Sara’s Weeknight Meals: Season 02

Our intrepid kitchen crew: (L-R) Amanda Heckert, Whitney Stewart, yours truly, Cayla Yang, Yvette Dizon Hunter, Yewande Komol.

There’s nothing I enjoy cooking and eating more than soup. The possibilities are infinite. Like my light and refreshing Seafood Gazpacho. The inspiration for this recipe came from a Gourmet magazine recipe called Mexican seafood cocktail that we often served to guests as an appetizer in the dining room. Red beans and rice is one of the signature dishes of New Orleans. In fact, local sensation Louis Armstrong used to sign his letters “red beans and ricely yours” I didn’t see why I couldn’t turn this classic combination into a delicious soup. I hope you’ll give my hearty rendition of Red Beans and Rice Soup with Ham a try. When Gourmet ran a recipe for a yellow squash soup several years ago, I rejected the very idea of it. Bor-ing! But one of my pals from the test kitchen told me I was wrong and I had to try it. I did – and I was pleasantly surprised! I’ve amped up the color and creamy texture by adding Yukon gold potatoes, yellow bell pepper and carrots. I’ve also enlisted cousin zucchini as a crispy garnish. This week – Soup’s On the menu for Sara’s Weeknight Meals.