GIVING THANKS...

As a thank you to all of you that have been following my blog... I'm going to divulge one of my top secret recipes:  Silver Spoon Cafe Tomato Dill Soup.  Why is it top secret??  First of all, because it's amazingly good!!  Good as any restaurant recipe... which brings us to the second reason I have kept it top secret until now.  It came straight from a wonderful restaurant in Naples, Florida.  I was so in love with this particular tomato bisque that I decided, "why not", and asked the waiter if he'd be so kind as to ask the chef for the recipe.  What do you know... he (she?) gave it to me.  Sometimes in life, all you gotta do is ASK!!

I've changed the measurements into common kitchen terms so that everything doesn't need to be converted... and changed a few ingredients to make it a little more user friendly.  It's a bit "fussy"... but trust me, it's NOT difficult.  SO worth the effort.  A food processor goes a long way with this one.  So here you go... and thanks again for following Beauty in Brown Eggs!!

SILVER SPOON CAFE TOMATO DILL SOUP RECIPE

1 stick butter (always a great way to start!)

2/3 C. carrots, peeled & diced

2/3 C. celery, diced

2/3 C. onions, peeled & diced

2 tsp. fresh garlic, finely chopped

1/3 C. flour

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1-1/2 C. tomato juice

1/4 C. tomato puree (can combine sauce & paste)

1-1/2 C. juice from drained diced tomatoes

3 C. chicken stock

2 TBSP. chicken base

 1 TBSP. fresh dill, chopped fine (or 1 tsp. dried)

3/4 tsp. dried basil leaves

3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves

3/4 tsp. dried tarragon leaves

1 TBSP sugar

14 oz. heavy cream (liquid, not whipped)

1. In a large skillet, saute the carrots, celery, onions and garlic until tender.  Pour mixture into a food processor (or you can use a blender) and blend until smooth.  Do not drain the vegetables.

2. Pour the blended vegetable mixture into a thick-bottomed pot.  Turn on low heat.  Add flour and cook roux for 5 minutes.

3. Drain the 28 oz. can of tomatoes in a strainer RETAINING 1-1/2 CUPS OF THE JUICE.

4. Combine this juice with the tomato juice and tomato puree.

5. Add the chicken stock and chicken base to the juice mixture from Step 4.  Add this mixture to the cooked blended vegetables and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes retained from Step 3 and simmer 5 more minutes.  Add the cream, sugar, and seasonings to soup.  Remove from heat.

7.  Serve each bowl (or martini glass!) of soup with a dollop (don't ya just love that word!) of sour cream and a sprig of fresh dill.

Let me know if you try it!!!