Grown-up Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese

Here’s something I have learned about entertaining – if you serve even the most basic food in teeny portions it seems way fancier and is much more fun to eat.

I love tomato soup! My favorite comfort food of all time is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Of course the tomato soup of my childhood (Campbells) is off limits now because of the gluten and I don’t eat much bread (even gluten-free) anymore but I still love the concept.

So I looked for a way to up-date basic comfort food into fancy party fare. Thus was born this grown-up tomato soup and “grilled” cheese.

I took my basic tomato soup recipe and turned it into a Bloody Mary soup shot and made some fancy Parmesan Cheese Baskets filled with Herbed Goat Cheese. Tomato soup is the perfect soup to put into small containers like shot glasses, egg cups or cappuccino cups and serve as an appetizer. Temperature is not so important to tomato soup as it is delicious hot, warm or cold.

The soup takes about five minutes more to make than heating up a can of soup and while the parmesan cheese baskets are a bit more labor intensive, they aren’t hard to make and the fancy quotient is really high! Also you can make the parmesan baskets and the goat cheese ahead and just fill the baskets at the last minute.

For fancy appetizer soup I strain it, when I just want a bowl of soup I don’t - I like the thicker texture. For a rustic version, omit the whole blending, straining part all together. For vegetarians, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock or just leave it out. And of course, the alcohol is completely optional.

As a note there is controversy about the gluten in distilled alcohol and supposedly vodka is ok for people who are gluten intolerant. I personally feel like I have been poisoned when I drink vodka so I make my Bloody Mary Soup with tequila (which comes from agave and not wheat) instead. I also order my Bloody Marys this way – LOVE IT!

Bloody Mary Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small white onion - diced
1 29 ounce can of diced tomatoes (I like Organic)
1 5.5 ounce can of Spicy V 8 juice (vegetable juice)
½ cup gluten-free chicken stock
2 pinches of salt
1 pinch black pepper
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is GF in the U.S.)
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
4 tablespoons vodka or tequila (or more or less depending on your tastes)
Horseradish Sauce (recipe follows)
Chives for garnish - optional

Heat oil in large sauce pan and add chopped onion. Cook about five minutes until soft but not browned. Add chopped tomatoes, V 8 juice, chicken stock, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until hot and bubbly – about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice and basil.

Ladle half the soup into a blender and process until smooth – about 1 minute. Make sure you take the little feed top off the blender before you process hot liquids or it will explode. I take the little feed top off and put a kitchen towel over it. If your blender does not have a removable feed top then leave the top off the blender and place a towel over the opening while processing – fold the towel over a few times to make sure it is thick so you don’t get burned. Pour blended soup into a strainer set over a large mixing bowl and process the second half of the soup as above. Push the soup through the strainer and reheat if necessary. Add the vodka or tequila. Pour soup into shot glasses, egg cups or other small serving cup. Top with Horseradish Sauce and garnish with chives if desired.

Makes about 4 normal sized servings, 8 ½ cup servings or 12 appetizer portions.

Horseradish Sauce

1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Mix together and dollop onto soup.

Parmesan Cheese Baskets with Herbed Goat Cheese

Parmesan Cheese Baskets

8 ounces Parmesan Cheese – grated with the large holes of a box grater. It is important to freshly grate as this will effect out-come.

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Prepare 2 baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment paper (I prefer the Silpat mats).

Place 1 rounded tablespoon of grated cheese onto prepared baking sheet about 4 inches apart. Gently pat the cheese into a circle of even thickness about 3 inches round with your fingers.

Bake in over for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and any bubbles that form turn into a crunchy light golden crust. Your wafers should be golden in color and lacy in appearance.

Remove from oven and let cool and harden up about 1 minute – they need to be warm and still pliable. Remove from pan with a thin spatula and place on an upside down mini muffin tin, a rolling pin or even wine corks to form into small baskets. Let cool completely and blot off excess oil with a paper towel. Can be made a couple hours ahead and filled at the last minute.

Makes about 12.

NOTE: I like to bake one pan of these at a time, I find it easier to work in small batches – so I bake one sheet then put in the second while the first is cooling and I am forming the crisps into baskets.

Also if you want just a nice cheese crisp and don’t care about a fancy basket, just let the crisps cool completely on the baking sheet then blot with paper towel.

Fill with Herbed Goat Cheese and garnish with additional herbs if desired.

Herbed Goat Cheese

6 ounces goat cheese – room temperature
¼ cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs – I like basil, thyme and parsley but use any combo you like

Mix together until smooth. Can be made ahead and stored in fridge until ready to use.