MORE DAMNED SNOW!

Yes, I do know that in today's electronic world,when you capitalize letters it means you are yelling! Believe me, I am yelling….! In one 24 hour period the snow removal teams came 3 times to shovel my driveway, sidewalk and front porch! (As you can see from the photo, they don’t clear decks. You can also see I didn’t get my deck furniture to storage!)
It has been a difficult task for the poor guys with single digit temperatures and tons of the white stuff. And I was just bitching about paying the $200 a month for the homes association fee! I think I am getting my money’s worth now!

I am truly thankful I have my blog and the cookbook to work on….I can watch just so much television. I do have several blogs that I follow and it is like having someone to visit with, hearing about their world, their weather! We food bloggers are quite a group. I don’t want to say anything about the artist bloggers….still trying to figure them out. I am pretty sure I am not a good fit with that group. They are probably appalled by my blog, combining food and painting, but what the heck, it is my blog!

No fresh tomatoes in this weather, so today I think I will put on a pot of creamy tomato basil soup and dream up a new grilled cheese combination. Nothing fights off the winter B-r-r-r-r-s like tomato soup and grilled cheese!
Oh, I said I was going to quit eating….okay, you make the soup and let me know how it turns out.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Fresh Basil Chiffonade

2 (15-ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (28-ounce) can concentrated crushed tomatoes
1 cup heavy cream
Coarse salt and black pepper
20 leaves fresh basil, cut into chiffonade, for garnish

To chiffonade the basil, stack 10 leaves, roll tightly from stem end to top of leaf. Slice into ribbons ands shake to separate. Repeat with remaining 10 basil leaves. If you aren't into perfection, simply tear a few leaves onto top of each bowl of soup. It will still taste fabulous!Perfect for soup!

Directions
Combine broth and tomatoes in a medium saucepan over moderate heat. When soup bubbles, stir in heavy cream and reduce heat to low. Season with a little salt and pepper and simmer gently 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. With an immersion blender, puree soup. Serve bowls of soup with basil chiffonade.

Now, add French Toast Cheddar Sandwiches and you can snuggle up on this cold winter's evening and feel pampered.

French Toast Cheddar Sandwiches

2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk or light cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 slices white bread
1 prepared mustard
4 cheddar cheese slices, thick slices
3 teaspoons butter

Set out a heavy skillet or cast iron griddle. Beat the eggs slightly in a pie tin or shallow bowl and add the milk or cream and salt, set aside. Spread the bread slices out on a flat working surface. Spread one side of four slices of bread lightly with the prepared mustard. Top each with a slice of cheddar cheese. Butter the remaining four slices of bread and top each cheese slice with bread, butter side down. Heat the butter in the skillet or on the griddle. Carefully dip each sandwich into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Allow the excess egg mixture to drain back into the bowl. Dip only as many sandwiches as will lie flat in the skillet or griddle. Cook over low heat until browned. Turn and brown the other sides. Repeat for the remaining sandwiches and if necessary, add more butter to the skillet or griddle to prevent sticking. Or you can place the sandwiches, after dipping, on a well greased baking sheet and brown in the oven at 450 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.