How to Host a Soup Group | Cup of Jo (2024)

Her sweater is from @casitadewendy on Instagram. i agree, it’s so pretty!

Soup has been my go-to for this very loonnnnggg winter.
One rotational meal has been Chrissy Teigen’s Carrot Coconut Soup and I found the recipe online. (I make it without the crispy shallots.)
That said, all of the soup recipes in Cravings: Hungry for More are solid, especially her French Onion Soup recipe, which is a family favourite.

https://www.vogue.fr/lifestyle/food/story/exclusive-chrissy-teigen-speaks-with-vogue-on-her-3-favorite-comfort-foods-and-gives-us-the-recipes/4117

What a great idea! My girlfriends and I are always down for a night in—especially if it involves food haha. Sounds like this has our name written all over it.

-Grace

When the rest of us are having chicken soup (with matzo balls!), I make a pot for my daughter using Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Broth and my usual aromatics. You cannot tell it’s vegetarian.

That is so cool! I love your mom’s idea :)

This is so endearing! What a kind and generous mom you have!

One way to fake the creamy is by blending in some cooked white beans. You can also add a touch of unsweetened nut milk, too

Making soup is my favourite pastime. My husband and I once got in a fight about our finances and I said through tears, “I just want a soup pot!!!!”

Here are my favourites, the ones I make again and again:
1) Four corners lentil soup by My New Roots (so simple, but so good)
2) Damn Good Chili on Epicurious (don’t ever make another chili)
3) Slow-roasted tomato soup from My Father’s Daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow (hot tip: freeze slow-roasted tomatoes)
4) Moroccan Carrot Soup on Epicurious
5) Caramelized onion + roasted tomato soup from Rebar (THIS IS THE BEST SOUP EVER, all-time favorite, serve with crusty cheesy bread)

And the one I am dying to make, hopefully Sunday … THE STEW!!! Allison Roman, if you’re reading this, can we have coffee sometime? I love you.

Oh and then I had the most insane lentil + smoked pork soup the other day from a butcher.

Can you tell that I’m obsessed?

I have made the stew!!! It lives up to the hype! I sometimes add grilled tofu / broccoli for the kids but the original recipe is amazing. I used half the coconut milk though. Also loooove the cabbage and farro soup from smitten kitchen! So good – simple, healthy, hearty!

I second four corners lentil soup / my new roots! So simple and soooo good! Double the recipe and done in 45 mins.

The Stew is soooo good! Very rich though, so I think next time I will also try half the coconut milk. But the spices are so nice — it’s a very warming and soothing meal!

What’s Rebar? I love tomato soup! Thanks

#5 sounds amazing, but not sure where you mean… is Rebar a food blog?

Ok I made The Stew and it is insane. My husband said it was the best thing I’ve ever made!?!?

I have two recipes to contribute. I’ve made these multiple times, and they are delicious.
Broccoli, Lemon & Parmesan: https://food52.com/recipes/19686-broccoli-lemon-and-parmesan-soup
Creamy Southwestern Pumpkin Soup (don’t skimp on the lime juice): https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-southwestern-pumpkin-soup

these look so good! i’m a sucker for anything with parmesan.

We host an open house potluck brunch the 2nd Sunday of every month Nov-Mar. It’s an opportunity for our friends to stay connected during the cold winter months. We all look forward to it, two hours of mingling, snacking and just having fun.

As hosts we keep it simple to – We make one dish, buy some champagne for mimosas and the rest is up to our friends. We also tidy, but don’t deep clean because hey these people love us and accept us flaws and all (right?!).

the ladies don’t come over until 7:30pm, so alex is finishing putting the boys to bed at that point, and then alex went for a long walk and got a slice of pizza. then he came home and read in our bedroom. so everyone has a chill night! :)

So glad you asked this question! When I host girls’ nights, I never want to kick my husband out but I’m never sure what others do! I’ve started a rotating Sunday night gathering with some friends— we were all wanting to be more creative, so we get together about once a month and work on our own various projects (watercolor, sketching, pastels) and drink wine and eat pie. Best cure for winter blues! And I really appreciate something to do with my hands while we chat.

My husband’s family taught me to make “tortilla soup”, a recipe his aunt learned while living in Mexico. Basically you boil a whole chicken for an hour, with onions, carrots and celery then remove the chicken and vegetables and add rehydrated and puréed ancho chilies plus the juice of several limes to the stock! Season to taste then add the meat from the boiled chicken. You serve over a bowl filled with diced tomatoes and avocados, cilantro, finely chopped lettuce (I know that sounds weird but it’s so good!), grated cheese and homemade tortilla chips. You can top with a dollop of sour cream and squeeze more fresh lime juice.

To make the homemade tortilla chips, slice long strips out of corn tortillas and pan fry in canola or peanut oil and salt generously when they are browned.

It’s a beautiful dark red broth from the chilies and so delicious!

I love squeezing fresh lime juice into soup -it makes the taste so brilliant.

I put so much baby bok choy and kale and spinach in mine. They add very little flavor or taste to the soup, but they make it so hearty and like I’m eating a salad.

Maybe try some heavier ingredients? I use cannelini beans, potato or shredded chicken when I want to feel full.

I’ve done this with a group of friends for a decade. It has all the best parts of a dinner party (good conversation, wine, enjoying friends’ cooking) with none of the stress.

Related: A few years ago, a close friend and I started getting our kids together every Monday for dinner. We take turns hosting, and usually have an incredibly easy meal — cheese, crackers, a Trader Joe’s frozen pizza, some kind of fruit (grapes, apple slices) and a bottle of cheap prosecco. We’re both in busy stages of life, and our dedicated dinner night gives us a set time to talk about Big Important Things, cute things our kids are doing, minor annoyances, dream home improvements, etc. Doing this on Mondays makes it feel like we’re all getting a bonus weekend night. I appreciate the chance hang with one a longtime BFF after jumping back into the work week, my son is adamant that Monday is his very favorite day because he gets to play with his friends, and I love, love, LOVE that our kids have become so close. Highly recommend.

This isn’t a fancy answer but I just use the wide mouth 16 oz. mason jars.

It’s metal, not glass, but I really love the HydroFlask food container! It’s the perfect size for soup :)

Mason jars! You just take the lid off to reheat. They are also good for ramen-type soups where you pack all of the ingredients in the jar and all you have to do is add boiling water when you’re ready to eat.

I send soup in glass snapware containers for my husband to eat at work, and they seal really well.

Such a lovely idea, it makes me miss our friends- we moved last year and haven’t made good friends here yet. May be this could be the way to do it?

One of the soup recipes I have cooked most frequently is Delia Smith’s lentil and bacon. So filling it’s practically a stew.
https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/occasions/christmas/christmas-starters/smoked-bacon-and-lentil-soup

Fantastic thing to do.

In 2 quart sauce pan,
Saute using corn oil, add in intervals of a minute or two: diced red pepper, then add a chopped leek, then add diced celery, then curly parsley, and lastly one large carrot coined, shredded or both; garlic powder, sea salt, and Rosemary to taste. Stir so nice and hot before covering in hot water. Add can rinsed black beans. Simmer until carrots are soft. Great with garlic bread.

I love soup, and I make tons of it. I like that I can throw everything into a pot (or crockpot) and go off to play with my kids, and then suddenly dinner is ready! The only thing is, it reminds me if this line from Juno:

Juno – “What about Katrina Devort? You could totally go out with Katrina Devort.”

Bleeker – “I don’t like Katrina, she smells like soup. I mean have you ever smelt her? And her whole house smells like soup!”

Every time I make soup for dinner, at some point in the evening my husband always says “our house smells like Katrina Devort’s house!” It happened just last night!

Haha, these two quotes are hilarious!! In my family, when someone makes the perfect movie reference to an ordinary situation, we say “1000 points!!” (In the British voice of the original host of Whose Line Is It Anyway) or now sometimes “1000 points to Gryffindor”.

A million years ago I did a semester in Florence and fell in love with soup. A couple of years later I came across this cookbook in a bargain bin and picked it up. Do not be fooled by the mid-90s amatuer cover – it is the real deal and I have made so many great soups from it over the years:

https://www.amazon.com/Garlicky-Soul-Satisfying-More-Than-Minestrone-Italian-Cookbook/dp/0761101470/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1547145345&sr=8-6&keywords=the+italian+soup+book

Can chili count as a soup? :) Last night I made this one from Gaby’s cookbook:

https://whatsgabycooking.com/black-bean-sweet-potato-chili/

The only difference is that in the cookbook she adds a pound of ground turkey. Holy cow, it is insanely delicious, and it makes a ton. I made homemade cornbread to go with it (surprisingly easy and fast!), and it made so much, we’re bringing it over to a friend’s house tonight for dinner.

God, I love soup.

This is the very best chili!

Coriander and thyme, hmmmm. Will try! I always do ginger and mustard seed.

I make something similar! Here’s mine (but I will definitely be trying your spice blend soon!):
Butternut squash, chopped up
1 onion, diced
as many carrots as I want to get rid of
smash some garlic in there
season with my favorite McCormick’s Hot Madras Curry or whatever else is handy
one can of garbanzo beans for extra protein
one carton of broth, S&P to taste
Instant Pot that all for like, 10 minutes, and when it’s done add some coconut milk and blend all together with my immersion blender! Yummiest breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Sage and ginger! And blend in silken tofu for creamy protein.

What a timely post. Worked late yesterday with no plan for dinner. On the train home, I was reading a Smitten Kitchen post for cabbage soup. Then Amateur Gourmet’s post made the same soup.

The recipe is for Cozy Cabbage Soup from Six Seasons, a cookbook I learned about from this site, which I happen to own and adore. Very simple ingredients that totally work together. Josh McFadden is brilliant.

Served the soup with easy-peasy popovers on the side. It was a hit. Absolutely delish! Actually, added some leftover roast chicken to hubby’s bowl.

p.s. Different posts were saying even people who are not cabbage fans enjoyed this comforting soup.

I make this minestrone: https://thedecoratorbee.com/2019/01/10/minestrone-soup/ It’s a long list of ingredients, but takes less than an hour hands on time. Makes a lot and is great for freezing.

Please share the recipe! Sounds delicious.

Recipe?! This is my favorite soup and my go to meal for people who I deliver food for :)

I think those are folded totes – perhaps gifts?

soup happens every single week in our house. I take many creative licenses with soup, its just not finicky (like baking) and builds my culinary confidence. I have been totally improvising lately…
But a standby:
This is SUCH a good one: https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chicken-lentil-soup-214900
I have probably made it a million times and people always ask for the recipe.

But the real secret is a high powered blender which makes anything I make taste like pure cream and butter, but is really just vegetables.

LOVE this soup!! I lean to making more vegetarian soups, but this is wonderful!! I use olive oil instead of bacon fat, and use rotisserie chicke. It’s about time for me to pick up a rotisserie chicken, and this soup will be one of the things that I’ll make with it.

This is one of my absolute favorites (and can be made in an Instant Pot). To be served with avocado and a few chips and do not skip the toasted cumin seed crema. SO GOOD!

https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/01/black-bean-soup-toasted-cumin-seed-crema/

I make this slow cooker thai coconut chicken soup at least once a month and then put it individual containers and take it to work for the next couple of weeks:https://www.foodiecrush.com/slow-cooker-thai-chicken-soup/

Soup might be my favorite thing about winter…besides pine scented candles and sweatpants. I make a giant pot of soup most Sundays and then bring some to work each day for lunch.* The joke among my colleagues is that my office always smells like soup, ha. (Sorry, afternoon patients.) Here’s a family favorite: saute a chopped onion in butter or olive oil, then add a few sage leaves. Once those are browned, add a peeled and chopped up butternut squash. Saute again, then add enough stock or broth to cover the squash. Bring this to a boil, then add rinds of your favorite hard cheese. (I use really good Parmesean–when you finish the cheese, you can freeze the rinds in ziplocks until you’re ready to make the soup. ) Cover and simmer until the squash is soft, remove the rinds and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and you’re done! So tasty, everyone in my family loves it…even the baby and the toddler!

*Pro tip: If you jump on the soup for lunch bandwagon, make sure you invest in good tupperware. Over the summer the borscht I brought for lunch spilled during my commute, leaking through my lunch bag and all over my white pants. (Insert mortified looking emoji.) Not a great look, especially at the office.

This may sound so basic of us, but my husband and I invited friends over for soup last winter and we picked up Panera bread bowls to serve them in! We made three different soups — though truthfully, everyone’s favorite was the simple “healthififed” broccoli cheddar. It was so easy! Panera even cut the sourdough bread just right.

Emailing my neighbors-turned-friends now to set up a soup group! :)

We’ve enjoyed this one which is easy to make on a weeknight: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-chicken-rice-noodle-soup.html

I second this!!!

Her sweater is from @casitadewendy on Instagram!

yes to this, so hard.

One of my favorite types of dinners :)

My Aunt Mary’s…comfort in a bowl!
Meatball Soup
Soup:
5 chicken bouillon cubes
2 quarts water
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks peeled and sliced
1 large onion diced

Meatballs:
one lb chopped meat
2 eggs
salt & pepper
parsley
parmesan cheese

Put all ingredients in pot (not meatballs yet!) Bring to boil. Mix meatballs and add to pot after boiling. Then take out some of the carrots, puree and add back to pot. Boil macaroni separately and place in bowl before adding soup when serving.