GARLIC SOUP!!!

This soup was amazing! It changed my life. I had no idea that soup could be like this. Hmmm... That sounds a little dramatic. First, it's true. My life will never be the same in an amazing garlicy, caramelized onion goodness kind of way. Second, I can't express myself without superlatives. I've been experiencing anxiety about my overuse of exclamation points and superlatives. For real. And yes, I lead such an uneventful life (a quiet, drama-freeish kind of delightful life) that this is true. I think I'm just going to have to live with too many exclamation points and abundantly abundant superlatives.

Back to the soup. I had been playing around with the idea of making a garlic soup for the past year. I wasn't too keen on the recipes in my cookbooks and didn't get around to doing anymore research. On one of the food blogs I read daily, someone had posted beautiful pictures of them making the soup. If I had just seen the recipe, I would have been too scared to try it out but the pictures were amazing. You can see them here. Looking at the pictures, I couldn't find the link to the recipe at first (the link is at the bottom) so I did a little research on the Food Network website to get a better idea about proportions. Eventually, I did find the blog link and became a little disconcerted. At this site, people can post and share recipes. It's not just the host's recipe so she may not have known that the recipe on the blog and the Emeril Lagasse recipe on the Food Network website were pretty much identical.

This could have been completely accidental on the part of the person posting the recipe to the blog. One of the cool things about recipes is that they start to take on a life of their own. They get created and passed on from person to person. The origins can get lost. And that's okay. I promise that if I use someone else's recipe I will do my best to give them credit to the best of my knowledge. If I use someone's recipe or tips as a clear springboard for my own creations, I will pass on that information. There are some recipes that are traditional and the origins are unknown. I will do my best to give credit where credit is due. I will now step off my soapbox. I'm sorry that was kind of a bummer but it was important to me to share.

GARLIC SOUP

This soup was my version of Emeril Lagasse's recipe and the recipe found on the blog. I changed some of the proportions of the recipe and really caramelized the onions but otherwise the recipe is their ideas. I made, devoured, and relished. I thought the time I took to caramelize the onions was well worth it in the end. I think I cooked those onions took almost an hour. Z has always been the one in charge of caramelizing the onions so I took advantage of the fact that he is out of town for work to practice my onion cooking skills. He may cook them a totally different way; I haven't bothered to ask yet since since mine turned out. I heated two tablespoons of olive oil on lowish heat-halfway between off and medium. I was using a heavy stainless steel pot that holds heat extremely well so I decided to play it safe with the low heat. I added the onions to the pot and let them cook, stirring occasionally. When I would start to hear a fair amount of sizzling I turned the heat down. I would turn it back up when the sizzling subsided. Once the onions were on the verge of caramelization, at this point, about 35 or so minutes of cooking, I added the garlic and kept repeating the turning the heat down, turning it back up until everything was caramelized and continued on with the recipe. After I added the garlic, I found my pan did need another tablespoon of olive oil. Simply amazing. There may be a more efficient to do this but I have no idea how. If you have heavy cream, use it. I stood in front of it at the grocery store in agony. I knew how wonderful it would be but I couldn't bring myself to buy it. I used the half and half that's in the fridge for my coffee. I think milk would work great, too, but I haven't verified that. Also, some white wine would be a great addition. I would say somewhere between 1/2 cup to 1 cup. The other recipes call for it but it was great without it, just use a splash more water or stock. Here is my take on garlic soup. Enjoy!



Garlic Soup
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2 heads of garlic (yes, you do need that much, it mellows out)
1 quart stock (vegetable or chicken) or mixture of stock and water
bay leaf
1/4 loaf of French bread, chopped or torn into pieces
1/2 cup(3/4 if you want it creamier) half and half
salt and lots of pepper

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. This may take awhile. Be patient and don't let the pan get too warm. Just because it's brown does not mean it's caramelized.
   
2. Add the stock and bay leaf to the onions. Bring to a simmer. Add salt and pepper. Let simmer about 15 minutes. Simmer longer if you want a mellower flavor.
3. Turn off heat and add the bread. Let cool until you feel comfortable enough putting it in a food processor or blender. Make sure to remove the bay leaf. Blend until smooth and return the soup to the pan. Add the half and half, or heavy cream, or milk and heat on low, stirring occasionally. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.