Week 141: Vegetable Soup with Basil Meatballs
Last weekend while I was enjoying a beer at MPH with my hubby, a customer approached and let his opinion be known about my recent offerings. This customer (we can refer to him as Chris S.) informed me that it was "ok" that I took the summer off but he expected more out of me upon my return. Apparently his family had missed out on the Italian Wedding Soup so he had been without a meatball soup for many months ... and he was not happy about it. So, in honor of Chris S. I am making his favorite meatball soup this week ... I hope this brings a smile to his face :-)
On the menu for TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13th is VEGETABLE SOUP WITH BASIL MEATBALLS and ROASTED RED PEPPER BREAD. I had the pleasure of working with Cincinnati's favorite chef, Marilyn Harris, which is where this soup recipe began. The soup begins with assembling the meatballs and browning them in the oven to intensify their flavor. The meatballs are filled with lean ground beef, fresh basil and parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Meanwhile, diced onion, garlic, celery, and carrots are sauted in a little bit of butter in the pot. Once softened, homemade chicken stock, tomato sauce and orzo noodles are added. The soup simmers until all the flavors are blended together and it's garnished with fresh parsley. A gluten-free version of the soup is available, please comment in the notes section when ordering.
The bread companion this week is my Roasted Red Pepper Bread. This beautiful, braided bread combines the sweetness of roasted red peppers with a little kick from the black pepper. And if you manage to save some bread, it makes fantastic toast the following morning!!
The dessert on the menu this week are White Chocolate Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. I'm so excited to offer a fall version of snickerdoodles. These soft and chewy cookies are full of pumpkin, white chocolate and cinnamon sugar. Pumpkin has a way of making everything it touches taste cakey, but I prefer a chewy and dense cookie. When it comes to baking with pumpkin, there are a few secrets that I utilize to achieve a chewy cookie. One of which is to not use eggs. This is because pumpkin is soft, mushy and full of moisture. When it comes to cookies, excessive moisture means cakey texture. Eggs are used in cookies to bind ingredients together and leave behind moisture. Essentially, pumpkin replaces the egg in these cookies. - Jenny from Jenny Sue Delights