Bread or Cornbread: That is the Question

I'm a cornbread girl.  It's funny because I would have never pegged myself as a cornbread lover.  I usually go for the very sophisticated artisan breads and scoff when a mediocre baguette is served in a restaurant.  But there's something about the crumbly texture of cornbread that's, I don't know, comfy.  And isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about?

All of this is not to say that I don't think bread stuffings can be tasty as well.   I love the recipes that cater to my need to have "interesting" bread.  Olive bread, focaccia,  peasant, these breads can all make really special additions to the Thanksgiving spread. The plain white bread?  Not so much. The whole wheat bread?  Not so much either.

So, you ask, what makes a great stuffing?  I think a great stuffing is a lot like throwing a great party.  It's all in the details.  No one talks about a party where the table is set with paper plates and the food is brought out in disposable casserole dishes.  No.  We all kvell (that's oohing and aahing for the non Yiddish speakers among you) over the pretty napkins and flowers and the presentation of the food.  Now, in the case of stuffing, the details that make the difference are the ingredients.  Stuffing is one of those foods where the more ingredients the merrier.  More is more and more is better.  Lots of chopped celery and onions, herbs, sausage or oysters, if you're so inclined, even some fruit and nuts. And, don't be afraid to use that homemade chicken stock, if you have it on hand.  You can use the boxed stock, but hey this is a holiday.  Go for it.   Think of stuffing as a party in a casserole dish. Everybody is there mingling and they're all having a great time.

And, don't be afraid to experiment.  If you find a bread stuffing that sounds good but, like me, you go for cornbread, switch it up. The nice thing about stuffing, and Thanksgiving in general, is that everything works.  As long as you get the turkey cooked properly, everything else is up for grabs.

Speaking of Mr. Butterball,  some people like to cook their stuffing in the bird and some outside of the bird.  I go for the outside the bird approach because it leads to a crispier stuffing and a properly cooked turkey.  But, if you love the cooked in the bird stuffing, who am I to judge?

So, get ready to throw yourself a party in a casserole dish.  You can even start the party a day or two before Thanksgiving.  The flavors will all mingle together in the refrigerator.  And, you'll get to start celebrating early.

Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing
(Epicurean)

2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound sausage meat
8 cups cornbread (recipe follows)
2 large red Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 3 cups)
2 celery stalks, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoon leaf thyme, crumbled
2 teaspoons leaf marjoram, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
14 teaspoon pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cranberries, water and sugar in a medium size saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Drain well.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Saute sausage in a medium size skillet, breaking it up into small pieces, until lightly browned and no longer pink, about 5 minutes.  Drain excess fat.  Combine with cranberries in the bowl.  Add cornbread, apples, celery, onion, and seasonings to cranberry sausage mixture.  Add enough chicken stock to slightly moisten the mixture.  Toss gently to mix.

Spoon stuffing into a greased shallow 4 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake, covered in aluminum foil, for 45 minutes, or until heated through.  Uncover for last 10 minutes for a crispy top.

Cornbread
(Williams-Sonoma)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 375.  Butter a 9-inch square cake pan.

Sift together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.  In another bowl, whisk the milk, sour cream, oil, and egg.  Fold into the flour mixture; do not over mix.  Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.  Break into large crumbles for the stuffing.

Herb and Apple Stuffing
(Ina Garten, 2003)

16 cups 1 inch bread cubes, 2 baguettes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups medium diced yellow onion (2 large)
2 cups medium diced celery (3 large stalks)
2 Granny Smith apples, unpeeled, cored and large diced
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted, optional

Preheat the oven to 300.

Put the bread cubes on a 13x18x1 inch baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 7 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 350.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter and add the onion, celery, apples, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper. Saute for 10 minutes, until the mixture is soft.

Combine the bread cubes and cooked vegetables in a large bowl and add the chicken stock and almonds, if desired.  Gently combine.

Place the stuffing in a large buttered casserole dish and bake at 350, covered in foil, for about 45 minutes, or until heated through. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes for a crispy top.

A Woman's Work is Never Done

I wish I could be one of those people who wakes up on Monday morning raring to go.  You know the type who sees Monday as an opportunity to start anew and conquer everything that got left behind the week before.  That would not be me.  The fact is, I hate Mondays.  It's hard, after what is usually a busy weekend, to get up early and face the week.    And, even more than facing the week, it's hard to face my house and what a mess everything is.  Frankly, sometimes it looks like a tornado has blown through.  There's stuff everywhere that everyone has left around knowing I would pick it all up on Monday morning.  It's a mess.

So, my Monday started, as usual, with the laundry.  The laundry has to be, hands down, the most thankless task on my agenda , and probably on yours as well.  For a small person, Kate sure has a lot of dirty clothes.  She seems to need to change multiple times every day.  If, for some reason, the ensemble isn't to her liking (and she's 15 so nothing is to her liking), into the hamper it goes, having never traveled farther than her mirror.  Why should she fold it if I can wash it and then fold it for her?  In short, I feel like I could do the laundry continually and never actually have an empty hamper to show for my efforts.  Laundry is like the Energizer Bunny.  It just keeps going and going.  It never ends.

And then there are the bathrooms.  And the kitchen.  Need I say more?

All this fun happens before I even make a list and hit the grocery store.  I could probably go to the grocery store any other day of the week, but somehow it always happens that Mondays are the day we are running low on milk, and everything else for that matter.

The good news in all of this is that all the cleaning and laundry really build up my appetite, and I feel like I deserve something really delicious for dinner.  It's been a little cool lately and it seems like a good night for pasta bolognese.  I just happened to have recently picked up Ina's new cookbook How Easy is That, and there's a really quick and easy bolognese.

Miracle of miracles, I have all the ingredients in the house for the bolognese!  It took me about 30 minutes to put it together and it tastes like it was simmering on the stove all day.  Absolutely delicious!  It's creamy, with just a hit of heat, just the way a good bolognese should be.

You should give it  a try.  I think we all deserve something special for dinner tonight.

Weeknight Bolognese
(Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That, 2010)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 pound lean ground sirloin
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 cups red wine, divided
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3/4 pound dried pasta, such as orecchiette or small shells
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, lightly packed
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat,  Add the ground sirloin and cook, crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat has lost its pink color and has started to brown.  Stir in the garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more.  Pour 1 cup of the wine into the skillet and stir to scrape up any browned bits.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, stirring until combined.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of salt, a splash of oil, and the pasta, and cook according to the directions on the box.   While the pasta cooks, finish the sauce. Add the nutmeg, basil, cream, and the remaining 1/4 cup wine to the sauce and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.  When the pasta is cooled, drain and pour into a large serving bowl.  Add the sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan and toss well.  Serve hot with Parmesan on the side.

Kate in the Kitchen

This morning Ted and Kate made breakfast.  Ted used to cook a lot more than he does now, but occasionally he gets out the breakfast cookbooks and rustles us up some breakfast.   When he does cook, he's a whiz on the BBQ (people come from miles around for his ribs) and his second best meal is breakfast.

Kate has recently discovered the kitchen for more than just grabbing snacks.  She's become quite the Saturday night gourmet. After a very busy week, sometimes she prefers to stay home on a weekend night while we go out for dinner.  In the past, she has stuck pretty much with the Trader Joe's frozen entrees, but lately she's become far more adventurous and ambitious.  She has a new favorite sandwich she likes to make.  It consists of homemade bread, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, grated aged cheddar, and sopresseta salami.  Pretty nice, huh.  And to top it off, last night she made herself some homemade lemonade with fresh squeezed lemon juice and simple syrup, which she made herself, all topped off the a lemon wedge as a garnish.   I'm so proud.

So, back to the breakfast.  They made pumpkin waffles because it's autumn and we love pumpkin around here.  Ted acted as sous chef.  No mixes for the Rosenthals, Kate was busy measuring and mixing.  And, I have to say, topped off with a little maple syrup, the waffles were absolutely delicious.

Now I'm going to get her to make me one of those sandwiches.  I think she has a future.

Pumpkin Waffles
(Waffles by Betty Rosbottom, 2005)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
18 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
1 cup milk
3/4 cup cooked pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, separated
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the waffle iron.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg.  In another bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin puree, and egg yolks until completely blended.  In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until firm, but not stiff.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk/egg mixture, blending gently only until the ingredients are combined. Add the butter in a slow stream, continuing to blend until the butter is incorporated.  Gently fold in the egg whites.

Pour a generous 1/2 cup of the batter (or more depending on the size of your waffle iron) into the waffle iron and, using a metal spatula or knife, spread the batter to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Close the cover and cook approximately 3 minutes,  or until crisp and golden brown.  Serve immediately with topping of your choice.

A Little Thank You

Well, this is really fun.  I can't believe I was nervous about launching You Little Tarte.  Everyone has been so nice and so supportive.  Why didn't I do this years ago?

Did I ever mention how I finally came to push the publish button? I have Gwyneth Paltrow to thank.  That's right, Gwyneth Paltrow. I get her weekly blog, GOOP, and a while back there was an article about which food blogs Gwyneth enjoyed reading.  G.P. is cool so I took a look at the blogs she likes.   After all, she and I have so much in common. We're both mothers, we both like to cook.  Okay, so maybe not so much in common, but we do have two things in common.  Anyway, the other blogs were fun and I said to myself," I can do that".  And that's it. I had been waiting to find "my idea" and Gwyneth, with the impossibly thin thighs and chic outfits, led me to my idea.  Thank you Gwyneth.  Let's do lunch.

Here are a couple of the things I really like about writing You Little Tarte.

I get to talk about food and cooking, and just about anything else I want.  This is particularly nice because, while Ted and the kids are happy to be the recipients of my handiwork in the kitchen, I'm not always sure they want to hear about my love affair with my Le Creuset dutch oven.  (They sometimes look a little glazed over but I just keep talking.)

By now, you know who Ted, Kate, and Charlie are.  You've met a couple of my friends, heard all about why I love Ina Garten.  You know all about Deborah's new Dior boots and that Mona and Emily make really good muffins.  And, there's more where that came from.  Just wait.

One of the really nice aspects of all this fun is that I've gotten to connect with people I haven't seen in, well, forever.  My long lost best friend from junior high,  Karen,  has been reading the blog and even sent me a cookbook to try out, California Kosher.  There are a bunch of delicious sounding kugel recipes that I have to try  This may call for a Salute to Kugel.  I can hardly wait.  Karen and I were, as Kate would say, besties, back at Mulholland Junior High School in Van Nuys, California.  We once slathered ourselves with baby oil and baked in the sun for six hours.  (What can I say, times were different.  No one worried about things like skin cancer.)

 I guess the point of all this is that I just want to say thank you for reading You Little Tarte.  I also want to thank you in advance for passing it along to all of your friends (and even people who aren't your friends)  who you think might also enjoy it.  There's strength in numbers!!  In just three weeks  we've had over 800 hits and lots of email subscriptions.  This is amazing.  I am woman, hear me roar!

So, let's keep in touch.  Let me know if there's anything you would like to read about.  I'm just learning about this whole blog thing, so I'm open to all thoughts and suggestions.  I have to say, if you're having half as much fun reading this as I am writing it, well, we're all doing better than fine.

Today I went looking for my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe and came across this one for Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies instead.   I had a couple of leftover Heath bars from last week's Halloween Bark, so in an effort to be "thrifty,"  and use what I had in the house, I whipped these up.  They're delicious.  Let me know what you think.


Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies
(Martha Stewart, 2009)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/6 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 large egg
2 chocolate covered toffee candy bars (1.4 oz. each), chopped

Preheat the oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add peanut butter and egg; beat until smooth.  With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture.  Stir in toffee.

Using 1 level table batter per cookie, drop onto baking sheets about 1 inch apart; flatten slightly with a fork.  Bake until edges are golden, 16-18 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack to cool completely.

Thanksgiving on My Mind: Bogged Down

Last summer we were in Cape Cod, and we stopped by one of the oldest cranberry bogs in America.  It was exciting for me because I love all things cranberry and somewhat annoying to Charlie and Kate when I made them pose for pictures near the bog.  Nonetheless, our visit to the bog was cool because I had never actually seen a cranberry bog before except on the Ocean Spray commercials.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I think the cranberry is a very misunderstood fruit and that's why I'm starting my Thanksgiving "coverage" with it.  The cranberry is kind of sour, and that's off putting to some people.  It also really only makes one major appearance a year, that is at Thanksgiving.  And, because it has to share the show with the stuffing and the yams, it's kind of like the ugly stepsister to the most popular girl at the lunch table. Cranberries are tolerated but mostly ignored.

What a bummer because cranberries are so delicious.   They are yummy not only as a relish, but also in stuffings, cookies, and quick breads.  And, cranberry juice is, of course, famous for being a key component in every single girl's favorite cocktail, the Cosmopolitan.

Cranberry sauce is a classic at Thanksgiving.  One of the great things about cranberry sauce is that it benefits from being made ahead of time.  The longer it sits, the more the flavors can meld together.  It also gets more gelatinous, which is nice too. Sometimes I even make more than one kind, maybe one that is cooked and another that is not.  Here are a couple of my favorites. If you have leftovers, try using it as a spread on toast.  That way you can have a taste of Thanksgiving after the other leftovers are long gone.

Cranberry Grape Compote
(Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
3 cups seedless red grapes
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large saucepan, over medium-high heat, bring cranberries, grapes, sugar, and 1/2 cup water to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer until most of the cranberries have popped and the grapes are falling apart, 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat; add the salt to the cranberries and stir to combine.  Let cool to room temperature (compote will thicken as it cools).  Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Dried Cherry and Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cranberry juice cocktail
2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Bring cranberry juice to a simmer in a heavy, large saucepan. Remove from heat.  Add dired cherries and let stand for 10 minutes.  Mix in sugar, cranberries, and cloves.  Cook over medium-high heat until cranberries pop, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Chill until cold.  Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Cranberry-Apple Chutney
(Martha Stewart Living, 2010)

Ingredients:

1 cup unfiltered cider vinegar'1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 red onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup mixed dried fruit, such as currants, golden raisins, and chopped prunes
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
10 whole cloves crushed with the side of a knife (1/2 teaspoon)
2 whole cinnamon sticks
12 ounces fresh cranberries

Bring vinegar, sugar, onion, dried fruit, ginger, cloves, and cinnamon sticks to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.  Add cranberries.  Reduce heat to medium, and simmer gently until cranberries are tender and start to burst, 10 to 15 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl, and let stand until cooled. Refrigerate.

Turkey and Dysfunction

It's November and you know what that means.  It's almost time for the home and hearth of Thanksgiving, when the family gathers around the table for a good, healthy serving of holiday dysfunction. There's nothing quite like gathering the troops to make you eat and drink with reckless abandon.

I actually love Thanksgiving, as I think most people do.  My parents are both gone, and my sister lives across the country, so we hit the Pennsylvania Turnpike for New Jersey and my cousins. Thanksgiving with my cousins is fun.   I am not kidding you.   This year, Gloria and Phil are hosting, and Gloria knows how to throw a party, even if the guest of honor is a turkey.  I'm excited, Charlie and Kate are excited, and even Ted, who is more reserved about such things than I am, is pumped.  As I said, I love Thanksgiving.

But, I do know first hand that it can be a lot of work being the host.  There's the cooking, the cleaning, the set-up and the clean-up.  There's the family drama, both unspoken and spoken far too loudly.  Let's face it.  Whenever you get a group of people together who have a lifetime worth of history, sparks will fly.  I know this from personal experience.

So, I want to make it easier for you.  Even though I'm not cooking this year, I have been in your shoes and I want to help.  (Don't I sound understanding?)  No, I can't come to your house to do the cooking, nor can I  clamp my hand firmly over your mother's mouth when she says "I know you didn't ask my opinion, but..." What I can do is give you some of my favorite recipes along with a couple of tips for making the whole ordeal as painless as possible.

Planning ahead is the key.

Start with the guest list.  Think about how many people you can comfortably serve.  No one really wants to try and eat a big Thanksgiving meal either on their lap or on the floor.  We're grown-ups here.  Make sure you have a place for everyone to sit comfortably.  If you have to invite more people than you have seats for, rent  or borrow some tables and chairs.  Believe me, your guests will thank you.  Only once you have figured out how many people you are having can you decide how much of what you are serving so invite everyone first thing.

Next you can plot out your menu.  The nice thing about Thanksgiving is that it's pretty formulaic.  There's the bird, the stuffing, potatoes or yams,  cranberries, a vegetable, and the pie. Decide on what you want to serve before dinner with drinks (and what you are going to drink, for that matter).  All the magazines with the Thanksgiving recipes have already arrived.  Lack of information is not an excuse to put this off.

Start your shopping list.  For me, there is absolutely nothing worse that hitting the grocery store the Monday before Thanksgiving with a shopping list two pages long.  Invariably, you'll forget some of your weekly staples because you're distracted by trying to locate the crystalized ginger.  And you'll forget the canned pumpkin for the pie because in the ordinary course you never buy canned vegetables and that's where the pumpkin is.  Then you'll have to haul back to the market and fight the crowds all for just a couple of items.  Get to the liquor store as far in advance as possible. After all, the family is gathering.  You'll need lots of booze.

What I like to do with the shopping is spread it out.  Pick up the staple items the next time you go to the grocery store.  You can even pick up the potatoes and the onions a week or so in advance. Believe me, they're probably the same potatoes and onions you'll buy closer to the holiday.  If you do it right, your big shopping right before the holiday should be limited to just perishable items.   Order your turkey in advance for pick-up on Tuesday or Wednesday of Thanksgiving week.

Now start thinking about the party itself.  Believe it or not, your guests are going to pay more attention to what everything looks like than how it all tastes, not that your meal won't be delicious.   I always say, if you have a great handbag and shoes, you can wear jeans from Target and no one will notice.  (I'm not comparing your Thanksgiving to Target.  I am comparing it to the really chic shoes and bags.)  It's a holiday.  Bring out the big guns.

Get out the crystal and china.  Why do you have it if you never use it?  Now is a good time to use all that stuff you registered for when you got married.  As my friend Deborah says "What? Are you going to be buried with it?"  Use it.  Enjoy it.  If you don't have enough of the good stuff, supplement with something you already own that mix and matches well.  If you're not into the "eclectic" thing, rent whatever you need.  It's not expensive, and you don't even have to wash anything before returning it.

The same is true of table linens.  If you don't have enough matching napkins, (and for heavens sake, it's a holiday, use cloth) rent something special.  My friend Susie owns a linens company, and they have many more choices than I have at home.  A good linens place can help you give your party a really special look. And again, you don't have to wash anything before you send them back so it'll cut down on your post party work.

Think about your centerpiece for the table.  If you're doing flowers, order far in advance.  You may be able to have them delivered which, as far as I'm concerned, is reason enough to order flowers in the first place.

Finally, make sure you have all the serving platters and bowls you'll need.  There's nothing worse than finding out that you don't have enough bowls ten minutes before you're sitting down to dinner.  Use large platters and bowls.  It makes everything look more sumptuous.

Remember, your guests will have a better time if you're actually at the party and not trapped in the kitchen the whole time.  (That is, unless you prefer it that way, and I'm not judging you.)  If you are well organized, you might even manage to have some fun.

This is just a little guide to help you get started with your planning. There's more to come, I promise.  In the meantime, here's my favorite (and foolproof)  recipe for pumpkin bread to get you into the Thanksgiving mood.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread
(Bon Appetit, 1995)

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 16-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350/  Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.  Beat the sugar and the oil in a large bowl to blend.  Mix in eggs and pumpkin.  Sift flour. cloves. cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl.  Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture in 2 additions.  Mix in walnuts, if using.

Divide the batter equally between prepared pans.  Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.  Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes.  Using a sharp knife, cut around the edges of the loaves.  Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

Feelin' Soupy

The leaves are changing here in Pittsburgh and the days are growing shorter.  It's getting to be soup season.  Aside from gaspacho, soup is pretty much a winter thing, if you ask me.  I guess there's chilled cucumber soup and vichyssoise, which are also nice for warmer weather.  But as far as I'm concerned, all those refreshing soups take a backseat the a nice hearty bowl of warming soup on a cold winter's day.

My love affair with soup goes way back to when I was a kid, and I discovered Campbell's Cream of Tomato soup.  I just loved the creaminess.  It felt so special because you could add milk to it instead of water.   Aside from chicken soup on holidays, my mother rarely made soup.  As an adult, I have revisited my love affair with Campbell's but have upped the ante significantly.

The other day I was talking with Frank's daughter Kelly.  She also coaches Kate, and we all spend a lot of time together.  And, let's face it, tennis isn't that interesting so we talk about a lot of other things.  It turns out that Kelly likes to cook and was making homemade tomato soup for dinner.  (You would have thought that after more than two years I would have known this given (a) how much time I spend shooting the breeze with Kelly and (b) how much I myself like to cook.)  Her tomato soup made me think of this incredibly easy and tasty recipe I saw Giada make on her Food Network show last winter.  I made it and served it to rave reviews the next day.

So now that there's a rain/snow mix in the forecast for Thursday, I thought this might be a nice way to soften the blow of the coming of the dark days of winter.

Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup
(Giada De Laurentiis)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (28 ounce) jar marinara sauce (recommended: San Marzano brand)
2 (14 ounce) cans chicken broth (or equal amount homemade chicken stock)
1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup pastina pasta (or any small pasta)
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and garlic and saute until soft, about 2 minutes.Add the jar of marinara sauce, chicken broth, cannellini beans, pastina, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Ladle into bowls and serve.