creamy tomato soup

now i know for sure it's fall.

friday night, with a million food choices (ok, maybe not a million, but enough) i only wanted a grilled cheese and tomato soup. nothing more or less.

flash forward two days and finally, the perfect fall comfort meal was mine. coupled with a grilled cheese - half gruyere and cheddar, grilled on the foreman for about 3 minutes - it was perfect.

i think i'm going to have to breakdown and buy the america's test kitchen cookbook, because that's where i seem to be ending up a lot lately, and this one is no different. the recipe is a bit unlike other tomato soups i've made - canned tomatoes are roasted in the oven, added to stock and tomato juice, and finished with cream and sherry. the original post by deb at smitten kitchen says to drain the tomatoes and use your hands to remove the seeds. after following this method for half the tomatoes, i gave up trying to get all the seeds out (there really aren't many), and just crushed them with my hands before roasting. i didn't notice the seeds at all, especially since the soup is blended smooth at the end. and like deb, it was perfect without any additional salt or pepper.

creamy tomato soup
adapted from smittenkitchen, who adapted it from the america's test kitchen cookbook
1 hour, serves 4-6

2 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes packed in juice, drained, 3 cups juice reserved
1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large shallots, minced
pinch ground allspice
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons dry sherry

1. preheat your oven to 450F. use your hands to break up the tomatoes to release any juice from them. lay the tomatoes in a single layer in a 9 by 13 inch pan. sprinkle with brown sugar and bake about 30 minutes, until the water has been cooked off. remove from the oven and set aside.
2. when the tomatoes have 10 minutes left to roast, saute the shallots and allspice in the butter over medium heat until soft, about 7 minutes. sprinkle flour over the shallots and cook until the flour is browned, about 30 seconds. gradually add the chicken stock, whisking to ensure there aren't any flour lumps. mix in the reserved tomato juice and the roasted tomatoes.
3. bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer about 10 minutes. using an immersion blender or traditional blender, blend the soup until smooth. return to the pan on low heat.
4. add the cream and sherry immediately before serving.