Comfort foods galore: Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Cookies!

Welcome to my parents!  A pineapple - traditional symbol of hospitality.  In reality, a yummy treat for me to munch on.  With all the ruffage I eat, I hear pineapple helps digestion without the gas... 

As they were arriving, and it was a cold day, I wanted to have something warm and comforting to share together.  What else - tomato soup and grilled cheese.  I'm still a novice when it comes to blogging + photography + real time cooking.  So I'm finding its hard to keep up with the pictures.  (Really, we are so hungry we eat and then there's nothing to take pictures of!)


Nevertheless - a couple of shots reveal what turned out to be an excellent meal together.  I copied my friend Katie's awesome idea when she hosted some girlfriends and me for a cold winter's lunch.  Organic Creamy Tomato Soup from Fresh Market (like Whole Foods) with an assortment of cheeses between the bread.

I did wonder - what does one put on the bread slices besides...butter and cheese?  We went with nothing, and it worked fine.  I cooked them on the griddle pan and got that fun panini/griddle mark effect.  It was wonderful. :)

Polished off with some ice cream and homemade cookies.

I'm still perfecting the 'pour and shoot' shot - this is the cooled, melted butter being poured into the mixing bowl.  As you can see prominently displayed - we tried out a new kind of sugar.  Madhava has a new, sustainably-processed sweetener that looks like brown sugar, but has more of a sandy texture.  I can't tell what the outcome was as I mixed it with brown sugar.  But will surely try again (obviously - look at that bag!).  Aside from the eco-benefits, its also a natural product, which is possibly healthier for us?

Into the cookie batter went my own little twist - chopped almonds (honey-roasted!) and dark chocolate kisses chopped up.  Once scooped onto the cookie sheet, I placed 6-8 pomegranate seeds on each ball of dough.  I learned this winter that you can bake pom seeds - but its better to place rather than mix in for fear of turning your batter pink (is that really a bad thing?!).

Menu:
Organic Creamy Tomato Soup - here
Grilled Cheese - used whole grain loaf bread + havarti, white cheddar, and jarlsburg swiss
Tossed Salad + homemade dressing
Chocolate Chip cookies + mini ice cream cups