The Infallible Sweet Potato Soup (with caramelized onions)

This recipe is from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook and comes highly praised. I served this at our New Years' Eve Party this year and for my book club (we read "Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen). On both occasions, folks returned to the kitchen for seconds.

Caramelized Onions:
2 tbs salted butter
2 large spanish onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Soup
4 tbs salted butter
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
2 cups sliced onions
2 cups sliced carrots
1/4 cup diced celery
8 medium-large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
10 cups chicken stock (I used veggie)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tps ground nutmeg
2 tb worcestershire sauce
2 cups light cream
1/2 cup sweet sherry wine (I used a fruity red)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups caramelized onions

For the caramelized onions: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and saute for 18 minutes. Add the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Saute an additional 10 min. Add the vinegar and continue cooking until the vinegar starts to evaporate and the onions look thick and syrupy, 8 to 10 min more. Remove from the heat and let cool. If working ahead, the onions can be stored in a tightly covered container until ready to use. (This is super important...first time I made this recipe, I left the onions in the pan. Bad Idea! It was like removing plaster...)

For the soup: In a stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for 10 min. Add the sweet potatoes and saute 5 min more. Pour the stock over the veggies and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, 30 to 35 min. Puree in the soup in the pot using a hand blender (Buy one if you don't have one; it will change your life) OR working batches with a regular blender until smooth. Add the brown sugar, nutmeg, worcestershire sauce, light cream, sherry (wine), salt and pepper. Puree again until well combined. Stir in the caramelized onions with a spoon.

Makes 10 (Big) servings.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

I must mention the sheer joy Mike and I have in regards to remaining in our current neighborhood. We are moving only one mile eastward so to remain in the heart of Longfellow.

At some point, Longfellow neighborhood has become THE HOTSPOT for Macalester alum AND nearly all other comparably creative, hilarious, and good-to-the-bone folk. (For those of you reading this who, to your misfortune, do not live in the Longfellow neighborhood- it's not that I don't think you are also wonderful. Rather, this here is a battle cry to convince you to move into our neighborhood TOO!). I regularly claim that Mike and I were the first to start the diaspora from uptown to our convenient, more residential spot (but still close enough to stores like 612 Xclusive, thank god). Yet, it's likely that our two close friends who first bought homes in the area were the real trendsetters.

Last night's events offer a perfect portrait of the Longfellow spirit. Allow me to set the scene:

After over 18 inches of snow accumulation in less than a 24 hour period...

After 2 shoveling sessions...

After digging out 2 vehicles from one side of the street and then digging out spots to move them to on the other side of the street (gotta love Minneapolis snow emergencies)...

After countless hours spent indoors packing up our upper duplex and cleaning the awful grime off of kitchen appliances that spent much too long collecting oil grease on top of the fridge...

After throwing away countless appliances whose grease was all too much for us (Yes! No more George Foreman! Remember this is MOLLY posting...not Mike. He might have some other words about this choice if actually blogged once and a while. Yup, you HEARD me, Mike!)...

The neighborhood gang exchanged text messages from our warm little caves and decided it was high time to join forces at our local pub, Merlin's Rest. As a central location, all parties trudged through the snow to warm up over scotch, beer, fish and chips, Harvest stew, and sausages. The walk was lovely; Lake Street was quiet except for the occasional stuck vehicle (which my good Samaritan could not pass without a shove or two).

Merlin's was cozy as could be and everyone was just delighted as one friendly face appeared after another. Really, it was the kind of night that we all long for as we grow up. We crave community and friendship, and unfortunately, for many, this is just not feasible due to career or other choices.

Fair warning, this post is about to get super sappy. Proceed with caution! One of the things I love about Mike is his stability in terms of his friendships and relationships with his family. Our decision to buy a house in Longfellow was pretty much all Mike. He had a premonition that we would buy this house even before we went inside and considered where a music studio could go. Mike wanted to stay right where we are.

This quality is something I value in my marriage and life because, admittedly, I get wanderlust sometimes. Every so often, I am ready to close shop, buy a green trailer, move to Australia, and spend my days surfing with Mike and Rachel, leaving everything behind. However, Mike's ability to find and manifest loveliness and joy within our HOME and within a stable COMMUNITY reminds me that maybe I just need to rearrange the furniture.

So! Longfellow it is! I am looking forward to all the future gatherings that reiterate the warmth of camaraderie, the need for stable companionship and, not to be discounted, the beauty of a glass of scotch or a stout on a cold, snowy night.