Cold day, warm soup

I don't actually like soup very much, but it sounded like just the thing for this blustery day. It also helped me use up some left overs.

Lurking in our freezer were two unloved Smith's Cheddarbest, fantastic sausages left over from a fantastic summer grilling evening. I had taken them down to thaw a couple days ago and hadn't had much of a plan for them.

Also hanging out was the left over potato cauliflower gratin. Ah-ha! I decided to puree the gratin with some milk, hot sauce, salt and pepper (has it been underseasoned this whole time, or was it the puree that made it seem bland?) and call it soup. I browned the sausages in a skillet, cut them into coins and tossed them into the soup. Mmmmmmmmh...

The sausages were a wonderful textural and flavor punctuation to the soup, which was creamy and hearty. I liked particularly the juiciness of the sausage in with a bite of the rest. I felt like this was survival soup. We could eat this after a day of trudging through the snowy forest looking for lost hikers, after reviving ourselves with a brandy. It would stick to ribs, warm the core, fill the belly and cause happy full-tummy sleeps.

As a side note, I've been sleeping much better since the doctor gave me cough syrup with codine in it. Whew! That's potent stuff. Other than strange dreams about roasting tiny lizards on tiny spits, it's incredibly restful.

But back to tonight. Also, in a fit of practicality, I've planned, shopped and prepped a week's worth of meals. Things are labeled and baggied, ready to be sauteed or braised or baked. Ha! I still have meatballs hanging over my head, though. Not literally, of course. A good friend had surgery today and I wanted to bring over some meatballs later in the week. She and her husband are a bit picky, so quiche, lasagna and casserole were all out. I decided to make meatballs and freeze them individually, and bring both gravy and marinara (for the swedish meatball type dish or the italian) to give them variety and choice. I now have all the ingredients, but didn't have time tonight. Cold weather saps my energy. Cold weather and a 14 month old, that is.

I got a bunch of ground beef with the intention of making meatballs for myself, too. I kinda wish I had one of those small, spring loaded ice creams scoops for helping me portion these things out. Meatball uniformity is a problem for me. They start normal but then get bigger and bigger and bigger. Then I overcorrect and make them too small. This doesn't make for even cooking time across the dish. Oh well, I'll just do my best!