Dinner Tonight

Cold Berry Soup

Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Broiled Chilean Sea Bass( legally fished!)Encrusted with a Sun
Dried Tomato Bread Crumb Puree

Saffron Basmati Rice

Seared Asparagus

Baily's on the Rocks

Here is the recipe for the Cold Berry Soup. It uses buttermilk !
This recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups of soup. This is plenty for 4 people and can be served to 6 or even 8 if you extend it a little. I have found that with a cold soup, it is somewhat deceptive in that it is a lot more filling than you realize! I find servings of 4-6 oz. are perfect and refreshing while more than that becomes a chore to finish and unduly filling at the beginning of a meal.

1 cup chicken or veg. stock
1/2 light white wine (Champagne, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, no Chard.!)
Combine in a small pot and heat until the alcohol evaporates.
If you have some fresh thyme, chop 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon and add it as you take the broth/wine liquor off the burner. Refrigerate until cold or transfer the liquor to another cooler container and put it into a bowl full of 1/2 ice 1/2 cold water to do a quick chill. ( this 1/2 ice, 1/2 water will chill a bottle of white wine in 15 mins.)
Puree 2 cups of fresh whole berries in a small food processor. If you need to, add some of the stock/wine liquor to facilitate the blending. The berry combinations you can use are: strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or just use one kind alone. Whatever is freshest and best at the moment. Strawberry/Kiwi combo. is great too. I am going to try a blueberry, lime combination in the near future. The combination of lime with blueberry is magic. (Anytime you use blueberries in pies, tarts, etc. add a little lime juice or grated lime zest.)
Mix the berry puree and remaining stock/liquor together and add
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Now, depending on what berries you used and the tartness add 1-3 TBS. of sugar or honey. Taste the soup after adding one, if not enough, add more.

Finish the soup by adding 1 TBS. lemon juice and, when it is served in chilled bowls, swirl or drip about a TBS. or so of heavy cream into it as a garnish. A sprig of fresh mint or thyme makes a lovely garnish. A small piece of citrus rind is very nice as a garnish as well.

As I said before, just 4 oz or 1/2 c. of this soup is enough as an appetizer and a normal soup bowl will do not do it justice. You can get creative as to how you serve it. Margarita glasses rimmed with sugar are great! You could also use those champagne saucer shaped glasses. How about funky votive candle holders?
For a cocktail party, just put some into shot glasses.