Tomato Bisque

This herbaceous creamy tomato puree is a favorite of mine and those who have enjoyed it. It takes a few hours to complete, but trust me, it's well worth it.

Tomato Bisque (recipe serves 4-6 bowls)

Items you'll need:

Food processor
large stock pot
wire strainer
whisk
kitchen string/butcher's twine

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
1 tablespoon chopped bacon (about 1/2 ounce)
1 large sweet yellow onion chopped
1 carrot peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery
4 cloves garlic, pressed
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned
1-28 ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes (with liquid) roughly chopped
5-6 sprigs fresh parsley
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1-3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Quarter the onion, carrot, and celery. Peel skin off garlic and add all items to food processor. On low speed chop all vegetables. Put contents in bowl and set aside.
2. Remove tomatoes from can and roughly chop. Place in bowl with liquid or return to can and set aside. 
3. Using kitchen string, tie parsley, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in a bundle and set aside.

Directions:

Melt butter in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring until crisp and most of the fat is rendered, about 1-2 minutes (it should get foamy). Using slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-line plate (optional if you want to serve bacon bits with soup).

Lower the heat to medium, add the chopped vegetables and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until soft and fragrant, about 8 minutes.

Stir in the flour cook, stirring for 3 minutes. Pour in the broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil over medium-high/high heat while whisking constantly.

Add herb bundle to pot and lower heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes.

Remove pot from heat and allow to cool.

When the soup base is cool, remove and discard the herb bundle. Working in batches, transfer the mixture to food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Using a wire sieve/strainer over a large bowl, strain the tomato puree. You may want to use a wooden spoon to "press" the puree through the strainer if necessary.

Return the puree to the pot and reheat over medium heat. Once warm, whisk in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper. Divide among warm soup bowls and serve immediately.

Garnish with dried basil or parsley.

Serve with baguette on side and/or freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Delicious Chicken Quesadillas

Because this is one of the few things my wife's daughters like, I cook these quesadillas at least once a month. They're easy and you don't need a special pan.

Ingredients: (makes 8 quesadillas to feed 2-3 people)

Two (2) burrito size flour tortillas
Shredded Taco cheese (8 oz package)
Fajita style chicken breast strips (6 oz package)
Vegetable oil 1/4 cup
Chunky salsa
Sour cream

In a 12" skillet or fry pan, heat oil over medium heat (3-4 on dial) until hot. Place a paper towel on a large cutting board. Place chicken breast strips in a microwaveable dish and heat about two minutes on medium-high. Meanwhile, lay the tortillas on a flat surface and dress one tortilla with shredded cheese as shown.

Add the heated chicken strips on top of the shredded cheese as shown.

Place the second tortilla over the chicken and cheese and place carefully in the fry pan.

Cook tortillas in hot oil until golden brown and lightly crisp. Turn carefully and cook other side until done.

Place cooked quesadilla on paper towel and an another paper towel on top side to catch oil. Using a large chef knife, cut quesadilla in half, then quarters, and again until you have eight (8) wedges as shown.

Serve quesadillas with salsa and sour cream. This is great with yellow saffron rice and black beans on the side.