Chocolate Loaf Cake

I don't know if it's because Valentine's Day just passed by, but I've been craving chocolate like whoa. I even bought one of those small chocolate samplers (half-price of course...I love post-Valentine's Day candy sales!). And I may or may not have devoured it in two days. Still, this didn't really put a dent in my chocolate craving.

This weekend, I woke up and decided that I would finally do something about this. I navigated my way to Julia's Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body blog. Julia recently had a beautiful baby girl, but somehow she's still blogging. I'm not exactly sure how she's doing this, but I don't ask questions. Especially since she blogged about a gorgeous Chocolate Loaf Cake that I had to have.

I immediately ran into an issue: I hadn't gone to the grocery store recently. I usually stop by the store prior to doing any baking or cooking because I typically don't have all the ingredients on hand. Welcome to the life of a traveling consultant. I can't have fresh food in my refrigerator because at least 50% of it will go bad before I get a chance to use it. I realized that I had most of the ingredients that were called for though. The problem was the sour cream that the recipe required. I only had a 1/4 cup of sour cream left over in the fridge, but the recipe called for 1 cup of sour cream.

Enter the internet. Yup. The world wide web reached out and saved me on this one. Did you know that, when baking, you can substitute sour cream with buttermilk and melted butter? Seriously. 3/4 cup buttermilk and 1/3 cup of melted butter will replace 1 cup of sour cream in a recipe. I was excited to put this new information to good use.

Well. Little did I know this was going to be a test of my mathematical skills.

I first had to create buttermilk because I don't keep it around. So I made it (pretty easily, I might add) by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice to a 1 cup measuring cup, then filling it the rest of the way with milk (I use 2% milk but you can use whatever you have). Let it sit for 5 minutes and you have a cup of buttermilk at the ready.

Melted butter? No problem. Melt some butter in the microwave. Ta-dah!

The problem started when I had to combine the sour cream, buttermilk, and melted butter. Because I wanted to use 1/4 cup of sour cream, I only needed 3/4 cup of the sour cream substitute. So of course I should add 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and 3/4 of the melted butter, right? Well, wrong. Because I totally forgot that I only needed 3/4 cup of the buttermilk in the first place. So I should have added 3/4 of 3/4 cup of buttermilk...



OK. I see that I've lost you. Suffice it to say that since I had already added too much buttermilk to the wet ingredients, I compensated by adding a few more teaspoons of flour to the dry ingredients. I then removed a few teaspoons of the wet mixture before combining the wet and dry to finish the batter. Heck, I can't even follow what went on with this thing.

So what did I learn from this experience? Get off your lazy butt and run to the corner store for a container of sour cream. It will take less time in the end.

This has turned into a really long blog post. All I really want to tell you is that, even with my measurement snafus, the chocolate loaf cake was phe-nom-e-nal. It was moist, super chocolate-y and pleasantly gooey when it was still warm. This was a great quick fix recipe to stave off those chocolate cravings.

Chocolate Loaf Cake
slightly adapted from Fat Girl In A Skinny Body's Chocolate Loaf Cake

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup sour cream (or 3/4 cup buttermilk + 1/3 cup melted butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9in x 5in loaf pan. Or you can use a non-stick spray. It's easier.

2) In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil, sour cream, and vanilla. If you're using the sour cream substitute, then add the buttermilk and melted butter instead. Whisk.

4) Add the liquid ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients.

5) Mix until just combined. Don't go crazy and overmix the ingredients.

6) Add the chocolate chips and give the batter a stir to distribute them throughout.

7) Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes.

8) Cool the cake for at least 15 minutes in the pan before removing and slicing.

Vegetable Meatloaf

I've been scoping out that Bobby Flay for a while.

But not like that.

A while ago, I saw a Food Network Magazine* recipe from Bobby Flay for a Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze. I like meatloaf. I like vegetables. I like balsamic vinegar. This was a no-brainer.

* Hereafter known as "FNM" because I'm lazy and can't type 3 whole words each time I want to refer to the magazine.

Well, apparently I closed that particular magazine and set it aside.

For 2 years.

No joke. This vegetable meatloaf recipe came out in the Feb/Mar 2009 issue. So I guess I need to step up my game and make more of these FNM recipes. I've actually started going through all my old FNM issues, so you'll start seeing a few more of them pretty soon.

With that being said, I must confess that I also decided to make this dish because I had an extra half of an onion that I had to find something to do with. This is the way recipes are chosen at TBK, people. They're randomly based on my culinary needs at the time. Never mind that I had to go out and buy all the other vegetables...

I'm blowing your mind. I know.


Vegetable Meatloaf with Balsamic Glaze
slightly adapted from Bobby Flay's recipe for Food Network Magazine

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 onion, finely diced
  
• 5 cloves garlic
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme (you can use fresh if you have it on hand)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 20.8 oz ground turkey (90 percent lean) (the original recipe calls for 1 1/2lbs of ground turkey but I bought mine already portioned out)
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (Italian style)
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (can also use Romano cheese)
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2) Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat. Add in the zucchini, bell peppers, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes.

3) Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and stir to combine.

4) Saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft. Remove them from the heat and allow to cool.

5) Whisk the egg, parsley, and thyme together in a large bowl.

6) Add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and the cooled vegetables.

7) Combine the ingredients and gently press the mixture into a (9x5 inch) loaf pan.

8) For the glaze: Whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes in a bowl.

9) Brush the glaze over the entire loaf.

10) Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

11) Let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

This meatloaf may not win awards for purtiness anytime soon, but the taste more than makes up for this minor flaw. The meatloaf is pretty moist from the vegetables and the vegetables themselves provide a sweet element in each bite. The balsamic glaze on top of the meatloaf is a mixture of sweet, salty, and smoky flavors. During the baking process, the glaze formed a nice crunchy crust over some areas of the meatloaf, which I loved. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't really detect the heat from the red pepper flakes, so when I make this again I'll probably amp up the amount of red pepper I use.
This recipe was a strong showing by Bobby Flay. I've never had a bad experience with any recipe of his and I can't wait to get through the rest of my magazines to see what else he and the FNM family have in store for me!

Sauteed Kale

I have a new love affair.

It's with kale.

Not just any version of kale, but with sauteed kale.

A few weeks ago I churned out some Kale Chips, but unfortunately, I wasn't a huge fan. I ended up trying sauteed kale at the suggestion of my roommate. She said I should try sauteing the kale with some onions and garlic. At first I wasn't really on board with the idea, but I still had some leftover kale and I hate throwing away food, so why not?

Besides, who doesn't love onions and garlic? (I know.... I'm disgusting!)

And the rest was history, as they say.

Sauteed Kale
slightly adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen's Sauteed Kale with Garlic and Onion recipe
makes 6-8 servings

• ~1 lb kale, washed and chopped roughly
  
• 2 large onions, halved and sliced (you can use less, but I like onions)
• 2-3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups water
• salt to taste
  
• 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (you can use whichever kind of vinegar you like)

1) In a large pan, saute the onions over medium heat in the olive oil until they are softened, ~10 minutes. You can saute the onions for a longer time period if you want them to be softer.

2) Stir in the garlic. Allow the garlic to simmer with the onions for 2-3 minutes.

3) Add the kale and stir to incorporate as best as possible. Cover the kale until it turns bright green, ~3-5 minutes.

4) Stir the kale, add 1/2 cup water to the pan, and re-cover. Let the kale steam for ~ 5 minutes.

5) Uncover the pan and let the water evaporate. This may take a few minutes.

6) Repeat Steps 4 & 5. The kale should be wilted by now. If not, repeat Steps 4 & 5 once again.

7) Stir in the salt and vinegar. Serve hot or warm.

The kale is a hearty, but slightly bitter green, which is counterbalanced by the sweetness of the onions. And the last minute addition of salt and vinegar gives this side dish just a little kick. This is my new go-to, quick and easy addition to lunch or dinner. Or maybe even a snack in between.

Boilermaker Cupcakes (aka Steelers Superbowl XV Cupcakes)

"PITTSBURGH'S GOING TO THE SUUUUPERBOWL. HERE WE GO..."

Every Pittsburgh Steeler fan knows that this a song to be played every year, with the hope that the Pittsburgh Steelers will actually make it to the Superbowl. And this year, we've made it happen once again! On Sunday we'll be in Dallas for Superbowl XV against the Green Bay Packers.

So what better way to get pumped up and ready to celebrate than by making Steelers cupcakes again! I've already made one set of Steelers cupcakes this season. Apparently that was enough to single-handedly bring us to the Superbowl, so hopefully another set of cupcakes will help us get that 7th ring.

And of course these are not just regular cupcakes. They're Boilermaker Cupcakes.

First of all, I have a confession to make. I totally stole this idea from Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe. I don't know anything about this place, unfortunately, but I do know that they are making Pittsburgh Steelers Boilermaker cupcakes for the Superbowl. And some other garbage cupcakes for those Packer cheeseheads. Anyway..., I decided I needed to make my own version of the Boilermaker cupcakes in honor of the Superbowl.

So what's a boilermaker? According to the City Dictionary, a boilermaker is a drink cocktail which requires a shot of whiskey and a pint of beer. Apparently there is some leeway with regards to the combination in which the whiskey and beer can be consumed. Look, I'm just telling you what I read. Don't shoot the messenger. I'd never heard of this drink before last week, since I don't usually drink whiskey.

My version of the Boilermaker Cupcake requires a Guinness cupcake and whiskey buttercream frosting. I actually tried to use Yuengling Black and Tan stout for the cupcake so that I could keep even more in line with the spirit of Pittsburgh. However, I was thwarted by the liquor store's inability to sell just 1 bottle of Yuengling Black and Tan. I never drink stouts, so I refused to buy a 6-pack just to use a cup of the beer in a cupcake recipe. Sorry, Pittsburgh.

Boilermaker Cupcakes

To make the cake portion of this recipe, start off with this Guinness Cupcake recipe.

While you're at that link, you may also get the urge to make Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes. Nothing wrong with that. St. Patty's Day isn't very far away!

Whiskey Frosting
doubled and adapted from Smitten Kitchen's Bailey's Frosting

• 2 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 to 5 cups confections sugar
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon whiskey (such as Jameson) (You can add more or less whiskey according to your taste. This is just what I did.)
  
• Red food coloring (or no-taste paste)
• Yellow food coloring (or paste)
• Blue food coloring (or paste)
  
• Black food coloring (or paste)

1) Whip the butter using an electric or hand mixer for several minutes. You want the butter to look almost white and be very light and fluffy.

2) Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

3) When the frosting is thick, drizzle in the whiskey. Whip until combined. If the frosting is too thin at this point, add another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Note: At this point, you can pipe or spread the frosting on the cupcakes as-is. If you're a Steelers fan, please read on:

To make the Steelers decoration:

a) Spread a thin layer of the white frosting over all the cupcakes.

Do you like my black and gold cupcake liners?

b) Separate the remainder of the frosting into 4 separate bowls. (You might want to keep a dollop or two of the white frosting in case you need to touch up your handiwork later.)

c) Add red food coloring/paste to 1 bowl to achieve a bright red. Repeat this step with the yellow, blue, and black food colorings.

Notes:

i) I didn't actually get the bright red, blue or black colors that I was looking for, although I got pretty close. I spoke to Deirdre, one of my coworkers who's an expert on dying frosting, and she recommended that I use paste next time to achieve a brighter color.

ii) If you're going to use red paste, Deirdre recommends using "no taste" red paste. Otherwise you might end up with inedible frosting. And that is not a good time.

iii) If you don't have any paste and you're going to use food coloring, you can add a few drops of black frosting to the red or blue frostings to make the color a little deeper. I actually didn't do this with the red food coloring because I didn't think of it until I got to the blue. But it should work with the red color as well. Use the black frosting sparingly. You can always add more but you can't take it away!

...and now, back to decorating...

d) Using either a stencil or your own steady hand, create the Steelers symbols using the red, yellow, and blue frostings. You can use a metal writing/piping tip to help with this, or you can use a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off (which is what I did). A toothpick can help guide the frosting in the right direction.

e) Using the black frosting and a writing tip (I like the #2 piping tip) , write "Steelers" on the cupcake. I do recommend using a writing/piping tip for this step, because the surface of the cupcake is smaller than you think.

I really liked this cupcake, and not just because it's boozy and represents the Steelers. First of all, the Guinness cupcake was moist and almost fudge-y. And I love me some chocolate. Second of all, the whiskey frosting was really tasty! I'm definitely not a whiskey girl, unless the name of the drink is "Whiskey Sour" or "Irish Car Bomb". Other than that, don't talk to me about whiskey. But once the whiskey comes into contact with the frosting, it kind of becomes a mellow aftertaste. I can still smell the essence of whiskey in the frosting, but I personally think the aroma of the chocolate in the cupcake overpowered it. I am not complaining.

Funny enough, when I brought the cupcakes to work, cleverly disguised as "Steelers Cupcakes", people told me they could immediately smell the whiskey. In my defense, (1) As I already said, I don't drink whiskey very often so I guess this is why I can overlook the smell. Maybe? (2) I spent a lot of quality time with those cupcakes on Monday morning as I sat in my car and waited for a random guy to show up and jump-start my dead battery. It's kinda like when you wear a perfume and you stop smelling it after an hour, but everyone else can still smell it...

Wait, does this mean I smelled like chocolate and whiskey all day long? Someone would have told me, right?

GO STEELERS!

Superbowl XV

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms

Garlic. Butter. Roasted Mushrooms.

Deb from Smitten Kitchen really knows how to lure a girl in. When I saw this recipe posted on her blog back in December, I knew I'd need to make these myself. I love mushrooms and if we're going to add some butter and garlic to these puppies then let's throw down here and now.

Reading through the recipe, I realized that this was going to be a quick and easy dish to make. Bonus points! These mushrooms were quickly bumped up to the top of my "Food To Make" list, which is really just a semi-organized jumble of bookmarks on my computer. They will clean themselves up if I leave them alone long enough. I swear.

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms
slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen's recipe

• 2 10-oz containers of baby portabella mushrooms, halved lengthwise if large
• 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• black pepper
  
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1) Preheat oven to 450°F.

2) Brush the tops of the mushrooms to remove any excess dirt or debris.

3) Add the mushrooms, capers, garlic, oils, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss to combine.

4) Spread the mushroom mixture in a 1/2- to 2-qt shallow baking dish. Top with butter and roast, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and a sauce has formed in the baking dish. This should take about 20 minutes.

5) Remove baking dish from the oven and stir in the lemon juice and chopped parsley.

Think savory mushrooms, aromatic garlic, creamy butter, tangy capers and lemon juice, all rolled up into each bite. That is what you get when you eat this. I had trouble stopping at only a few mushrooms. Both Smitten Kitchen and Gourmet, which is where this recipe originally comes from, recommend using crusty pieces of bread to soak up the "mushroom butter juices". I tried this when the mushrooms first came out of the oven and let me tell you that they are sooooo right. It's pretty excellent.

Surprisingly, I didn't really change anything from the Smitten Kitchen recipe. The biggest change I made was using 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil instead of using 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. This happened because, as per usual, I wasn't reading the directions very well. I don't know what my issue is with reading. I was really good at it in elementary school and even today (shocking!). I just can't seem to follow the exact directions for a recipe. I'll blame it on my creative chef side trying to express itself.

When I make this recipe again, I will make some changes though. Every year or so, I try to eat parsley again and make myself like it. So far, no luck. So when this dish makes it's next appearance, I think I'll have to have the parsley sit on the sidelines. Honestly, I'm also not sure that I even needed the lemon juice. The mushrooms were excellent as-is, straight out of the oven. And if you happen to eat the entire pan in one sitting, they're so easy you can just whip up another batch!

Almond Joy Cupcakes

My client's office happens to be pimped out with a full coffee bar on the first floor. This was a dangerous move on their part. Of course, I guess it makes sense to keep the worker bees fueled with caffeine. Recently, I've been ordering Almond Joy mochas from the aforementioned coffee bar. This was a creation I used to make when I worked at a coffeehouse in college. I didn't really have a name for the drink at that time. It was just this chocolate almond mocha thing into which I threw 4-6 shots of espresso. By the way, 6 shots of espresso in 1 drink is NOT advisable. Trust me.

I've since toned down my radical pace of ingesting caffeine. Now I'm just a 2-shot kinda girl. Sometimes 3 if it's a particularly rough day. When I first requested for the barista to add a shot of almond flavoring to my large mocha, she said "Hey, it's an Almond Joy mocha!". And since then the name has stuck.

So why have I just told you this story? Because this was the inspiration for my Almond Joy Cupcakes! Duh.


Almond Joy Cupcakes
adapted from Love and Olive Oil's Vanilla Almond Cupcakes
makes 11 (I doubled the original recipe to yield the measurements below and ended up with 22 cupcakes)

• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup oil
• 2 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

1) Add ~1/2 cup almonds to a food processor. Grind almonds to a fine consistency. Add1/2 cup of ground almonds to the dry ingredients.

2) Mix the dry ingredients (flour, ground almonds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar) in a large bowl.

3) Using a mixer, combine the wet ingredients (oil, milk, vanilla extract, almond extract) in another bowl.

4) Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in several increments.

Note: I used a mixer only because I wanted to break up the almond pieces as much as possible. Then I used a whisk just to make sure.

5) Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with the batter.

6) Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes. Let cool.

Almond Joy Frosting
adapted from La Mia Vita Dolce's Mocha Frosting
(I doubled the original recipe to yield the measurements below)

• 20 oz semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup water, minus 2 teaspoons (Just remove 2 teaspoons of water out of the cup. It's super easy, I promise.)
• 20 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract

1) Combine the chocolate and water in a medium heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water in the pot or your chocolate can burn.

2) Stir the chocolate until it has melted and mixed thoroughly with the water.

3) Take the bowl off the pot and add the butter in increments, whisking until the frosting is smooth after each addition.

4) Add the almond and coconut extracts to the frosting and whisk to incorporate. The frosting will be thin.

5) Set the frosting aside to cool, stirring occasionally until it has thickened to the desired consistency.

Note: You can also save some time and place the bowl in the refrigerator, but watch it closely. If the frosting becomes thicker than desired, you will need to heat it up again to thin it out.

6) Pipe or spread on cupcakes.

These cupcakes were pretty tasty. I definitely got that Almond Joy flavor of almonds, coconut and chocolate. I also liked the slightly denser texture that the ground almonds gave to the cake. It was good in an interesting way, rather than a negative way.

I did get some feedback that maybe more coconut flavor could be added to the cake. I could do that. I could also replace the vanilla extract in the cake with almond extract. Because that might make more sense. But of course I didn't think of it until the cupcakes were already baking in the oven. Hmmm...

So, what other candy bar cupcakes should I make next?!

Tomato Vodka Soup

'Tis the season for soup!

And the season for my immersion blender to finally shine. Did you notice that I also used it in my Chicken Tinga post?

In addition to trying to use my neglected kitchen tools, I was really in the mood for a warm, earthy soup. Especially in light of the fact that there are still several inches of snow covering the ground here in Hoboken, NJ.

I was really interested in making some sort of tomato soup. I don't know why. I get cravings. I just go with it. So tomato soup it was.

I wanted to add a twist and I thought of Penne a la Vodka. No, I wasn't going to make any penne, but it made me think of adding vodka to the soup. Of course, I believed that this was an ingenious, never-before-attempted idea...until I searched online and found several thousand other recipes.

"I'm unique. Just like everybody else."

I was still undeterred from making this soup. So I got to it and found two recipes I wanted to use. I ended up with a combination of a Creamy Tomato Vodka Soup from the Rachael Ray magazine and a Sherried Tomato Soup from the Pioneer Woman.

Unfortunately, it seems that I haven't learned anything from my first few blog posts. You know, those ones where I couldn't read recipes very well. It appears that Rachael's blog post requires a 5-hour slow cooker treatment. Yeah right, like I have 5 hours to wait for some soup. I want it now! Some improvisations had to be made.

And I ended up with this:

Tomato-Vodka Soup
adapted from Rachael Ray's Creamy Tomato Vodka Soup & the Pioneer Woman's Sherried Tomato Soup
makes 8-10 servings

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 to 3 small cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• One 32-ounce container (4 cups) vegetable broth
• Two 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
  
• 1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup citrus vodka (or regular vodka)
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• several sprigs oregano leaves
  
• 2 cups half-and-half
• Salt & pepper to taste
  

1) Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions.

2) Saute the onions for ~15 minutes. You only want the onions to begin caramelizing. You don't want them to caramelize all the way.

3) Add the garlic and stir to prevent burning, about 2 minutes.

4) Add the broth, chopped tomatoes (along with the tomato broth in the can), tomato sauce, vodka, salt, and sugar to the pot. Stir to combine.

5) Cover and simmer the soup over medium/high heat for ~1 hour. Stir periodically.

6) Chop the basil and oregano leaves. Add the herbs to the pot.

7) Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to puree the soup. You can choose to make it as smooth or as chunky as you like.

8) Let the soup simmer, uncovered, for another 45 minutes. You may need to simmer the soup for more or less time so that you get the consistency you like.

9) Stir in the half-and-half.

10) Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.


Notes on the use of citrus vodka in this recipe. Someone thought that since my roommate and I had recently had a holiday party, we would probably have some vodka left over in the booze stash. We usually have vodka on hand and since we don't go through it very quickly and I only needed 1/4 cup, I knew I could safely pass on a trip to the liquor store. And who would that someone be? You guessed it. It was me. And what happened when I gathered the ingredients to make this soup? Again, you're right. There was no vodka in the stash. But what we did have was citrus vodka. After a few moments of thought (in which time I could have walked to the nearby liquor store and returned), I decided to just go with the citrus vodka. After all, it was freezing outside.

Once the soup was done, I could actually taste little tangy citrus notes from the vodka. I'm not sure whether or not I liked it, but I didn't dislike it. If you're a huge fan of citrus, maybe you can test this out as well and let me know your thoughts. Overall, the soup was great though! Each spoonful was a mixture of rich, creamy tomato broth and thick, chunky tomato pieces. The addition of the herbs made the soup even more aromatic. I'll take this soup any day over those canned versions. Can I have another bowl, please?