Soup!

This past weekend, while I was dreaming of a weekend getaway, the weather said no, and promptly dropped 3-4 inches snow, followed by about an inch of ice all over middle Tennessee. Charming. Needless to say, my getaway didn't happen.
Instead, I spent a great weekend curled up in my apartment with friends, cooking and eating and drinking and playing in the snow. Not a shabby trade.
I decided to make this soup. I've been meaning to try it for a long time, and for whatever reason just haven't gotten around to it, which makes me want to kick myself since this soup was INCREDIBLY delicious and, oh yeah, totally easy.

Sherried Tomato Soup

6 Tbsp butter
1 onion, diced
1 can (46 oz.) tomato juice
2 cans (14 oz. cans) diced tomatoes
3 chicken boullion cubes
4 Tbsp sugar (to taste really)
1 c. cooking herry
1½ cups heavy cream
Chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions in the butter in a large soup pot til translucent. Add the cans of diced tomatoes (undrained), then the tomato juice. Add everything but the sherry and cream and stir well, bringing to a light boil. Turn off the heat and add the sherry, cream, and basil.
So, I didn't have any fresh basil since ghetto Kroger was out somehow (apparently snow makes people buy basil?!), but luckily Trader Joe's sells fresh frozen chopped herb cube things (not the official name), so I threw a few cubes in for some very tasty results. Also, the recipe calls for fresh parsely. Once upon a time, I made this recipe, which called for lots of fresh parsley. Turns out, I hate fresh parsley. I'll have to tackle that dish again one of these days, but it means I don't touch the stuff. Feel free to throw some in though.
We served this with grilled cheese sandwiches and were very, very, happy girls.

Creamy Cauliflower Goodness

In honor of the FRIGID temperatures in TN this week, I decided to make a big pot of soup. Tres domestique, non? Plus, this way I could give my new knives that Santa brought me a test run. (Note to self: these knives are inifinitely sharper than previous sets. Meaning that merely brushing the side of a finger against the edge can/will result in blood loss. Lesson learned).

One of my goals for this new year is to make a new dish at least once a month. Not just any dish, but something I never have come close to making in the past. Cauliflower soup certainly falls into that category.

Here's the recipe, from my beloved Pioneer Woman, who I got to meet last month. Yeah, I'm kind of a big deal.
I don't feel like typing the whole process out, since I should be working at the moment, but for the most part I stuck to the recipe. I wound up using one rather large head of cauliflower and it was perfectly chunky (sounds extremely unappetizing to phrase it that way). I used a little more salt, a little less chicken broth, and threw some freshly ground nutmeg in there for good measure. I think I have unresolved issues with authority that make me incapable of sticking to a recipe completely. Oh well. I can make good soup!