Think “Outside the Box” and Throw a Bowl Party!
Several years ago we attended a dinner party where the hostess’ theme was built around bread bowls. Shortly after, I wrote an article for Cook’n on the experience, and I thought it might be fun and inspiring to re-share the terrific ideas I gathered from that event.
Margie’s gathering was meant to kick off the “Bowl” season (footBowl, that is), so she used bread bowls for everything (truly—everything). It was so pretty and one of the cleverest theme parties I’d been to in a long time.
As we gathered, we munched on veggie sticks and spinach-artichoke dip, all arranged beautifully in a bread bowl. There were assorted chips as well, served in extra large bread bowls. And accompanying the chips was her award-winning salsa, that was served in—you guessed it—a bread bowl.
Things were set up buffet-style, and there were three crockpots—one with clam chowder, one with stew, and the third held an alfredo chicken soup (recipe below). All were scrumptious, by the way, and all choices were served in bread bowls, of course.
Even the big tossed salad was presented in an extra-large bread bowl. She’d hollowed it out well, then lined it with plastic wrap. The presentation was stunning. Who would’ve thought?
But one of the most ingenious ideas I’ve ever seen was nestling barrel glasses in small bread bowls. They all held a variety of hot chocolates! While we had to drink using two hands, we didn’t care—the surrounding bread kept the drink nice and toasty and served as a drink coaster and hot pad for our hands, all at the same time.
Finally, Margie also used bread bowls as her table centerpiece. She had three—each one holding bright, Autumn mums (in their original pots).
I’d never seen anything like this, and I asked her where she got all the different sized bread bowls. She said she made the smaller ones (for the hot cocoa), but the largest ones were simply artisan rounds, which she bought. “SO clever!” I thought. Now when I go into the bakery section of my grocery store, I see the assortment of breads with a whole new perspective.
Using bread bowls for soup is delicious and a nice change of pace from the typical ceramic soup bowl, for sure. But what a fun approach to use them to hold other things as well! Talk about thinking “outside the box” (or actually, “outside the bowl”)!
Lastly, as promised above, here is a scrumptious soup recipe (found on www.food.com) that is absolutely made for serving in a bread bowl. It’s easy (taking about 30 minutes to make) and a real crowd-pleaser.
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic (large), minced (or 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 quart half and half
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups water
1 bunch broccoli (tops only, cut into bite-sized pieces)
3 cups boneless chicken breasts cooked and diced
1 1/4 teaspoons white peppers
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 dash nutmeg
6 ounces bow tie pasta cooked according to package directions
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
Margie’s gathering was meant to kick off the “Bowl” season (footBowl, that is), so she used bread bowls for everything (truly—everything). It was so pretty and one of the cleverest theme parties I’d been to in a long time.
As we gathered, we munched on veggie sticks and spinach-artichoke dip, all arranged beautifully in a bread bowl. There were assorted chips as well, served in extra large bread bowls. And accompanying the chips was her award-winning salsa, that was served in—you guessed it—a bread bowl.
Things were set up buffet-style, and there were three crockpots—one with clam chowder, one with stew, and the third held an alfredo chicken soup (recipe below). All were scrumptious, by the way, and all choices were served in bread bowls, of course.
Even the big tossed salad was presented in an extra-large bread bowl. She’d hollowed it out well, then lined it with plastic wrap. The presentation was stunning. Who would’ve thought?
But one of the most ingenious ideas I’ve ever seen was nestling barrel glasses in small bread bowls. They all held a variety of hot chocolates! While we had to drink using two hands, we didn’t care—the surrounding bread kept the drink nice and toasty and served as a drink coaster and hot pad for our hands, all at the same time.
Finally, Margie also used bread bowls as her table centerpiece. She had three—each one holding bright, Autumn mums (in their original pots).
I’d never seen anything like this, and I asked her where she got all the different sized bread bowls. She said she made the smaller ones (for the hot cocoa), but the largest ones were simply artisan rounds, which she bought. “SO clever!” I thought. Now when I go into the bakery section of my grocery store, I see the assortment of breads with a whole new perspective.
Using bread bowls for soup is delicious and a nice change of pace from the typical ceramic soup bowl, for sure. But what a fun approach to use them to hold other things as well! Talk about thinking “outside the box” (or actually, “outside the bowl”)!
Lastly, as promised above, here is a scrumptious soup recipe (found on www.food.com) that is absolutely made for serving in a bread bowl. It’s easy (taking about 30 minutes to make) and a real crowd-pleaser.
Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Soup
Ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic (large), minced (or 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 quart half and half
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups water
1 bunch broccoli (tops only, cut into bite-sized pieces)
3 cups boneless chicken breasts cooked and diced
1 1/4 teaspoons white peppers
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 dash nutmeg
6 ounces bow tie pasta cooked according to package directions
Directions:
1. In a heavy stockpot over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in butter for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add flour and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes until bubbly.
3. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and half & half; cook, stirring frequently, until thickened.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add water to broccoli and bring just to boiling (the broccoli should be only partially cooked and not soft) then remove from heat; do not drain cooking water from broccoli.
5. Add parmesan cheese to soup-base in stockpot; cook over low heat, stirring, just until cheese is melted.
6. Add cooked broccoli along with its cooking water, chicken, seasonings, and bow tie pasta to the stockpot; heat through.
NOTES: 6 ounces bow tie pasta equals 2 1/4 cups before cooking and 3 cups diced chicken breast equals 1 ½ pounds before cooking. Also, decrease the salt by half if you happen to substitute full-sodium chicken broth in this recipe.
2. Add flour and cook, stirring, for another 2-3 minutes until bubbly.
3. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and half & half; cook, stirring frequently, until thickened.
4. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add water to broccoli and bring just to boiling (the broccoli should be only partially cooked and not soft) then remove from heat; do not drain cooking water from broccoli.
5. Add parmesan cheese to soup-base in stockpot; cook over low heat, stirring, just until cheese is melted.
6. Add cooked broccoli along with its cooking water, chicken, seasonings, and bow tie pasta to the stockpot; heat through.
NOTES: 6 ounces bow tie pasta equals 2 1/4 cups before cooking and 3 cups diced chicken breast equals 1 ½ pounds before cooking. Also, decrease the salt by half if you happen to substitute full-sodium chicken broth in this recipe.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Sources:
- www.tasteofhome.com
- www.giallozafferano.com
- www.worldbakers.com
- www.savortheflavour.com
- www.food.com
Alice Osborne
DVO Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
