This week we said good-bye to a dear friend who is moving to Georgia to be reunited with her husband, who has been serving in Iraq for the past year. Though she is overjoyed that their family will finally be together, she was so very sad to leave a group of girlfriends that has grown close.
It all started when my dear friend, Cara, invited a group of women for a weekend in Michigan. Each year the group changes slightly as we caravan up to South Haven for a weekend of amazing food, hilarious stories, walks on the beach and bottles (many bottles) of wine. We divide up the weekend's meals and attack them in teams of two or three. As you may have guessed--we bring our best. This isn't just cooking for the family, this is foodie women cooking for foodie women! We all raise our game. Every year the food gets better.
Cara and I team up to make the comfort food of the weekend: gourmet grilled cheese and tomatoMagic soup. It may sound simple, but it gets rave reviews year after year. The grilled cheese is buttery, toasted sourdough with sharp Vermont white cheddar, herbed boursin, and muenster with wilted spinach and tomato. The soup is a Provencal-style tomato bisque floavored with orange and lavender and given depth by caramelized carrots, shallots and garlic. They can each stand tall alone, but when they are together a symphony plays in your mouth. Seriously (you can hear it). I'm salivating just thinking about it!
