I say toe-mah-toe

Apparently my new year's resolution is to blog less. Not to be blogless, just to blog less. I mean, ten days have already gone by and I've already managed to watch two all-new episodes each of Mob Wives (three words: full body surgery...and Big Ang! 5 words!) and It's a Brad Brad World, not to mention countless other shows, and I haven't posted a single recipe or anecdote. I guess I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things after taking a week off from my regular work routine. Plus, with all of the holiday insanity, I had been going out like crazy (like to the Highline Ballroom and Indochine with WendyB) rather than cooking anything for myself.

Now that the holidays are over and it's time to get on a hard core austerity regime, I think I'm going to be making a lot of tofu and salad recipes. Eventually. For now, I have a superbly simple tomato soup recipe (from The Ski House Cookbook). For some reason I am reminded of a time when my mother attempted to make homemade bean with bacon soup for her unappreciative children, who responded with an irritating chorus of, "We like Campbell's better!!" I'm sure that my mom's soup was actually better, but it probably lacked the sodium content of a canned soup that we were familiar with. Well, I don't think it is possible to like Campbell's watery tomato soup better than this one (hello! heavy cream makes toe-MAH-toe soup très elegant!) and the few extra minutes that it takes to make it is well worth it.

Hopefully I'll remember that the few extra minutes (hours!) that it takes me to write future blog posts will be well worth it too. And I might just start incorporating more of my illness that is reality TV and TV watching in general. (The first step is admitting there is a problem, right Dr. Drew?) How I have the time to actually go to work is beyond me...



Creamy Tomato Soup

1 (28-ounce) can whole, peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/3 cup cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat the broiler. Strain the tomatoes, reserving the juices. Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise and spread on a small, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil until the tomatoes begin to brown, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and cook until softened, 7 – 10 minutes. Add the roasted tomatoes, reserved juices and red pepper flakes and simmer for 15 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Stir in the cream. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.