Soup Buffet?

[Shores]

DF and I are hosting our birthday dinner next month and have been tossing around ideas on what to serve. After a final "no" regarding my desire for a cookout (pansy DF not wanting to bbq in the rain   ), he brought up the idea of a Soup Buffet. Basically, making 3 or 4 different kinds of soup and then having complimentary dishes (different kinds of bread, toppings, etc). Has anyone ever heard of this or done something similar? We're expecting around 20 people total and have some abnormal constraints since we actually LIVE in a tiny, studio and will be hosting this in the "common room" on our floor (think college dorm building, but we have a full kitchen in our studio). If anyone has any advice or good soup recipes, I would be very appreciative.

Plus, since I'm excited about our cake, I need to share it as well  There's a local cake shop that will transfer any image you want onto a cake.


Gobo is for DF, Maleficent is for me. Hey, I never claimed we were MATURE adults

[edenparadox]

A soup buffet sounds awesome.

You could try a Broccoli Cheese soup, a French Onion Soup, a Lentil Soup...

Oooh. I have a recipe.

Roasted Garlic Soup
(adapted from Bon Appetit)
Serves 4

26 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb butter
3 med onions, sliced
1 tsp dried thyme
18 garlic cloves, peeled
3.5 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
4 lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Put 26 garlic cloves in a small glass baking dish and add Tb olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake 45min to 1 hour, until garlic is tender. Let cool and squeeze garlic out of the peels. Transfer roasted garlic to a bowl.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add onions and thyme and cook until onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add roasted garlic and the 18 raw garlic cloves and cook 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until garlic is very tender. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until smooth. Return soup to saucepan, add milk and heat. Ladle soup into bowls and add grated cheese on top. Squeeze a lemon wedge into each bowl and serve.

* if you'd like a thicker soup, add a peeled, diced potato when you add the chicken stock.

[Sophia]

I would have:

Tomato Basil (everyone seems to like it)
Cheese or Cream based soup of some sort
I would say French Onion Soup, but that Roasted Garlic Soup looks like better and a similar type

Maybe also serve sausages for those that feel deprived without some meat.  You can cut them in 2" lengths and broil them. 

My FH loves soup.  I think I will make that Roasted Garlic Soup this weekend. 

[Bob Ducca]

The only real soup I make is Cuban Black Bean soup (low-fat and can be made vegetarian)

You take some celery, green bell pepper, onion, and garlic and saute in olive oil until the veggies are tender.  Dice as fine as you like- it will be blended later on.  Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a simmer, then add a couple of cans worth of rinsed black beans.  Once the beans are very tender, blend the soup until smooth.  I serve with a dollop of sour cream in the middle.

You can play with the seasonings to make it mellow or hot and spicy.  I use a dash of red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper, and some of whatever smells good.  You could also add some diced jalapeno to the veggie mix at the beginning, or add other veggies like carrots for some sweetness.  It's a really easy recipe and you can play around with it quite a bit.  The soup is velvety smooth and pretty hearty.

[Sophia]

Dang, I just noticed the Roasted Garlic soup requires a blender.  All the best soups do. 

[Just Lori]

I love the idea.  I'd set out an assortment of bowls, ranging from spacious soup bowls to smaller tea cups, so the guests could enjoy an assortment without filling up.

[Harriet Jones]

Dang, I just noticed the Roasted Garlic soup requires a blender.  All the best soups do. 

A stick blender would probably work OK, too.  It doesn't take up near the room a regular blender does.

[edenparadox]

I swear by my stick blender. It's space efficient and you can get a decent one for like $10-20.

[Shores]

Thanks for the ideas, ya'll! I know I want to do Brunswick Stew since that's very popular where I'm from, as well as New England Clam Chowder, just to give them a "taste of the States" but I was clueless for the other 2-3. DF thought the Roasted Garlic sounded great... might be the motivation I needed to get him to buy me a blender!

[cicero]

sounds lovely. i like the ideas that you got here - you can go for different colors - like the tomato basil (red), then a brocolli (green) and maybe the garlic or a jerusalem artichoke (cream color), or maybe an orange soup (pumpkin/sweet potato).

serve with a basket of different breads and bread sticks

croutons

maybe a crudite and dip platter?

[Sophia]

Different types of shredded cheese.  A Jalepeno cheese would be good. 
Hopefully you have a KitchenAid or something that can quickly grate a bunch of cheese, so it is freshly grated. 

[lindamay]

 I've never heard or thought of a soup buffet, what a fabulous idea!
So many varieties, plus breads etc

I will have to do this someday!

[Just Lori]

I'm going to shamelessly pimp my taco soup, which is in the cookbook folder.  This just tastes better every time you heat it up, and it can be adjusted for heat.  It's also easy to make a meatless version - just add extra beans:

Taco Soup

2 lbs ground beef or sausage
1-2 envelopes taco seasoning (use whatever "strength" you prefer)
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix (do NOT use low-fat)
2 cans Mexican-style stewed tomatoes (I run mine through the blender because my husband won't eat tomato pieces)
1 can green chilis
2 cans of black beans, pinto beans or one of each
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
Fritos
Shredded cheddar

Brown the beef.  Drain and rinse under water to minimize fat. Return the beef to the pot and add the rest of the ingredients, except the Fritos and cheese. Add four cans of water. Simmer for at least 15 minutes.  The longer you simmer, the better it tastes.  Serve over Fritos and top with the cheese.   Enjoy!

[Summrs]

Malaysian Condiment Soup

Rice Cubes (recipe follows)
  Fried onions (recipe follows)
  Beef and potato meatballs (recipe follows)
  Chile-soy sauce (recipe follows)
  1 frying chicken, cut up
  1 ts minced ginger
  1 large onion, chopped
  2 ts ground coriander
  1 cinnamon stick (3” long)
  4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
  10 cups chicken stock
  1/2 lb bean sprouts
  1 cup chopped celery leaves
  1 cup thinly sliced radishes

Prepare rice cubes, fried onion, meatballs and chile-soy sauce.  Set aside. 

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Set breast pieces aside; place remaining chicken in a 6-8 qt pan and add ginger, onion, coriander, cinnamon stick, garlic and stock.  Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

Add chicken breast pieces; cover and simmer until meat near thighbone is no longer pink when slashed (20-25 more minutes).  Lift out chicken and let cool.  Discard skin and bones; cut meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Skim and discard fat from stock.  Heat stock until steaming.  Meanwhile, wrap chicken and meatballs in separate foil packets; set in 350° oven until heated through (about 20 minutes). 

Rice Cubes:  In a 2 qt pan, combine 1 1/2 cups short grain (pearl) rice and 2 1/2 cups water.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer until water is absorbed (about 20 minutes).  Turn hot rice into a 9” square pan; with the back of a spoon, press firmly into an even layer.  Let cool.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan; turn rice out onto a board.  With a wet knife, cut into 1” cubes.  Serve at room temperature.

Fried Onions:  Thinly slice 3 large onions.  In a wide frying pan, heat 1/2 inch salad oil to 350°.  Cook a third of the onions at a time, turning until golden (about 5 minutes).  Lift out; drain.  If made ahead, store covered, at room temperature until the next day.

Beef and potato meatballs:  Combine 1 lb lean ground beef, 1 cup peeled shredded raw potato, 1 egg, beaten, 1 1/2 ts curry powder, 1/2 ts salt and 1/4 ts pepper.  Mix until well blended.  Shape into 1” balls.  Pour salad oil into pan used for onions to a 1” depth.  Heat to 350°.  Beat 1 egg with 2 tb water.

Dip meatballs, a few at a time, into egg mixture; drain briefly, then lower into oil.  Cook, turning, until browned on all sides (about 3 minutes).  Lift out and drain.  If made ahead, let cool; cover and refrigerate until the next day.

Chile-soy sauce:  Stir together 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tb white wine vinegar and 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles. 

Serve soup with rice cubes, onions, meatballs, chicken, chile sauce, bean sprouts, celery leaves and radishes on the side. 

[GlindaBunny]

Two soups that go over really well in this house are corn chowder and chicken tortilla soup.

The chicken tortilla recipe is on Martha Stewart's website and even has a video with it:  http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=a15056866a80f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=chicken%20tortilla%20soup&rsc=ns2006_pic_r1&video_id=0
I like being able to add stuff to my own bowl of soup (lots of avocado and NO cilantro!).

The corn chowder recipe is from Mimi's Cafe and is posted on their website:

http://mimiscafe.com/recipes.aspx  it's the second recipe if you scroll down.  It goes great with some rustic bread.  I usually add more salt than the recipe calls for.