Sunday Soups 7, 8, and 9

Unfortunately for Michael, due to some shifting around to get easy soups for the busy play weekends, we ended up with tomato soup two of the last three weeks. He was very supportive and ate both with no complaints.

Tomato and Fennel Soup with Pernod Cream--I left the Pernod out of the cream, because I didn't want to buy a bottle of anise-flavored liqueur when I only needed 3/4 of a teaspoon for this recipe. I like licorice, but I don't want to drink it. This soup has more fennel than tomato. It went very well with grilled cheese sandwiches made with good Cabot cheddar. Michael couldn't quite give it a thumbs up, but the rest of us did.

Spicy Pork Chili with Cumin Polenta--I had an ingredient issue with this recipe. Serrano peppers were not to be had, so I substituted with jalopeno. I'm not sure if it was due to the subsitution, but this chili was not as spicy as I had expected. It's more labor-intensive than most of the soups I've done so far, but it was tasty enough that is will likely make the permanent rotation at the end of the year. Five thumbs up.

Tomato, Dill, and White Cheddar Soup--This one had four times the tomatoes of the other soup. Perhaps consequently, Michael liked it less. I thought it was great, and it's quick and easy enough to make midweek. This soup has two qualities that are common among the recipes in this book: the use of leeks instead of onions and a touch of heat (cayenne pepper in this case) that intensifies the flavor of the vegetables. Michael was neutral on this one (because he is too polite to give it a thumbs down); the rest of us liked it.