recipes 5 and 6: award-winning grilled cheese and tomato soup

Welcome to the Feast of Seven Soups. I HEART soup and am going to be posting my seven favorite soup recipes. Souper Sunday! Souper Dooper! The tomato soup recipe is courtesy of Tristan's mom, and she notes in her cookbook that it is actually courtesy of Sandra Lee. The grilled cheese recipe is a clipping from a magazine about a year ago (I unfortunately forget which magazine) and it is allegedly THE grilled cheese recipe that won the award for the best grilled cheese at a serious grilled cheese competition (I unfortunately forget which grilled cheese competition).

AWARD-WINNING GRILLED CHEESE (makes 4 sandwiches)
Ingredients:
-4 T unsalted butter, softened
-8 slices sourdough bread
-4 slices cheddar cheese
-4 slices Swiss cheese
-4 slices American cheese

Instructions:
1) spread butter on one side of each slice of bread
2) heat a large skillet on medium-high heat
3) place two slices of bread in the skillet, butter side down
4) layer the bread with each type of cheese and then cover with another slice of bread, butter side up
5) grill 3-4 minutes per side
6) slice each sandwich diagonally and return the sandwiches vertically to the pan (cut side down) until a cheesy crust forms

TOMATO SOUP (makes a pot of soup)
Ingredients:
-2 T olive oil
-1 diced onion
-1 garlic clove, minced
-1/2 c dry vermouth
-3 (15 oz) cans of roasted diced tomatoes* (variation below)
-1/2 c low sodium chicken broth
-10 large basil leaves, chopped
-1/4 t salt
-1/2 c cream

Instructions:
1) saute the the onions and garlic in olive oil for one minute
2) add the roasted tomatoes and saute for an additional minute
3) add all remaining ingredients (except the cream)
4) boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes
5) puree the soup in batches in the blender, only filling the blender halfway
6) adjust the seasoning, put the puree back in the pan, add the cream, and heat through
*variation: use whole fresh plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise, rub with a little bit of olive oil and roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes