Barb's Annual Soup Party

Happy New Year everyone! After weeks of indulgence (which started after Thanksgiving), what better way to start the new year than to eat healthy? That's the intent (and also, a good excuse to gather & enjoy the company of good friends & family!) of my cousin Barb & her husband, Gary, who has been hosting this event for years now. Each family brings a pot of their favorite soup that they've made to share with everyone. The menu now includes salads & sandwiches. The party starts at 1 pm & lasts until everyone is full of soup, which is pretty late as we all like to stay & hang at their beautiful home!

Here's a sampling of the soups we had this year:

Patty's Lobster Bisque (a la French Laundry)
Before serving, Patty whipped it up to make it foamy...it was DELISH!

Barb's Acorn Squash with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
I love squash & I liked it prepared this way...um-um good!)

Barb's 4 Kinds Mushroom Soup w/Pancetta
Barb was busy making 2 soups! And I'm glad she did! This was
very, very flavorful!

Kayoko's Chicken Gumbo
This was also very good. The broth & vegetables were perfect!

Linda's Wintermelon & White Fungus
This soup reminded me of my parents...it had the comfort of home

Lastly, My Minestrone Soup
I can't take the credit for this recipe...it belongs to Wendy

 Pictures of a few of the appetizers that were sneaked into the "healthy" menu. These pictures were taken by Randall Fong:

"Gai-Loongs" made by Linda
They are deep-fried little  fan-shaped doughs filled with seasoned pork...my Mom used to make these also & they were delicious!

Bleu cheese/pecan on endive
by Barb

Wine Corks
Now, what kind of a party would it be if we didn't have wine with our soups???
After all, isn't wine good for our hearts?

Thank you again to Barb & Gary for letting us hang at their place... a great way to start the new year with friends & family!

Yours truly, Karen