I must have been in a tomato mood the other night because tomatoes ended up in everything I made and that doesn't include the snitching of a fresh piece of tomato here and there with a little salt and sprinkling of some red wine vinegar. I love that. It's making my mouth water as we speak!
Let's start out with soup!
Cream of Tomato Soup
The base of this soup, the bones of the soup, is called Sherried Tomato Soup and is taken from the Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/02/sherried_tomato_soup/. It is my go-to creamy Tomato Soup base recipe. I change it according to what I have on hand. The recipe below has my variations incorporated into it.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 Whole Medium Onion, Diced
1 46 oz. Bottle of Tomato Juice (T: I used Campbell's Brand)
1 28 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes
2 Tbsp. Chicken Base (T: I used Better Than Bouillon mixed with some hot water and then poured in to the soup)
2 Tbsp. Sugar.
1 Pinch Salt
Black Pepper to Taste (T: I used 1/2 Tbsp.)
1 C. White Cooking Wine (BTW you can find this in the oil and vinegar aisle at your grocery store. It is salty, so do not add additional salt until you have combined and tasted your soup.)
1 C. Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp. dried Chives
1 Tbsp. dried Basil
Additions:
Garnish with fresh Parmesan and croutons.
In a soup/stock pot, Sauté diced onions in butter until translucent. Then add crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken base, sugar, pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn to a low simmer. Add in the dried chives and basil. Add in cooking wine, let simmer briefly, 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and add cream, stirring until thoroughly blended. Taste, add additional salt if needed.
Garnish with a hearty handful of the cheese and croutons if desired and serve with crusty bread and butter.
Beginning to end I cranked this out in 20 minutes. It was excellent hot and fresh...and no doubt will be even more so tomorrow.
Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Simple Dressing
1 lg. Cucumber
2 medium sized Roma Tomatoes
Red Wine Vinegar
Olive Oil
Salt
Peel the cucumber, slicing it lengthwise down the middle and then width wise in half circles. Wash the tomatoes and slice them in the same fashion as the cucumber. Place them in a dish. Be generous with your salt but not ridiculous, meaning you want to taste some salt but not feel like you need a pitcher of water next to you while you eat. A lot of people fear the salt and because of it they really miss out on some beautiful enhancing of flavors . . . don't miss out. Next drizzle your salad with Olive Oil, probably about 3-4 Tbsp. Next splash liberally, amply, delightfully, tartly, with Red Wine Vinegar. You want to taste the vinegar. Probably about 3 Tbsp. Toss your salad. Taste it. Is it salty enough? Tart enough? Great! Success!
Grilled Cheddar Cheese Sandwich with Sliced Tomatoes
2 pieces of Sliced White Bread (or whatever else you might love) = 1 Sandwich
Sliced Cheddar Cheese, enough to fully cover one piece of bread, likely 2-3 pieces, plus other pieces cut to fit the remaining open spots
Sliced Roma Tomatoes
Butter
On medium heat, heat your frying pan. Butter one side of each piece of bread. Place the bottom piece of the sandwich, butter-side down into the pan. Next add your cheddar cheese so that you do not have empty spots on your bread, then add the slices of tomato, I like to leave space for the cheese to melt between the pieces, then add your top piece of bread, butter side out.
Keep an eye on your sandwich, it takes a while to toast and heat, but it will burn in a snap if you're not careful. With a spatula, flip your sandwich over. If your bread is toasting too quickly and your cheese is not melting quickly enough, turn your heat down just a bit. You want the bread to be a deep gold, toasty - to - dark caramel brown color depending on your preference.
Once your bread is toasted enough and your cheese has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat, serve your sandwich slicing diagonally into triangles.
Warning: your tomatoes on your sandwich will be hot--give it a minute or three to cool down or you will burn your mouth, I did it just the other day . . . again . . . because I didn't want to wait, but you should wait. Your mouth will be happier.
Overall this is a super easy dinner that is fast and homemade. What's not to love about Soup, Salad, Sandwich?
Happy Eating!
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