Soup Night!

I don’t have an oven. Usually, I consider this a good thing. An excuse to order Thai food all the time. More space for clothes and books. But when I wanted to host a dinner party, my kitchen was a problem.

Then I started reading Soup Night by Maggie Stuckey. I might not be able to make casserole or roast chicken or other impressive dinner party fare you see in Norman Rockwell paintings, but I could surely make some soup, right? With a Crock-Pot, a hotplate, and a copy of the book, I set off on my quest.

The concept of a Soup Night is charmingly simple: Once a month, the neighborhood flocks to a different home for a night of socializing over two big batches of soup, typically one meat and one vegetarian. To reduce the burden on the host, guests bring bowls, booze, side dishes, and desserts. (Soup Night also includes some recipes for breads, salads, and sweets.) The result? A closer, stronger community–all thanks to soup.

Since this was my first time cooking for a large group, I decided to start a bit smaller. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for my neighbors (or if my neighbors were ready for my amateur cooking), so I did a Soup Night test-run with friends. My wife and I made Pumpkin Curry Soup and Surprise Beef Stew (more on the “surprise” later). Both were delicious and incredibly easy to make.

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

You can put those leftover Thanksgiving ingredients to use with this sweet and slightly spicy pumpkin soup! Since we used lactose-free milk instead of cream, we added a can of sweet potato puree for some extra thickness and creaminess.

Serves 6

Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons curry powder
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (we used vegetable)
1 (29-ounce) can pumpkin puree (we added a can of sweet potatoes, as well)
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups heavy cream (or lactose-free milk, which we used)
Optional: Chives or pumpkin seeds for topping

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute longer. Blend the curry powder and cook for 1 minute. Transfer the mixture to a blender (careful, it’s hot) and puree until smooth, then return it to the pot. Or use an immersion blender and puree the mixture right in the pot.

2. Add the broth and pumpkin (and sweet potatoes, if you’re adding them) to the mixture in the pot and stir to combine. Add the orange juice, lemon juice, bay leaf, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer.

3. Stir in the cream (or, in our case, lactose-free milk) and return to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes; remove and discard the bay leaf.

4. Adjust the seasonings; serve hot. While the recipe recommends topping with chives, we went with roasted pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!

 

SURPRISE BEEF STEW

Some of my friends were afraid the “surprise” here was just my way of rebranding a mistake I made while cooking. But rest assured, it’s a good—and intentional—one: coleslaw. You might be skeptical; I was, too. But the slaw added a perfect creaminess to the stew. Everyone loved it. If you find yourself making leftover turkey sandwiches in the days ahead, the coleslaw—with its mixture of mayo and mustard—makes a sweet, crunchy topping.

Serves 4–6

Ingredients
Stew
1 cup all-purpose flour, approximately
Seasoned salt
1 ½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup olive oil (more if needed)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 cups beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon paprika
3 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1-2 carrots, cut into bite-size chunks
3 thin-skinned potatoes (such as red, Yukon Gold, or Yellow Finn)
 
Coleslaw
1 head green cabbage
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
¼ cup cream (or lactose-free milk, which we used)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions
For the stew:

1. Mix the flour and seasoned salt, and dredge the meat until each piece is well coated (a plastic bag is handy for this). Add the oil to a large soup pot, deep skillet, or Dutch oven and brown the meat over medium-high heat. Work in batches if needed to make sure each piece is well browned.

2. To the same pot, add the onion and garlic (add a little more oil, if needed), and sauté until the onion is soft. Add enough beef broth to cover the meat, along with the sugar, allspice, paprika, bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pot, and reduce the heat. Simmer until the meat is tender, about 40 to 50 minutes (or longer, if you’d like).

3. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. If the liquid seems thin, mix a little cornstarch with cold water and add it a little at a time.

For the coleslaw:

1. Shred the cabbage (or start with a bag of coleslaw mix from the supermarket, already shredded).

2. Whisk the mayonnaise, sugar, and mustard together, and gradually add the cream (or lactose-free milk) until you get the consistency you like. Pour the dressing over the cabbage, mix well, and add salt and pepper; taste and adjust seasonings. Ideally, it’s best to let this “brew” for an hour or two before serving.

3. As you serve, pass the coleslaw so that each person can take a large spoonful to stir into the stew.

 

Overall, Soup Night was fun, delicious, and easy. Next step: Inviting the neighbors over for Round Two.

Soup Night is available now from any of the following online retailers:

Amazon| Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Workman