Cream of Garlic Soup

I've always wanted to make a garlic soup.  Chef Susan Spicer of restaurant Bayona in New Orleans apparently makes a killer one.  I've dined there twice and haven't tried it, yet...  So, I decided to make hers this evening.  My only dilemma was whether I wanted to use real garlic or just buy it already peeled.  I bought it peeled at the Korean market and hoped it was fresh because I really didn't want to spend the time of doing it myself.

Maybe I would have if it was "chopped or crushed" but this recipe said specifically to have it whole...

This was like making french onion soup.  Lots of onions to chop and they had to be cooked down until browned/caramelized.

I used 3 really large sweet onions.  If I was smart, I would have done this in my crock pot the night before as it does a great job at this!  You just put in the sliced onions, butter, salt and turn it on low for about 10 - 12 hours.  I decided if I liked the soup I would do that next time.  I started sauteing with some added kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Below is how it looked after 30 minutes.

I stirred frequently for about an hour and twenty minutes before they were brown enough for me.  After 45 minutes, I turned the heat back up to medium to try and speed the process up.  Below is when it was done.

While that was going on, I got the tablespoon of fresh thyme ready and then made a bouquet garni in cheesecloth.

I also tore the bread up, I had a mix of leftover country bread (Pain de campagne) and some French.

I added the stock (Kirkland organic no salt chicken broth), bouquet garni, cayenne pepper and thyme along with some more S&P.

I brought it to a boil.  At that time I added in the bread.

I let this simmer for 15 minutes. I removed it from the heat and fished out the bouquet garni.  I pureed this with an immersion blender (boat motor as chef Emeril says).

I added the cream (I used half & half) and brought it up to temperature.  I tasted the seasoning.  I added some more cayenne and then, for sure I could taste the heat.  I garnished with a little Italian parsley.

I served these bowls with some Indian samosas I bought at work today supporting the United Way campaign.  These were sooooo good and best of all had no peas!  Oh, but to the soup - it smelled of the aroma of garlic, it tasted of garlic but it was not overpowering.  It was creamy and felt rich without being too heavy.  The cayenne came in after you swallowed your spoonful.  It was okay and not too strong.  I also got a tiny hint of sweetness.  I enjoyed this a lot.  I would make this again.

I wondered what it would taste like the next day?  I guess I'll find out tomorrow.  Do I bet Susan Spicer's is probably better?  Absolutely, I do.  One day soon, I hope to find that out!  If you're ever in NOLA, do yourself a favor and go to her restaurant.

10/27/16:

I had to edit just to say that the soup got way better the next day in my opinion.  The garlic did seem stronger though, so I won't have to worry about vampires today.