Corn Chowder with Bacon and Basil

I know what you’re thinking – it’s 100 degrees outside and this crazy girl in Miami is making soup? What can I say? I love a good corn chowder and a good chowder starts with good corn. Sure, frozen corn works in the winter, but fresh corn is best and the best corn of the season is just starting to show up.

Since I’ve been hitting the strawberries and Nutella pretty hard lately, I wanted to keep this light. I was not kidding about my pants being too snug lately. So instead of cream and flour, I thickened the soup with skim evaporated milk and potatoes. To keep it tasty, I added some crisp and crumbled pepper bacon and ribbons of fresh basil. It’s hearty enough to be called a chowder, but light enough for summer. A happy little summer soup.

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Refreshing Gazpacho Soup

Ah, Summertime in Miami. The thermostat hits 80 before the sun rises and the air wraps around you the second you step outside. It’s so hot and sticky, you don’t want to do much other than sit on the beach enjoying the ocean breeze and a cold beer. But of course, I have these silly things called responsibilities. Like going to work. And since I bring my lunch to work every day, I want something refreshing, a respite from the sweltering Miami heat. Something like Gazpacho.

Gazpacho is the perfect soup when it’s too hot outside. Made from tomatoes and bread, topped with crisp, fresh vegetables and croutons – it’s refreshment in a bowl. Not only is it a chilled soup, but (with a teensy tiny exception here) you don’t even cook it. I know I brag about my central air conditioning all the time, but I remember how darn hot my kitchens in NYC and Boston got in August. You don’t want to be turning on the stove, least of all to make soup.

The base is a tart and tangy blend of tomatoes, stale bread, garlic, lime juice, jalapeno, olive oil, vegetable stock and sherry vinegar blended into a creamy soup. This is your base, but the beauty of gazpacho is in the toppings. Sweet and crunchy, they contrast with the tomato soup perfectly – diced cucumbers, red and green bell peppers and toasted croutons. (If you don’t toast your croutons, you will from now on. Homemade toasted croutons are life-changing. I promise.)

This is a more traditional recipe for Gazpacho, but feel free to experiment with your favorite crunchy toppings. I really want to try some perfectly grilled corn, but I have to wait until sweet corn is in season. Maybe some bacon, too. Maybe I’ll report back later this summer with a grilled corn and bacon gazpacho. Just think of the possibilities!

Site Update: Take a look at the sidebar and see where it says “Never miss a recipe!”? Sign up and you’ll get an email whenever a new recipe is posted. I’m still trying to make it look good, so bear with me!

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Re-post: Chickpea & Bread Soup

I know, I know. It’s cheating to re-post an old recipe, but it’s just the right time for chickpea and bread soup. You see, for us Catholics it’s still Lent. And any good Catholic school girl knows that you shouldn’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. And I honestly could care less about being meatless as long as I can have soup that’s as good as this. It’s kind of like French Onion soup, but the toasted chickpeas give it a slightly nutty flavor and make it more of a meal. Just perfect for Holy Week next week and pretty much any other time. Still one of my favorites!

Original Post

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Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup with Bacon & Cilantro

Happy New Year! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? My fingers feel stiff and rusty from lack of blogging. Or maybe it’s the frigid weather. Yes, it’s frigid in Miami! While you Michiganders and Minnesotans are probably scoffing at our Floridian fragility, 40-degree weather is unheard of down here and I’m freezing. It doesn’t help that we don’t even know how to turn the heat on. So, what to do when it’s cold out? Make soup, of course.

In Italy, it’s good luck to eat lentils on New Year’s Day. I think everyone’s looking for a little luck this year because my local grocery store was completely sold out of lentils all week. I had to pilfer some from my mom’s pantry (thanks Mom!). So I’m kicking off 2010 on Bitchin’ Camero with lucky lentils and a resolution to blog more often and redesign the site. Here’s hoping.

This recipe is actually an adaptation from my favorite Christmas present – Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home cookbook (thanks Tom!). If you’re going to buy one cookbook this year, this should be it. Not only is it spectacularly beautiful, it’s full of all kinds of tips for mastering home cooking, from essential cookware to building the perfect salad dressing. Did I mention the hundreds of amazing recipes? I am in love with this book. It’s all about showcasing good ingredients in interesting ways. Like the Roasted Beet and Potato Salad with Smoked Salmon and Soft-cooked Eggs we had last night. Sounds weird, but tastes like heaven.

This soup caught my attention immediately. Sweet potatoes, lentils, bacon and cilantro are definitely a few of my favorite things. Of course I decided to make this before work, and the recipe ended up being too much for me to handle in the morning, so I simplified it a bit. When I have more time, I’ll be making it Thomas Keller’s way and I’m sure it will blow my mind. As it turns out, the simplified version is pretty darn good, too. A little smoky from the bacon and curry powder, a little sweet from the potatoes, carrots and onions, and brightened up with cilantro and sherry vinegar. For me, it’s the perfect bowl of soup and the perfect way to ring in this rather nippy new year.

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White Bean Soup with Mini Lamb Meatballs

They tell me it’s fall. Actually, I know it’s fall because the ice cream shop was serving pumpkin and chocolate pecan pie flavors. I know it’s fall because of college football and baseball playoffs and Octoberfest. But it actually feels nothing like fall down here. It’s all record highs and stifling humidity. And mosquitos. Sigh. At least we have the beach. I’ll always be happy at the beach.

But just because it’s hot, that doesn’t mean that I’m not in the mood for fall flavors like squash and pumpkin and cranberries. And I’m always in the mood for soup, so this week I made a simple white bean soup with mini lamb meatballs. This is definitely a soup that’s a meal. White beans, dark green Lacinato kale, whole wheat pasta and ricotta lamb meatballs. Very hearty. Very fall-like. I’ll just close my eyes and pretend the leaves are changing…

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Zucchini, White Bean & Leek Soup

I spent Labor Day weekend on Lake Michigan – eating s’mores by the beach bonfire, drinking the first of the season’s Octoberfest and generally lounging around. At night the temperatures dipped into the 50′s and I snuggled into my hoodie. A very welcome taste of Fall for this Floridian. And it got me thinking about soup, even after I returned to the stifling Miami humidity.

So, with Fall on the brain , but summer in the pantry, I made this Zucchini, White Bean and Leek Soup. Instead of using potatoes and cream as a base, I simply sauteed some leeks and simmered those with zucchini and lots of garlic in some chicken stock. I added cannelini beans for creaminess and blended it into a nice, soothing puree. Topped with croutons, a dusting of Parmesan cheese and some basil oil – it was a pretty perfect lunch. A little summer, a little fall and just right.

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Potato, Cheese & Ale Soup

Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love beer? I’m not talking about Bud Light, Coors or the most-revolting Miller High Life. I’m talking about amber lagers, hoppy pale ales and creamy, mocha-flavored stouts. Last weekend in St. Augustine, we went to a microbrewery for dinner and found some pretty delicious beers. I love microbrewery menus. Yes, you can read all about the beer-making process, but you also get to see how that beer makes it into the food. Beer mustard, beer battered everything and on this particular menu, Cheese & Ale Soup.

Although tempted, I would have been crazy to order the soup. We were sitting out on the balcony and it was 85 very humid degrees. I would have melted. In the words of the Soup Nazi – No soup for me! But it sounded so good, I decided to make my own version, using potatoes as the basis.

I started with your basic soup starters – sauteed onions and garlic. Added a few diced potatoes, some stock and summer ale. After some time simmering and a quick run-in with the immersion blender, I stirred in the cheese and secret ingredients. Served with crumbled pretzels and more cheese, I finished up my beer soup. Beer, cheese, potatoes and pretzels. You really can’t go wrong there – the soup was great. So great and so easy, I can’t wait to make it again.

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Ajiaco: Colombian Chicken, Corn & Potato Soup

For some reason, this month’s food magazines had me drooling. I may have been starving when I was flipping through, but I bookmarked almost every recipe. One in particular caught my eye – a lighter, healthier version of Ajiaco, the traditional Colombian Chicken Soup.

I know what you’re thinking. Chicken soup? Booooring! But this isn’t your mama’s chicken soup (though I would never, ever turn that down). This one is flavored with cilantro and cumin, is chock full of chicken, potatoes and corn, and in this case, asparagus and hominy. Everything is topped off with diced avocado, more cilantro and capers. It’s simultaneously light and hearty, and it’s really, really good.

I just wish I’d had a bowl of this when I was sick last week. Good thing I froze a huge batch for next time I’m feeling under the weather, though let’s face it – it’ll be gone by next week.

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Bacon, Black Bean & Poblano Pepper Chowder

I was poking around my computer and found a forgotten recipe. I’m not sure why, but I never got around to posting this Bacon, Black Bean and Poblano Pepper Chowder. It would have been a shame to never post this, so here it is.

This soup was smoky, a little spicy and very flavorful. Top it off with some sliced avocado, radishes and cilantro and you’ve got yourself a meal. I’d also serve some nice, hot tortilla chips alongside for a little bit of crunch.

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Thai Curry Lime Noodle Soup w/Fried Egg

A while back my friend Karen asked me if I could come up with a recipe for breakfast soup since it was so cold out (no oatmeal allowed). I thought I was up for the challenge. Breakfast soup? No problem. Man, was I wrong. Everything I came up with was either too complicated for breakfast or too similar to oatmeal. I had pretty much given up on the breakfast soup challenge and hung my head in shame.

But then I started craving spicy Thai curry soup. And I wanted a fried egg on that soup. Because a fried egg makes (almost) everything better. Could this finally be the breakfast soup recipe I’ve been looking for? I think maybe it is.

This soup might not be what everyone craves first thing in the morning, but it definitely hit the spot for me. I can imagine it would just the thing to cure a hangover. So, if you partied hard for St. Patrick’s Day, you may want to whip up a batch of this stuff right now. Especially, since it’s as quick and easy as it gets.

I loved the spicy, citrus-infused broth with rice noodles. I loved the way the fried egg added richness and substance. All in all, not an everyday breakfast soup, but one that’s still delicious for lunch and dinner.

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