Before we move on to today’s shenanigans, I just want to say thanks to all of you, my friends, for your kind words and well wishes for Chris’s dad. We both appreciate it so much. There is continuing improvement, we’re moving him to his new facility today, and we hope to have him back home before Thanksgiving. And his new digs are in Charlotte, so no more up and down the highway to visit! Booyah!
So, how was your Halloween? We don’t usually get a lot of trick or treaters because we live in a cul-de-sac, so we normally just go out for dinner then hang out and watch the tube. This year we had some little visitors come to our hood for the trick and treat festivities. They live in the woods in the middle of nowhere, so they have to go somewhere else or they get zero candy. We hadn’t been trick or treating in so long! We totally had a blast!
The weather was nice for us on Halloween, but now it’s all rainy and gloomy. It isn’t terribly cold, but all things considered, it was time for some comfort food. My garden is still producing tomatoes, so I had a boatload of them accumulating on my counter. It was a win-win over here. A perfect way to use up all these tomatoes and a twist on one of the most classic combos ever – the grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I know this will come as a shock, but I decided to change things up a bit. Now, I’m totally not above opening a can of Campbells and dunking some Kraft American grilled cheese in there – and maybe throwing in some Pepperidge Farm Cheddar Goldfish Crackers because those things are crack.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is not a sponsored post. I’m fairly certain that the nice people at Pepperidge Farms would not take kindly to me comparing their baby goldfish crackers to crack. I’m just sayin’.
Any-hoo, I like croutons in my soup and what better crouton then a grilled cheese? I also like goat cheese in my tomato soup, but decided to go a different direction and mix in some mascarpone that I had in my fridge.
I highly recommend it! Have a great week, y’all!
Roasted Tomato and Mascarpone Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons
Ingredients
Roasting the Tomatoes
- 2 pounds mixed variety tomatoes halved
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil - enough to coat the tomatoes
- sprinkle of salt
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cloves minced
- 1 small white onion diced
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
- pinch of pepper
- 4 ounces mascarpone
- 4 pieces sliced bread
- 4 slices American cheese
- 2-3 tablespoons butter
- basil for garnish if desired
Instructions
For the Soup
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Preheat oven to 325
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Add tomatoes to a parchment paper lined baking sheet, toss with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
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Roast at 325 for 1 hour - time will vary according to size of tomatoes, but you want them soft
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Cool enough to handle and pull the peel off
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In a Dutch oven over medium heat melt the butter into the olive oil, add onions, cook for 2-3 minutes, add garlic, and cook another minute
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Add roasted tomatoes, vegetable stock, sugar, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce, and simmer for 30-45 minutes
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Stir in mascarpone until mostly melted and mix with a hand blender until smooth - you can use a regular blender, but you'll want to work in batches
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Strain soup through a fine mesh sieve to remove seeds
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Return to pot, adjust seasonings
For the Grilled Cheese Croutons
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You can totally make your grilled cheese the way your mama taught you, but this is what I did
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Melt 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium to low heat, add 2 pieces of bread, then 2 pieces of cheese on each, top with remaining 2 slices of bread
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When the bottom is golden brown and cheese is melty, flip until the other side is also golden brown and cheese it toatlly melted - if there is not enough butter left in the pan, I just remove both sandwiches from the pan, melt some more butter, and finish the uncooked side
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Cut into bite sized pieces
To Serve
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Transfer soup to bowls, toss in grilled cheese croutons, garnish with basil if desired
