Tomatos, Soup, and Tomato Soup!

Some combinations are timeless. Laurel and Hardy, popcorn and movie theaters, beer and football (or for me, beer and pretty much ANYTHING), and of course, the soup and sandwich. Come to think of it, the soup and sandwich combo is universal in scope. Pretty much anywhere you go in this world, there is a soup and sandwich combo that can be associated with your location. Po'boys and Gumbo in Louisiana; Cheese-steaks and Chowder in the northeast; Cubanos and Black bean soup in South Florida; and of course the Godfather of all soup/sandwich combinations, the immortal classic tomato and Grilled Cheese.

Today I wanted to test my skills a bit in this ethereal combination of culinary zen.
Not wanting to be merely traditional, I opted to stray ever so slightly from the beaten path and for the soup I chose a roasted red pepper and tomato-basil soup with a cream finish. The sandwich was to be a chicken salad sandwich with handmade-by-whisk-and-elbow power garlic and extra virgin olive oil aioli, with baby rasish sprouts, and basil.

A little strange you say? Why not go with grilled cheese? I dunno, I felt like chicken salad tonight I guess. And hey, most people who know me would probably say that I've always been a little "off" anyways. Call me a non-conformist.

I got started after a long day in class. It was about 7:00 pm when my knife clove in twain the first tomato. I used cherry and regular old "garden variety" globe tomatoes tonight. I went all out too, seeding every last one.
I loved roasting the pepper, mostly because I'm a guy, and pepper-roasting means I get to light stuff on fire with impunity.

A little sweat of some minced garlic and onion on the stove and everything went in the soup pot. A splash of white wine, basil and pepper is usually always welcome in anything I'd eat. My concoction simmered away in last bit of comsomme I had leftover from my chicken-stock experiment. 20 minutes later and the soup was ready. A shot of cream, some fresh basil for garnish, and I had a pretty little dish! But this was only 1/3 of the equation...One third, you say? Yup. Here's why.

Chicken salad sandwiches could usually be named "mayo and chicken" sandwiches. I didn't want to do mayo, I didn't have any mayo. But I did have eggs, oil, acid, salt and a whisk. So I decided I'd try my hand, wrist, and forearm at the fine art of making aioli. Aioli is just mayo made with extra virgin olive oil and garlic, pretty much Italian Mayo you could say. Lemme tell ya' make homemade aioli once, you'll never want storebought stuff again. And if you choose to make it by hand-whisking, you'll invest in a food processor or electric whisk! By the time I was done whisking (about 15 minutes in total), my forearms were revolting against me, and my kitchen had fine droplets of aioli, oil, eggs, and whatnot all over the walls. But I got it done nonetheless.

The rest of the sandwich flew together in a jimmy. Some sliced cherry tomatoes, sprouts, and basil, and two slices of honey-wheat bread tied everything together nicely.

The end result was sublime. The soup was light and somewhat airy, and had a nice bright acidity to it, but it was not overpowering. The roasted red pepper, garlic and basil added a nice multi-dimensional depth of flavor that melded well with the tomatoes and cream. The sandwich had a satisfying crisp texture thanks to the sprouts, and the celery and onion in the chicken salad gave it a delightful crunch. A wondrous combination with the tender chicken. The garlic aioli had a bright yet sweet "bite" to it, and was surprisingly light thanks in part to the extra virgin olive oil. But let me tell you this, the words "Whisk Vigorously" have taken on a whole new and calorie-burning meaning. The people who made this stuff before electricity must have had forearms that would make Popeye have inadequacy issues!

Overall, I am so satisfied with this dish, even though soup and sandwich is not exactly the most glamorous combination, I still feel a sense of pride in having done it all by scratch, and having it definately turn out to be some really yummy foods!
Can't wait for tomorrow!

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