Two Dinner Party Soups to Comfort Your Soul

While it’s fun to plan a lavish dinner party with all the trimmings, sometimes comfort food is in order, and dinner party soups fit the bill beautifully. From Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and springy Curried Pea Soup to Thick and Savory Broccoli Stilton Soup or Caramelized Carrot Sweet Potato Soup, the options for a dinner party filled with fabulous flavors are endless. Besides bowls and spoons, a great soup dinner party requires three things: soup, bread, and butter.
A diverse selection of soups is essential. As you’re planning your dinner party soups, try to include thick, hearty ones that stick to the ribs; rich, creamy ones that taste like a hug in a bowl; and clear, savory ones to provide a nice balance.

Creamy Potato Soup with Fresh Dill

A potato soup is a welcome guest at any meal. A basic potato soup starts with fried onions, good chicken stock, and lots of potatoes. From there you can build all sorts of wonderful variations. Add sliced farmer’s sausage or diced smoky bacon for a hearty potato soup that smells divine, or keep it vegetarian and amp up the fragrance factor with a generous spoonful of fresh thyme leaves and a cup or two of corn. You could also stir in smoked salmon or oysters for a scrumptious chowder.
My favorite vegetarian version is made with lots of fresh dill, or a tablespoon of dill seeds if you can’t find fresh herbs. The dill gives this wonderful winter soup the smell of summer.

Gingery Red Onion Soup

This is my take on the traditional French Onion Soup, and it is the best thing to sip on a cold winter’s night while the wind howls outside. I use loads of red onions fried long and slow until they’re meltingly soft and sweet as candy. At the end I stir in a generous portion of grated fresh ginger and a couple of cloves of chopped garlic. This ensures a soup that is not only rich in flavor, but full of cold- and flu-fighting properties.
I love the addition of bread and cheese to French Onion Soup, so I always add it to this version, too. I use whatever bread I have on hand -- croutons, toast batons, or broken crackers -- and top it with whatever cheese I can find, parmesan, cheddar, or even feta. They are all rich and scrumptious.
I always like to add a simple, creamy soup to my dinner party soups menu, and Celeriac Soup is one of my favorites. It is light yet filling and is especially nice cooked with leeks and topped with crispy fried onions.

Bread and Butter

A hot bowl of soup just wouldn’t be the same without the accompaniment of fresh bread spread generously with butter. Whether you love a simple loaf of white sandwich bread still warm from the oven and cut in thick slices or a rustic loaf of Olive Rosemary Bread cut in thin slices, either will pair beautifully with any of these soups. Savory scones are another delicious option, especially our Broccoli Cheese Scones that are tender, flavorful, and oh-so-cheesy.
Good butter to spread lavishly over your good bread is a vital part of a soup dinner party. I personally love salted butter, but some swear unsalted is the only decent thing to use. Having a bit of both, softened to room temperature so they’re easy to spread, solves the problem nicely.
Make sure your serving table is piled high with plenty of bowls and spoons so your guests don’t need to wash theirs in between servings, and you’re all set for a dinner party where comfort reigns supreme.