Tomato Bisque Sip Soup

At the brunch we had last weekend, I asked Susan L. to bring some kind of pre-brunch nibble. Her choice. She brought a scrumptious soup, that she served in her grandmother's beautiful bone china teacups (see picture above). You can't see the interior of that teacup, unfortunately, with the soup nearly to the top, but it's just lovely, as were all the others. She had 10 different ones. No spoons needed, since we just sipped it from those cups. And she served the cutest little rolled up nibbly bites along side - a dough with a piece of apple inside. Delish also.

And the soup, called a Tomato Bisque Sip Soup, was so very tasty. It came from Sunset Magazine, she said. From the taste, I wouldn't have known that it was such a super-quick one, merely using canned tomatoes and a few ingredients, heated up and served. 1-2-3. Done. Don't you just love those kinds sometimes?

Tomato Bisque Sip Soup
3 14 1/2 oz cans. diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
1 Tb brown sugar
1 1/2 ts finely shredded orange peel
1/4 ts cracked black pepper
3/4 C whipping cream (or a combination or whipping and 1/2 and 1/2)
Place 2 cans of tomatoes in blender. Process until very smooth. Transfer to large saucepan. Process remaining tomatoes and all ingredients but cream until very smooth. Transfer to saucepan. Bring to simmer over med-low heat. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes, remove from heat.
To serve, return soup to a simmer, stir in cream until combined. Garnish with additional pepper and shaved Parmesean, if desired. Makes 16 1/3 cup appetizer servings or 4 main-dish servings. This served 10 in the china teacups.

Per Serving 378 Calories; 17g Fat (37.3% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 56g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 61mg Cholesterol; 1085mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

To print a PDF recipe, click title at top.

Bacon & Tomato Dunk

At least 15 years ago I attended a cooking class taught by Michele Braden, and bought one of her cookbooks at the class, Fast & Fabulous Hors D'Oeuvres (the book is out of print, unfortunately). I have no recollection as to what items she demonstrated for the class, but I remember being very pleased with the wide variety of recipe ideas in the cookbook. I've made a number of things from the book in the ensuing years, but this one I've prepared umpteen times.

What's unique about the cookbook is that each recipe offers three options. First, there's a Fast one. Then she gives you a Flashy method, and lastly, a Fabulous presentation. At the time, I suppose, it was her little corner, or niche to make her cookbook different. From what I read now, anyone not amongst published authors who wants to submit a cookbook for possible publication must have something very creative and unusual, otherwise it will never get past the first editor.

So back to the Dunk. Wonder why this little number is called a Dunk? Once Braden began cooking as a young adult, she definitely didn't like the word "dip." It conjured up the ubiquitous onion dip or clam dip etc. So, she decided to elevate the genre of appetizer to a new level, and calls it a Dunk. Whatever it is, dip or dunk, this particular one will make you think you're having a part of the BLT. Just no lettuce, and you either dip/dunk a cracker into the mixture, or spread it on toast, or even celery. It's the BACON, however, that makes this. The original recipe calls for 5 slices of bacon (to make about 1 1/2 cups of dunk). If you're using thick-sliced, obviously reduce the amount. And I've found that I can use considerably less bacon and still get the flavor. If you hand chop the bacon, every bite will have a bit of bacon in it, so don't leave the bacon in larger pieces. And whatever you do, don't just whiz up everything in the blender or food processor and think it will work. It doesn't. You lose all the texture and it becomes a very loose liquid. Not pleasant. Trust me on this, okay? Sometimes I just make it by hand rather than mess up the blender.

In the case of this recipe, Braden's recommendation for FAST was to prepare up to 4 days in advance and refrigerate. The FLASHY preparation includes using pita chips, crackers and garnishing with minced green onions, parsley, more chopped tomatoes and bacon. For the FABULOUS method, add avocado, stuff it into raw mushrooms or cold hollowed-out potatoes. Normally I just use pita chips from Trader Joe's, or the little bite-sized toasts, although I usually do garnish the top with some minced tomatoes and a little bit of extra bacon.

As noted in the recipe, I have made this with low-fat mayo, but it just doesn't taste all that good. If you're going to splurge and have a little bit of bacon - go for the gold and use Best Foods mayo. Enjoy.

Bacon & Tomato Dunk

Recipe By :Michele Braden, Fast & Fabulous Hors D'Oeurves, 1992

Servings: 6

5 slices bacon
2 medium ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup mayonnaise -- Best Foods brand or homemade
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons green onions -- coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons parsley
1. Cook bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels and cool. Chop into very small pieces and set aside.
2. Combine in a food processor the green onions and parsley and process until it's a fine mince. Scrape out into a medium bowl.
3. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds as much as possible. Process the tomatoes in the food processor until they are minced, but not pureed. Pour out into the same bowl and add the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Add the bacon and stir it into the mixture, then cover, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. It's best if allowed to chill for at least 8 hours.
Serving Ideas : I have made this with low-fat mayo. I'd be lying if I said it's "just as good." It isn't, but if you crave a BLT, it will satisfy. Serve with baked pita chips, crackers, or baguette slices, toasted. You may garnish the dunk with minced onions, parsley, additional minced tomatoes or crumbled bacon.
NOTES : This dip/dunk is sinfully delicious. If you are using thick sliced bacon, use about half the number of slices. Don't overblend or it loses its appeal, and if you have any leftovers, it's delicious on leftover pasta or rice, or even as a salad dressing.
Per Serving : 172 Calories; 18g Fat (90.2% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 11mg Cholesterol; 209mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.To view a printable version, click on the title of this posting.

Tomato Knife

Here's something I use often in my kitchen. It's a 6-inch tomato knife. A very razor-sharp serrated edged knife with a sleeve to store it in, that is specifically made for slicing tomatoes. Does it work? Absolutely - you can get almost paper thin slices with little effort. Is it worth buying a knife just for tomatoes, you ask? I think so. And just in case you didn't catch it a couple of sentences ago. . . Is it sharp? Yes, indeed. I cut myself with it soon after getting it, so now am very, very careful when I use it. Why is it different than any other serrated blade? I wish I could tell you; I can't, but it works and that's why I am recommending it. I believe I ordered mine from a catalog (don't remember which one, but it wasn't Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table) about 2-3 years ago. It's made by PureKomachi (Japan) and is available at several on-line retailers. Here's the Amazon link where it's $14.98. It appears they no longer make this knife with the hard plastic sleeve, although they've changed the tip to include small points to remove the core. That sounds like a good improvement, although my less pointed tip suffices for removing small cores.