Soup is always on.

I like soup. For its simplicity. Its healthfulness and nourishment. Its easy-to-make goodness. And even for someone who has advanced only to sixth grade in the culinary world, it is hard to screw up.

Instead of relying on an old but always-satisfying crock pot potato soup recipe to make for guests Friday night, I decided to live dangerously by trying my hand at a new soup recipe.

Though I favor independent restaurants over chains, one of my favorite soups is the Zuppa Toscana from the Olive Garden. It is rich, filling and has a slight kick to it. I made a version of Zuppa Toscana on Friday with some variations.


Zuppa Toscana
Ingredients
Serves: 7

-- 1 pound Italian sausage
-- 3/4 cup chopped onion
-- 1 slice pancetta bacon, diced
-- 1 1/4 teaspoons garlic, minced
-- 1 cube chicken bouillon
-- 4 cups water
-- 2 potatoes, cubed
-- 2 cups kale, rinsed and julienned
-- 1/3 cup heavy cream


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).

2. Place sausage links on a sheet pan and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until done. Cut each link in half lengthwise, and then into 1/2 inch slices. Set aside for later.

3. In a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, saute the onions and the pancetta for 10 minutes, or until onions are almost clear. Add the garlic and saute for one more minute. Add the chicken base OR bouillon, water and potatoes and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Add the kale, cream and reserved sausage, simmer for 5 more minutes and serve.

What I did differently:
--To turn up the heat, I used SPICY Italian sausage and generously sprinkled red chili flakes into the pan while sauteing the onions and bacon.
--Instead of pancetta, I used two strips of thick-cut bacon. I couldn't find pancetta at Dominicks, a typical local grocery store. The pancetta I found at Whole Foods was expensive. The bacon, I assure you, worked just fine.
--I traded water and bouillon for 32 oz. of chicken broth. This also worked fine.

I loved this recipe, and Ben and my guests have told me that I should add it to the "rotation" of often-used recipes. My only regret was that I didn't make a double batch.

What goes better with rich soup than freshly made bread? Instead of buying a baguette, I made beer bread -- from scratch. This wasn't your Tastefully Simple box of beer bread, either. I got the recipe from this new blog I learned about Thursday.


Beer Bread
Yield = 1 standard loaf pan or 3 mini pans

Ingredients:
-- butter for greasing the pan
-- 3 cups all-purpose flour
-- 1 teaspoon baking soda
-- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
-- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
-- 1 tablespoon sugar
-- 1 beer, I like Magic Hat #9 or any amber ale or Bass or whatever (MY NOTE: I only had light beer around. Next time I'll pick up something more interesting.)
-- 4 tablespoons butter

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

2. Grease a 9X5X3-inch loaf pan (a standard loaf pan) with softened butter.

3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add beer, stir until combined and place in prepared pan.

4. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 30 minutes longer (or less) or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Let bread sit in pan.

5. Meanwhile, melt butter. Pour the butter over bread. Let sit for five minutes then turn bread out onto a cutting board and serve immediately with more softened butter.

Taking photographs of this wonderful meal was an afterthought. My sincere apologies.