Looking for a nice Appetizer soup...?

Question

To cook for my honey on Valentines Day! I'm making a nice cold seafood platter (lobster/scallops/shrimp/crab with sauces) to start as well as Penne with a Vodka sauce. Does anybody have any suggestions for a nice hot and light soup, that would go good with these dishes? I thought about Gazpacho, but think I need to make something hot after the cold seafood. Nothing creamy either as the Pasta is rich enough. Garlic soup, french onion, striatchetella (sp?)?

Thank-you for any suggestions you might have.

Answer 1

Make a clear mushroom soup. Use dried porcini's as the base for the mushroom stock.
Strain the stock using a chinois lined w/ dampened cheesecloth. If you don't wet the cheesecloth first it will absorb the a lot of the stock when you strain it. Since you are using porcini's they must be strained to remove any grit.
Garnish the soup w/ sauteed cremini mushrooms and fresh chives.
You may also want to add a splash of Marsala
just make sure you cook off the raw alcohol taste
Enjoy.

Answer 2

The french onion sounds lovely but if you'd like to try something different:
AQUACOTTA
1/2 cup olive oil
A six-inch (15 cm) stick of celery, a small carrot, and three small onions, minced together
1/2 a small, crumbled hot pepper, or more, to taste
2 pounds (1 k) beet greens or spinach, stemmed, washed and coarsely chopped
1 pound (500 g) peeled, chopped ripe tomatoes (canned will do in a pinch)
Up to a pound (500 g) of vegetables such as peas, beans, bell peppers, artichoke hearts, or whatever else is in season
1 1/2 quarts (1.5 l) boiling water
5 eggs, beaten in a bowl
1/2 cup grated pecorino Toscano (pecorino Toscano is relatively mild - substitute Parmigiano, not pecorino romano)
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if the cheese is sharp)
Thinly sliced toasted Italian bread
Set a heavy bottomed pot on the fire. When it's hot, add the oil and the onion mixture; season the mixture with salt and the chili pepper. When the onions have turned translucent, add the greens. Cover and cook over low heat till the greens have wilted, then add the tomatoes and the other vegetables, if you're including them. Simmer for about twenty minutes, then add the boiling water. Check the seasoning and simmer for another twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs and mix in the cheese, adding salt if necessary.
Line the bottoms of your soup bowls with thinly sliced toasted bread and spoon the beaten egg mixture over the bread. Bring the soup to the table, stir it well, and ladle it into the bowls, making sure that the hot soup flows over the egg, cooking it. (cut this recipe in half for 2 people) Serve with a light red wine.

Answer 3

Turkish lentil and spinach soup

1 tblsp oil
garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup cracked wheat
1 cup red lentils
2 L vegetable stock
1 tin tomatoes, chopped/mashed/pureed
1 bunch spinach, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
rosemary - at least 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
juice of one lemon

Put stock and lentils in a saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer for
approx 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a larger pot, saute garlic,
cayenne and onion in oil until onion is transparent. Add cracked
wheat and parsley and mix through. Add tomatoes and mix, allowing
the cracked wheat to absorb the juices. Add the lentil/stock mix
into the big pot.

Add the lemon and rosemary and allow to simmer for at least 15
minutes. Adjust for taste by adding lemon, rosemary or more chilli
as desired. Add water if you think it's too thick; the cracked
wheat will tend to bulk out and make it a bit porridge-like if you
don't have enough liquid.

Just before serving, mix the spinach through the soup. It should
only just wilt.

Serve with crusty bread. Feeds 4-6.

Garden Fresh Minestrone
12 servings

3 leeks or 1 medium chopped onion
2 minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 2 Tbs broth
8 cups broth
16 oz. can red kidney beans, including liquid
6 cups frozen mixed vegetables, italian
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup elbow macaroni
2 cups cabbage, shredded, or spinach, or chard
salt and pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Pasta fagioli

1 can white navy beans
8 to 10 Roma tomatoes
olive oil
garlic to taste
a little onion
2 cans chicken broth
a dash hot pepper
oregano
salt and pepper
any small Italian pasta like ditalini

Begin the sauce/broth by frying the garlic (and onion if you chose)
in the olive oil until brown.

Chop the tomatoes, add them, the hot pepper, oregano, and let stew
for a couple of minutes.

Add the beans and the chicken broth and let cook until beans are
hot.

Cook the pasta separately until it's al dente. Take the broth off
the heat, add the pasta, serve. Serve with a grated pecorino
romano. (The pecorino is sharper than the usual parmesan and is
much more traditional to the flavors of Southern Italy.)

Answer 4

Go order a large order of Hot &Sour soup from a nice Chinese restaraunt. Hot and Spicy for Valentine's Day. Plus it's deliciuos and very light. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 5

In keeping with the seafood theme, you could go with clam chowder, for a hot soup; or tomato bisque, butternut squash. Here are two more ideas:

Chilled Cucumber Soup

3 cups plain yogurt
1 large English (hothouse) cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and coarsely grated, plus 6 paper-thin cucumber slices with skin intact for garnish
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
2 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill, plus 6 dill sprigs for garnish
2 cups milk
3 Tbs. white wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Line a sieve with cheesecloth and place over a large bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the sieve and let drain in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Discard the captured liquid and place the yogurt in the bowl.

Add the grated cucumber, garlic, olive oil, mint, chopped dill and milk. Mix well. Stir in the vinegar. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Before serving, season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into chilled individual bowls and garnish each serving with a cucumber slice and a dill sprig. Serve well chilled. Serves 6.
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Onion Soup in Onion Bowls
Serving Size : 4

6 C yellow onions, sliced
2 T vegetable oil
2 cans beef broth (14-1/2 oz. each)
1/2 C dry sherry
1/2 t dried thyme
1/8 t black pepper
Dash cayenne pepper
2 T parsley, minced
Parmesan Toast

Sauté onions in vegetable oil over medium heat in large saucepan about 30 minutes or until onions are golden brown in color. Add broth, sherry, thyme, and peppers. Bring mixture to boil, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Serve in 12-ounce soup bowls. Sprinkle with parsley and top with Parmesan Toast.

Parmesan Toast: 4 servings.
Butter one side of each of 4 slices of baguette; sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Broil or toast until cheese browns.

Serving Suggestion:
Serve in onion bowls. Peel outer layers of 4 large onions, but leave one or two layers of skin intact. Slice top 1/4 onion and discard. Slice thin layer off bottom so onions will be even and level on the bottom. Cut an "X" in center of onion and carefully remove inner portion, leaving at least 2 layers on the outer edge. Fill with onion soup.

Answer 6

This isn't very Valentine's Dayish...but Taco Soup is so awesome that I'm drooling just thinking about it.

Answer 7

any kind of warm chicken noodle soup since it is really good for you, especially on a cold day.

Answer 8

Go to Culinary Chef at http://www.culinarychef.com for recipes.

Answer 9

Cambels soup!!

Answer 10

try one of two
-

tomarto
chicken

tomarto is the more comon