I just made the yummiest soup! Yay!

[bicentennial_baby]

I've never made soup before...I used turkey stock that we made from T-Day, White and Dark meat, Celery, Carrots, Onion, an assortment of spices, and elbow macaroni (I was going to use rice, but Sniffa's mom made it this way, so I did it for him :) )

Holy crap! It was deeeeelicious! :9

And he said it was better than Mom's :D

:bounce:

[CTyankee]

1. I used to make turkey soup after Thanksgiving but I stopped

a while back, don't know why.

I made ribolitta for Thanksgiving. That is a Tuscan bean and vegetable soup. White beans, carrots, onions, garlic, Savoy cabbage, zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes and spinach (or you could use bitter greens but I thought spinach would go over better). We had it with crusty garlic bread.

I ate ribolitta all over Tuscany. Tried it every place I went. It is really hearty and good for the cold weather.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. oooh, that sounds delicious! Recipe?

:bounce:

[CTyankee]

8. It is lengthy, but really easy (just time consuming)

It was in last week's New York Times Magazine on Sunday. You should be able to get it online. It is an updated, lower carb version of traditional ribollita, which is made with day old bread.

[CTyankee]

9. Here is one online

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/13607/ribolitta-(reboiled-soup).html

It doesn't have the squashes which I liked. I made it with water, not chicken stock, as I have a vegan in the family (and also the recipe I had only called for water). I forgot to tell you about the parsley and the herbs, which are included here. My recipe did not call for pureeing the beans, but I had versions of it in Italy that had pureed beans and other vegetables. I guess you can have it both ways. I'll bet brocolli rabe would be a good substitute for spinach (but some people don't like the rabe; I think it is glorious).

[Karenca]

5. Ribolitta----

That soup and the porchetta sandwiches that are sold on the stands.

My fondest food memories of Tuscany

[CTyankee]

10. Where did you get the porchetta sandwiches?

I was in Florence, Siena, Montecatini Terme and Lucca. I had great food but not that. Man, that sounds good!

Lucca was the best. Just. Fabulous. Food. Truffle cream sauce in a puff pastry shell, pici with a meat sauce made with duck...

[Karenca]

11. In Florence--

There was a tiny sandwich place
and outside was a porchetta sandwich stand.

Also, in the outdoor market, but I didn't buy it there--I bought it from the tiny
stand. About 2 or 3 euros.

Sienna's so pretty.

Did you ever eat at Il Latini in Florence? That was where I first tasted ribolitta. A really great
restaurant.

I love Italy, but the food sucked in Venice.

[CTyankee]

12. I didn't have a chance to eat at one of those places in Firenze

but we had great meals in Siena, Lucca and Montecatini Terme.

Did you take a tour or do this on your own?

[Karenca]

14. I had wonderful food in Sienna, not so good in Rome.

I did the trip on my own.

My son is a graduate student at NYU---Food Studies. He also was an undergrad there too, and because of his major
he gets to live in Europe about half the year. So, I've been visiting him for 2-3 weeks at a time.
I spent most of July this year in London.
And the food was wonderful!

Did you take a tour?

[CTyankee]

15. Yes, one of the Smithsonian's art tours

which was heavy on the art lectures (fine by me, but not for everyone) and long stretches of walking, a lot of it uphill, to not only Firenze but also Siena, Lucca, Montepulciano, Orvieto, Perugia, Assisi.

My Lucca experience was at Giglio's which had been written up in the NY Times a few weeks earlier. It is an elegant ristorante with exquisite service and delicate, delicious food.

Did you get to Perugia? There chocolate is a high art form. The flagship Perugina store is there. It looked like an upscale jewelry store! I bought a small box of their famous Baci which were packaged in a midnight blue velvet box with a silver ribbon. Il Tramone is another store in Perugia where you can get the most extraordinary candies. There is also a chocolate bar there where I got an expresso cup sized hot chocolate with cinnamon and ginger, and a tiny saucer with a dollop of heavy whipped cream. I could have died happy there!

Lucky you to be able to run around Europe like that. When are you going back?

[Karenca]

16. Isn't Italy overwhelming gorgeous?

I loved Montepulciano--I was there early
in the morning when the residents all gather in the square before work. It was so charming, and I felt
that I was transported to another time from the past.
It's absolutely breathtaking! (If you have no fear of heights!)

I visited Cordona, Vatican City and Pergugia---and some other
places/towns, but I cannot remember all the names right now.

I'de love to read your article in the NYT. I'm going to look for it.

I wish I could return tomorrow, but I don't think I can make another trip
till the summer. Next time I want to visit France :)

[CTyankee]

17. OK, mystery solved!

Thanks for your pm. I messaged you back.

The article was by Mark Bittman entitled "The Riches of Lucca" and was in the Sept. 24 issue of the Times. The photographs are so drop dead gorgeous I nearly fainted! When I visited Giglio's and had lunch they were well aware that they had been so nicely featured in the Times. I told them it was why we had come and they were pleased. It was a dining experience!

Have you traveled in Emilia-Romagna? That is supposed to have the very best food in all of Italy. That and the Piedmont region. Another NY Times article discussed those two regions more recently. It too was great. It was by Frank Bruni and entitled "Just How Good Can Italy Get?" on October 25th, right before I left for Italy.

So I hope to go to those regions at some point, just to eat in some of the places Bruni mentions. There was also a nice article in the Times several months ago about Genoa's cuisine. Of course, I am ready to go there now at the drop of a hat!

The great thing is I didn't seem to gain weight on this trip for all of the great food and wine I had. I think it was all that uphill walking that did it!

[MissMillie]

3. turkey soup is the bomb

I put a couple of shots of brandy in my stock... and don't forget the bay leaf.

Good for you!

[bicentennial_baby]

6. I didn't forget the bay leaf

:D

thank you :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. Oooooooooo....I'm telling his mom....

;)

Happy Thanksgiving! :hug:

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Ha!

:D

and to you as well! :hug:

[Shine]

13. Yeah, baby!! We're right behind ya!

only the hubby is doing it, not me. He's totally into that sort of thing. It's his "domain", as we say. :D

Hey, I got the bread at the store, for homemade garlic bread. yummmmm...:9

:hi: Enjoy!

It's raining and cold here tonite, perfect for soup in front of the fire...