(Gay adds the half-and-half and any additional seasonings here.) Raise heat to medium until the liquid bubbles, then reduce heat to low. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, sugar, salt, celery salt and pepper. Add flour and stir until mixture is slightly thickened and pale gold, about 3 minutes do not allow to brown.ģ. Add onions and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 20 minutes.Ģ. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Optional: fresh basil, oregano, sage or garlicġ. Loving payback, in a way, for all the soup joumou.ġ pound onions, about 3 medium, cut into ¼-inch dice (Gay uses a mix of red and yellow onions) (They currently have leftovers stashed in their freezer.) But when Gay’s parents come to visit from Florida, the eight servings’ worth feels more manageable, and the dish has become a kind of staple it’s something they don’t traditionally eat, Gay says, but seem to enjoy. “But it turns out it gives it that really nice golden, toasted look.”įor just her and Millman, the recipe makes a lot of soup. “It’s gross, right? I hate mayonnaise,” Gay says. But the real finishing touch is applied to the outside of just one of the slices of bread, across which she spreads a small knifeful of mayonnaise. Any cheese will do - though Gay favors a combination of Gruyère and Cheddar Jack, which melt well and taste good together - and just before the sandwich comes out of the pan, she’ll sometimes add slices of tomato or pickle, the tanginess of which cuts through the fat of the cheese.
The grilled cheese she prepares to go with it is also pretty simple and easily adaptable.
“It’s fairly easy to make,” she says, “but it makes you feel reasonably fancy.” Gay likes to use onions of different varieties to keep things interesting and, in a departure from Steinhauer’s rendition, she sometimes adds fresh basil, oregano and garlic for some extra zhuzh. She was drawn to the oniony flavor of the recipe, which was adapted by the Times reporter and cookbook author Jennifer Steinhauer from one used by the upscale Washington, D.C., diner Ted’s Bulletin. That one’s a little well done, but grilled cheese and tomato soup. Just like five more minutes but keeping an eye on it, because you don’t want the bread to burn. So, it’s about ready, so we’re just going to flip one side on top of the other. Some cheese, like, you know, just feel like, how much cheese is your 47-year-old stomach going to tolerate? Put them in your pan, and let them cook until the cheese is melty. On the other side of the bread, some butter. If you want to make your grilled cheese golden and crispy, one way of doing that is a little mayonnaise on one of the outer slices of bread. Grated cheese is actually better to use, because it melts faster. Now, I’m going to grate the cheese for grilled cheese. So, now I’m going to add 2 tablespoons of honey and use my hand blender to puree it into something that resembles something of a soup. One day, I was bored and decided to make this recipe, and I found that under the right circumstances, I will enjoy a good soup. I’m skipping the celery salt, which you can also add, because I don’t have any. You have to stir it regularly for half an hour. 3/4 of a cup of half-and-half and 3/4 of a cup of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of sugar, and you also add a tablespoon of salt and a lot of pepper. But the good news is that you’ll be able to eat tomato soup for the rest of your life. Now I’m just adding four cans of diced tomatoes, which is actually a lot. And you let that cook for about three minutes or so. So, when the onions are ready – and you’ll know because it’ll smell great – you add 1/2 cup of flour. All right, now I’m going to add the onions and cook them until they’re translucent. “You gotta to always keep kicking it up a notch, don’t you?” So now we’re going to melt 1/2 a pound of butter. But I might sometimes put a few extra spices in it just to kick it up a notch. It’s a little sweet, which is interesting. I use a mix of red and yellow, because I don’t know why, Because I can. First, you need to cut three or four onions. So, this is a really easy tomato soup recipe that is actually on The New York Times website. For the grilled cheese sandwiches, you’ll need bread, butter, mayonnaise, Gruyére and Cheddar Jack. For the soup, you’ll need butter, onions, all-purpose flour, diced tomatoes, chicken broth, sugar, salt and pepper, half-and-half, and honey. And today, I’m making tomato soup and grilled cheese, because it’s getting cold outside. Transcript Cooking Class | Roxane Gay’s Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese The author Roxane Gay shares a pair of favorite cold-weather recipes.