November 25, 2007 by Ro.

The holidays are upon us and Ro always kicks off the season with a tree trimming soupfest the day after Thanksgiving. She figures that everyone spent the whole day before either eating or cooking (or both) and would not want to go to a big dinner party or a restaurant the day after; yet it’s a long weekend, Friday night, so everyone’s ready to party. Thus, the soupfest is born. A little soup, a little salad, just the thing. As a bonus for Ro, she makes her guests decorate her Christmas tree. Her tree gets decorated nice and early so she can enjoy it all season, her friends get soup, everyone’s a winner! How can one improve on this scenario?

Add in Morris County’s premier a cappella quartet: Moderately Bright Four! Oh yes, and some wine.

Beth and Bud, huge MB4 fans, provide the crowning touch: a string of lights spelling “SOUP FEST” decorated with spoons and bowls and soup cans. It is magnificent. We hang it up in the kitchen.

And challah!! Ro tries her hand at making challah from scratch, and it actually turns out sort of good, in a goyishe sort of way. Ro is pleased with the proofing cycle on her new ovens and vows to bake more breads as winter sets in. She will become the soup and bread maven of Cedar Knolls. She is filled with contentment.

Lots of friends, lots of kids, lots of soup, lots of wine, lots of music. We light the tree. We sing in the living room and in all of the kitchen areas. We sing Christmas songs and Havah Nagila. The friends clap. They eat soup out of Ro’s substantial collection of Christmas mugs. They request recipes. Oh, OK! Here they are! Enjoy — and Happy Holidays, everyone!

Note: I never measure anything, so amounts are approximate. Luckily, this is not a big issue for soup.

CLASSIC TURKEY NOODLE SOUP

I turkey rack (whatever’s left on the bones after the Thanksgiving feast)
2 large cans chicken broth, maybe more
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
8 carrots, sliced
5 celery ribs, sliced
1/3 box of noodles, maybe more, depending on how noodley you like your soup. You could use rice, too, but don’t forget you’d have to change the name of the soup.

Do what you must to fit the turkey rack into your largest soup pot. I usually enjoy this task, ripping off turkey legs with my bare hands, tearing apart the rib cage. Suggested music: “Welcome to the Jungle” or anything by Guns ‘n’ Roses. It’s best not to let children watch.

Wash off your hands (and forearms, probably — actually sometimes I need a shower) and pour enough chicken broth in the pot to cover the rack. Put on the lid and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
Use a slotted spoon to remove the turkey pieces to a platter. Let them cool a bit.

Meanwhile, add the rosemary, carrots, celery, and noodles to the broth and cook for about 8 minutes. When the turkey is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, shred it, and add to the soup pot.

Done!

CROCKPOT BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH CHIPOTLE CHILES

Yes, it’s worth getting your crockpot out of the basement for this one!

1 T olive oil
2 onions chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 t cumin
16 oz. dried black beans
1 T chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
7 c. hot water
2 T lime juice
2 t salt (I always use the kosher kind. It’s the closest I get to a religious experience!)
Garnish: plain yogurt, chopped tomato, chopped cilantro, hot sauces

Sauté the onions and peppers in oil 8 minutes. Add garlic and cumin for 1 minute. Put in crockpot. Add beans, chiles, and hot water. Cook on high 6 hours. Puree 2 cups of the soup in a blender. Mix in lime juice and salt. Serve with yogurt, tomatoes and cilantro. Olé!

TORTELLINI PESTO SOUP

There’s a vegetarian in every crowd, so this is a good soup to include. It’s also criminally easy to fix!

2 c. chopped scallions
6 cans vegetable broth
2 pkg. frozen cheese tortellini
1 large package of frozen peas, thawed
1 package frozen pea pods, thawed
1 container of pesto

Bring scallions and broth to a boil. Add tortellini. Cook 3 minutes. Add peas and pods. Cook 3 minutes. Stir in pesto. That’s it!

HARVEST SOUP

This will warm your very cockles, especially if you add in extra hot sauce! And don’t worry, you don’t actually have to go and HARVEST anything to make this soup. It’s just the name.

1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 c. chopped onion
6 c. beef broth
1 c. tomato juice
1 c. dry red wine
3 large cans of tomatoes, chopped (I use fresh tomatoes)
3 large carrots, sliced
2 c. diced zucchini
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. oregano
2 t. Tabasco

Brown turkey, sausage, and onion. Drain. Add rest of ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Serve to all your friends. Offer them extra hot sauce.

Enjoy the recipes, everybody! Bask in the glow of good friends and hot soup. Or hot friends and good soup. Your choice!

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November 17, 2007 by Ro.

We have topped “Hot Cold Woo” with an even more absurd statement. Today while wrestling with the tricky arrangement for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Ro actually advises, “We have to keep our doo-doos moving here.” Yup, we have it on tape. There’s a part where Audrey sustains a long and gorgeous note and Steve, Ro, and Jeff make doo-doos under her (as you see there’s just no way to talk about this without regressing like a 2-year old)… Anyway, it becomes apparent that if we let our doo-doos drag, it will just ruin the song, so WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR DOO-DOOS MOVING becomes the theme for hilarity for this rehearsal, complete with the requisite snorts and weenies. We have tears streaming down our faces and are rendered voiceless by fits of coughing. This then degenerates further when Ro proclaims that the doo-doo discussion would make excellent blog fodder.

DA BLOG FODDER!!!!!!!! The boys are quick to pounce on that one, careening around the kitchen like mobsters as Audrey and Ro warble the theme song. We feed off each other, using “blog fodder” as noun, verb, adjective and expletive, in every context imaginable.

Nonetheless, the rehearsal is a success, as we make great progress with the doodooful “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and a new one: “Can-Can,” which is done completely with nonsense syllables, not one of which, thankfully, is doo.

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