Restaurant-Style Tomato Soup

I have been on a quest for the perfect tomato soup, just like the kind I order at "Stacey's" one of my favorite restaurants in Northern California - this one is really close.
2-28 oz cans diced tomatoes
EVOO
Salt and Pepper
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
4+ cloves garlic, minced
2 cans chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Bunches of fresh basil
dash of cayenne pepper
Heavy Cream


Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Strain the diced tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, drizzle with 1/4 cup EVOO. Roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat about 1/2 cup EVOO over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the broth and tomato juice. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes when finished roasting. Add the bay leaves, cayenne, and basil. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add more fresh basil, puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth. Add 1/2 cup+ heavy cream. Serve with crusty sourdough bread from San Francisco!

Welcome! (and guidelines)

Welcome! For our first post, we will not feature a recipe, but a few general guidelines. If you are an author, please read!

*This blog is open to the public, but we prefer to keep some privacy! Please do not indicate our hometown, (southern california is OK), our last names, etc. Just be respectful of each other's anonymity.

*When you post a recipe, a photo is not required, but it sure is nice! If you totally forget the picture, you can go back and add it in a few days later.

*Please try and use a label that already exists (click "show all"at the bottom of the post option) so we will have some sort of organization for our recipes. Click as many as apply (for example: soup, crockpot, beef).

*Comments are really fun, if you try a recipe, leave a comment and let us know how it went.

*We want all kinds of recipes: fast and easy, kid friendly, fancy, challenging, let's have a little of everything.

*Have fun with it! Can't wait to try all your new recipes!