Hi Everyone- Welcome a special Valentine's Day edition of Soupin It Up w/Sped. Tonight's we're talking dessert soups, cause for a single gal like me Valentine's Day is all about drowning my sorrows in dessert! And it's another Soups for the Troops- for every soup recipe posted in this diary in the next 24 hours I will donate 10 cents to Netroots for the Troops.
Don't forget to vote in tonight's poll for next week's soup them.
Also please note the new posting time of 9 PM EST on Sundays due to a change in my work schedule.
Chocolate Soup
Ingredients:
5 cups Whole Milk
3 tablespoons All-Purpose Four
4 ounces Semisweet Chocolate, chopped fine
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
1 pinch Ground Cinnamon
Panettone or Hard Butter Cookies, for dipping
Directions:
- Add ½-cup milk and flour to small bowl. Stir until smooth.
- Add remaining milk to large saucepan. Simmer over medium heat.
- Add finely chopped chocolate to small bowl. Spoon 1-cup hot milk over chocolate.
- Stir to melt chocolate.
- Add chocolate mixture to hot milk.
- Gradually stir in flour mixture, while stirring.
- Stir in sugar, butter and ground cinnamon.
- Stir constantly 5 minutes until thick and smooth.
- Remove from heat. Let stand 1 minutes.
- Serve warm with panettone or hard cookies for dunking.
Raspberry & White Chocolate Soup w/Brownie Croutons
Brownie Croutons Ingredients:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Soup Ingredients:
2 packages (12 ounces each) frozen raspberries (about 3 cups)
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 granulated sugar
1/2 seedless raspberry jam
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, divided
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
Instructions:
Prepare brownie Croutons: (makes 4 cups croutons, enough to garnish 9 servings)
- Preheat oven to 325°. Line an 8-inch baking pan with foil and butter the foil.
- In a saucepan over low heat, whisk butter and chocolates until smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in sugar, vanilla, and salt. whisk in eggs, one at a time, then fold in flour. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack.
- Turn an upside down onto a cutting board and remove pan and foil. Using a serrated knife, cut cake into 1/2-inch squares.
Tip:
Store croutons in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Prepare Soup:
- In a small saucepan, bring raspberries, water and sugar to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and raspberries ave softened or broken down, about 4 minutes.
- In a food processor or blender, puree raspberry miture, jam, and 1 tablespoon of the Grand Marnier until smooth. Strain into a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours.
- In another saucepan, bring cream to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add white chocolate. let stand for 2 minutes, then whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in remaining Grand Marnier. Let cool.
- Ladle raspberry soup into chilled shallow bowls. Gently drop 5 to 6 spoonfuls of the white chocolate mixture onto the soup. Draw a chopstick or knife through the chocolate mixture to create a marbled effect. Serve with brownie croutons.
Chilled Green Apple Soup
Ingredients:
10 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
1 quart apple juice
1/2 cup Riesling
1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 whole cloves
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons apple Schnapps
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Directions:
- In a large saucepan or soup pot, combine the apples, juice, wine, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Simmer until the apples are very soft. Remove from the heat; let infuse for about 1 hour.
- Discard cinnamon stick and cloves. Pour the apple mixture into a blender. or food processor. Add honey and Schnapps; blend until smooth. Strain soup into a bowl. Lightly whip cream; fold into soup. Adjust seasonings if needed and serve.
Melon Twister Soup
Ingredients:
2 cantalopes, cubed
2 honeydews, cubed
1 pint vanilla yogurt
1 cup half and half
whipped cream (if you want)
sliced almonds (if you want)
Directions:
- In batches, blend the cubed cantalope with some of the yogurt and half and half until smooth and creamy. When all of it is done set aside in a bowl.
- In batches, blend the cubed honeydew with the rest of the yogurt and half and half until smooth and creamy. When done set aside in a bowl.
- To serve, get 2 soup ladles and fill each ladle with one melon mixture. Slowly pour into soup cup so they swirl together (note: this can take some practic).
- Top with whipped cream and sliced almonds and serve.
(Note: I've also done this as a Berry twister soup with Strawberries and Blueberries)
----------------------
Our goal for Netroots For The Troops 2010 is $100,000.00 (cash or in-kind donations).
Our primary goal with NFTT is assembling Care Packages at Netroots Nation. However, occasionally there arises a need beyond those deployed. Maybe a veteran and his family caught between a need and red tape. llbear et al has shown us several times this year. So as we rises funds this year keep in mind that your donation may very well be helping a veteran in need here at home or help those deployed feel they're remembered here at home.
We realize that you would like to donate something tangible to go inside the packages that will be mailed to the troops. Unfortunately, accepting in-kind donations from individuals is not practical in terms of storage and handling of the items. We will only be accepting corporate donations or cash from YOU to purchase items for the care packages this year.
Here’s how YOU can help:
- Please contact TexDem if you know someone who might be helpful in securing the corporate in-kind donations. To help you think of companies who could donate products, see below* for a list of potential items. Put your thinking caps on and let us hear from you. It takes time to get through the corporate processes so we need to hear from you ASAP!
- We are accepting cash from individuals and
beg ask that you DONATE HERE to contribute to this worthy cause. Your donation will enable us to purchase the things that we are unable to obtain through corporate donations, and will help to pay the costs of shipping them to our troops. This year your donations will be tax deductible, thanks to Netroots Nation and their partner Netroots Arts and Education Initiative, a California 501(c)3 corporation.
- Sign up for a diary! Don’t worry---we’ve made it easy for you. We’ve got a template set up, and all you need to do is add a small introduction telling us why you are donating, sharing a story of someone you know who has served or is serving, or any other thing you want to share that might help motivate others to donate.
- Do you know a service member who would like to receive a care package? Email a request to: NFTT.request@gmail.com before June 30 2010.
Please include all of the following information. Unfortunately we will not be able to process any incomplete requests:
Rank:
Last name:
First name:
APO Address Line 1:
APO Address Line 2:
APO Address Zip:
- Write letters to be included in the packages! If you need some ideas, rbutters wrote an excellent diary with tips on how to write letters to troops and why it’s so important to them.
- Help us assemble the packages in Las Vegas. It's fun! More information will be forthcoming for those of you who are going to be in Las Vegas and would like to help there.
- Please consider joining the NFTT FaceBook Group. Invite your FaceBook and non-FaceBook friends.
_____________________
The goal for 2010 is 600 Care Packages assembled in Las Vegas, that equates to approximately $100,000.00. Again this was decided upon after seeing we could assemble 300 in 45 minutes in Pittsburgh. The items we'll be sending will be comparable to what was sent last year. However, that list is subject to modification based on suggestions, request and needs. Last year's boxes had a retail value of about $210.00. Btw, check out the NFTT website.
*The following list contains some of the things we have included in packages. Please let us know if you know someone who might be helpful in securing these corporate in-kind donations. (Please DO NOT send these items yourself! We have no way to accept them. Instead, your cash donation is the very best way to help make this happen on the ground in Las Vegas.)
- Baby wipes
- Mechanix gloves
- LED flashlights
- Gel shoe insoles
- Goop Cleaning Gel
- Powdered energy drinks
- Gel energy food packets
- DVDs and CDs
- Letters to the soldiers
- More suggestions coming soon
Important Note about Successful Online Donations
When you make your online donation, the screen indicates that you are donating to Netroots Nation. This is the right screen! Rest assured all donations WILL go to NFTT. If you wish, feel free to use the comment area provided to note that your donation is intended for Netroots For The Troops. It isn’t necessary to do this however, as this is the only fundraising activity being conducted for Netroots Nation at this time. For further information about online donations, please read TexDem's diary on the subject.
The NFTT diaries are a way for the Daily Kos community to support the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq by sending them packages of items they might not otherwise receive through the normal military process but that they find useful.
This is a non-political diary. While we understand there are differing views on the wars and the warriors, the site gives plenty of opportunity to express those views elsewhere. Furthermore, we would hope that users do not engage with those that attempt to hijack or otherwise disrupt these diaries.
We appreciate your understanding and support. Thanks!