Recipe #10: La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup

Mmmm...I loved this dinner, super rich, just my style.  Adel cooked up the La Madeleine's Tomato Basil Soup recipe from copykat.com.  We served it up with some grilled cheese (muenster on sour dough), perfectly grilled by yours truly...I can't say much for my cooking skills, but I can grill a mean cheese sandwich!  This meal would have actually been well-rounded with a salad on the side, but we were going for comfort tonight and we got it...mmmm!  (And notice I'm not calling it healthy...way too much butter for that...but sometimes, who cares, right?!)

La Madeleine’s Tomato Basil Soup

4 C. (8 to 10) tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped, or 4 C. canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 C. tomato juice and part vegetable stock or chicken stock
12 to 14 washed fresh basil leaves
1 C. heavy cream
1/4 pound sweet, unsalted butter
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan).

Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

Our Scores:
Adel - 7/10, not nearly spicy or exciting enough for him
Megan - 10/10, perrrrrfection!
Isaac - 3/10, ate the grilled cheese but no so much the soup
Abby - 10/10, just like momma