The other night, The Boy and I made this Garlic Bread Soup, a la Martha Stewart. It didn't turn out quite like I thought it would. It certainly wasn't as gorgeous as the picture from Martha Stewart's website (see right)I made a few adjustments to the recipe, and maybe that was the fatal error. Ok, that's a bit dramatic. But it didn't turn out great, just ok. And usually, I am a genius in the kitchen! Kidding, but it was odd to use my usual method of following a recipe and tweaking it a bit and to not see the results be amazing. The Boy would be proud of me for not "Pollyanna-ing" the situation here, but seriously, it was just not that good. It was edible, but the garlic was overpowering, and the bread broke down almost completely, giving it a weird and mushy texture. Sadface.
Anyway, we used 4 cups of chicken broth instead of 5 cups of chicken stock, and added a few pieces of Trader Joe's "Just Chicken" strips. I may have used too much garlic. I added a bit of Chardonnay to combat the garlic (I don't know why - I think I just thought adding wine to the situation would help). Sigh.
There are, of course, leftovers. Not one to waste, I've been trying to think of ways to re-use the leftover garlic mush "soup" - to repurpose it and transform it into a magnificent meal! Can She Do It??? She can! And she will! Determination, people! It's what happens when you are unemployed and hungry :-)
After talking to Raelene, my thoughts of adding sausage or tomatoes to it are confirmed "yeah that might help" ideas, but I am also armed with some nice alternatives that I think would work even better. I think the best way to approach the situation it is to think of it as a sauce, not a soup. It's really not great on its own, but used as a pasta sauce (with chicken or Italian sausage) or a pizza sauce (on some fresh whole wheat dough), it might really be tasty. She suggested searing some chicken in olive oil so it gets a nice caramely crunch on the outside, and topping with fresh herbs and/or fresh parmesan cheese. I have some fresh sage and parsley that would accent it nicely. She suggested lemon juice (or other citrus juice) to "bring it to life" a bit, and whaddya know, I happen to have both lemon and lime juice in my fridge? :-)
So...I've got some ideas now, and I will put them to use! Do any of you guys out there have any ideas?
my good buddy Alton Brown told me, in good eats episode "pantry raid 2: Seeing Red" that wine frequently opens up and enhances flavors--and actually the act of heating food in alcohol will release flavors unattainable with mere water or fat. Adding wine probably made it stronger. But it may mellow out in the reefer in a few days. I don't know what to do about the mushy bread but perhaps a colander could come in handy? I think wet bread is more often icky than not anyway. But if you poured it on toasted baguettes i doubt you'd notice the texture.
ReplyDeleteI can't endorse the inclusion of sausage in any food item. I'm just not a fan.