First, a confession. That's not my picture. It's Kay Steiger's. I made the dish on her recommendation (modifying the original recipes from My Kitchen Sink: Here's the soup, here's the sandwiches). Sadly, I lacked Kay's skill behind the camera, and my photos suggested a meal made mainly of cassette tapes and encroaching darkness. Not delicious.But the meal was delicious. And easy. Grilled cheese and tomato soup battle back the winter like little else, and the renditions here -- particularly the grilled cheese -- are ideal. The tomato-chipotle relish that layers the sandwich is trivial to make and is almost certainly going to be a permanent presence in my kitchen. Better than ketchup, more textured than hot sauce,It would be great atop baked tofu or fish, as a base for soups and stews, and as on all manner of other sandwiches. Grilled Cheese: You'll need good sourdough bread, sharp cheddar, red onion, a 6-ounce can of tomato paste, a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (in the Hispanic section of most any supermarket), and some molasses. To make the relish, combine the can of tomato paste, 3 cut up chilis (with some sauce), and a tablespoon of molasses in a food processor or blender. Process or blend. That's it.Then lay out your slices of bread. Cover each with a tablespoon of the relish. Then add a slice of cheese. Then a layer of thinly sliced red onions. Then another slice of cheese. Then close the sandwich (so it goes bread, relish, cheese, onion, cheese, relish, bread). Lightly oil a saute pan and warm on medium heat (any higher and your bread will burn before your cheese melts). Grill sandwiches until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.Tomato and Leek Soup: A little trickier than the grilled cheese, but not that hard. You'll need 3 leeks, 3 garlic cloves, 2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes, 1 cup of water, 1/3rd cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar, some red pepper, some celery seed, and some dried oregano.Thinly slice the leeks and the garlic. In a large saucepan, saute both in a bit of butter for five minutes. Add the tomatoes (and the juice), the water, the cream, the sugar, the pepper, the celery seed, and the oregano. Turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as you do so. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for 10 minutes. The next step is to blend the soup: If you've got an immersion blender, then this is it's chance to shine. If not, transfer the soup in small batches to your blender or food processor, then return it to a clean pot. Serve. WEEKEND FOOD BLOGGING: CHIPOTLE GRILLED CHEESE AND TOMATO LEEK SOUP.
First, a confession. That's not my picture. It's Kay Steiger's. I made the dish on her recommendation (modifying the original recipes from My Kitchen Sink: Here's the soup, here's the sandwiches). Sadly, I lacked Kay's skill behind the camera, and my photos suggested a meal made mainly of cassette tapes and encroaching darkness. Not delicious.But the meal was delicious. And easy. Grilled cheese and tomato soup battle back the winter like little else, and the renditions here -- particularly the grilled cheese -- are ideal. The tomato-chipotle relish that layers the sandwich is trivial to make and is almost certainly going to be a permanent presence in my kitchen. Better than ketchup, more textured than hot sauce,It would be great atop baked tofu or fish, as a base for soups and stews, and as on all manner of other sandwiches. Grilled Cheese: You'll need good sourdough bread, sharp cheddar, red onion, a 6-ounce can of tomato paste, a can of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (in the Hispanic section of most any supermarket), and some molasses. To make the relish, combine the can of tomato paste, 3 cut up chilis (with some sauce), and a tablespoon of molasses in a food processor or blender. Process or blend. That's it.Then lay out your slices of bread. Cover each with a tablespoon of the relish. Then add a slice of cheese. Then a layer of thinly sliced red onions. Then another slice of cheese. Then close the sandwich (so it goes bread, relish, cheese, onion, cheese, relish, bread). Lightly oil a saute pan and warm on medium heat (any higher and your bread will burn before your cheese melts). Grill sandwiches until golden brown, about 5 minutes on each side.Tomato and Leek Soup: A little trickier than the grilled cheese, but not that hard. You'll need 3 leeks, 3 garlic cloves, 2 28-ounce cans of whole tomatoes, 1 cup of water, 1/3rd cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of sugar, some red pepper, some celery seed, and some dried oregano.Thinly slice the leeks and the garlic. In a large saucepan, saute both in a bit of butter for five minutes. Add the tomatoes (and the juice), the water, the cream, the sugar, the pepper, the celery seed, and the oregano. Turn the heat to high, and bring to a boil, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon as you do so. Reduce heat to medium, simmer for 10 minutes. The next step is to blend the soup: If you've got an immersion blender, then this is it's chance to shine. If not, transfer the soup in small batches to your blender or food processor, then return it to a clean pot. Serve. 
