Well hello there.. just stopping by to share some yummy goodness for those cold evenings. This recipe takes 30-40 minutes tops. B and I will never buy canned tomato soup again.

I'll be back soon, promise.

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup
adapted from Cooks Illustrated, September 2008

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped medium (about 1 cup)
5 medium garlic cloves, minced (recipe calls for 3 - we like garlic)
2 pinches hot red pepper flakes (recipe calls for one optional - we like spicy just as much as we like garlic)
1 bay leaf
2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes packed in juice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 large slices good-quality sandwich bread , crusts removed, torn into 1-inch pieces (we used the middle slices from a loaf of seeded sourdough)
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
Table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Equipment
4-6qt Dutch oven or pot
potato masher
blender

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and their juice and mash with a potato masher until no pieces bigger than 2 inches remain. Stir in sugar and bread and bring soup to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until bread is completely saturated and starts to break down, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half of soup to blender. Add 1 tablespoon oil and process until soup is smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to large bowl and repeat with remaining soup and oil. Rinse out Dutch oven and return soup to pot. Stir in chicken broth and brandy (if using). Bring soup back up to boil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve soup in individual bowls. Sprinkle each portion with pepper and chives and drizzle with olive oil. And for extra yummy, comfort goodness... serve with grilled cheese. B and I are partial to grilled cheese made with sourdough and sharp cheddar. Be sure to let some cheese hang off the edge for those yummy, cheesy, crusty bits!

**chef's notes: B and I always add more garlic than recommended in a recipe. That's just how we roll. We also like things spicier than most. One pinch of red pepper flakes will probably give you a hint of spice while the 2 pinches we used gave us a more noticeable amount of heat (but not enough to deem it spicy by our standards). I thought it was the perfect amount of spice, but B likes things even spicier so he went further and added tabasco after plating. We used seeded sourdough because we didn't want to buy two types of bread, one for the soup and one for the sandwiches. We weren't sure how it would affect the soup, but we ended up licking the bowl. The seeds in the sourdough also didn't affect the taste, but, visually, it gave it a nice speckled look. We didn't use brandy, but didn't feel like it needed it. We also want to try it with veggie broth but didn't have any on hand when we made it.