide the apple mixture evenly into the muffin tin. Put 12 cinnamon buns, cinnamon side up, on top of the apple mixture. Put the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake until the tops are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. (Bake off remaining 4 buns for Round 2 Recipe Cinnamon Roll French Toast.)


Remove the muffin tin from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Put a clean baking sheet on top of the muffin tin and flip to remove the sticky buns.


In a small bowl, combine 1 container of the vanilla frosting (save the other for Round 2 Cinnamon Roll French Toast) with the pumpkin pie spice and 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. Mix until very thick and of pourable consistency. Drizzle over buns and serve.

Chocolate and Cheese Danish

I'm apart of a new Moms group at our church and this Friday I have to bring some kind of bread. Of course, I thought I'd take this opportunity to try out a couple of new recipes. I saw Giada on the Food Network make these yummy danishes a couple weeks ago and was excited to try it.

The result: They were good. But BIG. I ended up cutting the one pastry sheet into 9 pieces (use the natural folds as a break and then cut each vertical strip into 3 pieces). Just put a little bit of the mixture in the middle, and continue with the fold that she explains below. They'll look small, but don't worry, they'll puff up nice. This is great if you're having people over for either a brunch or for dessert and drinks. My only suggestion would be to do a trial run first to just get a feel of how you make them, how long it'll take you and everything. Enjoy!

Chocolate and Cheese Danish

Ingredients
Filling:
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 (9-inch-square) sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Directions
Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, egg yolk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 equal-sized squares. Put 4 pastry squares on each prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each piece of pastry. Fold 1 corner of the pastry diagonally over the filling to within 1-inch of the opposite corner. Using a pastry brush, brush the folded-over section lightly with the beaten egg. Fold the opposite corner over the egg-brushed pastry to form an open-ended Danish. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Edamame Succotash

I made Cooking Light's Edamame Succotash tonight. It was pretty yummy and super easy (after you get it all chopped ---tip -- chop up everything ahead of time and have it all ready in the fridge. This would be a GREAT quick meal for a working family if you had everything already prepared)! We had Brats and Rosemary Focaccia Bread (topped with Roasted Tomato and Parmesan Cheese, thank you very much) with it -- but I think it would pair better with fish. Cooking Light actually says to have it as a main dish and serve it with a baguette and Neufchâtel cheese. I'm a meat person though...so I say throw in some kind of animal. :) Anywho - here's the recipe. FYI - this makes a good amount ...more than 4 servings I think, especially if it's just a side item. I also used frozen corn, not fresh and it was fine. Just let it cook a tad longer so you can get it to start browning a bit. :) I also used 2 pieces of bacon. Because, really, when is one piece ever enough?

Here's two more variation of it as well --
Edamame Succotash with Shrimp (Spicy!) and Seared MahiMahi with Edamame Succotash


Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
Cost per Serving: $2.47


Ingredients
1 slice center-cut bacon
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped sweet onion
2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons torn basil

Preparation
1. Cook bacon in a nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan; coarsely chop bacon.

2. Increase the heat to medium-high. Melt butter in drippings in pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn kernels; sauté for 3 minutes or until lightly charred. Add edamame, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vinegar and next 5 ingredients (through bell pepper); cook 30 seconds, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with bacon and basil.


Nutritional Information
Calories:300
Fat:12.1g (sat 3.3g,mono 3.3g,poly 3.6g)
Protein:17.9g
Carbohydrate:37.2g
Fiber:10g
Cholesterol:10mg
Iron:0.9mg
Sodium:386mg
Calcium:28mg

Julianna Grimes, Cooking Light, AUGUST 2010