1. Creamy mushroom

2. Butternut Squash & Garlic

3. Lentil Puré & Croutons

4. Vegetable Beef

I can't fit them all into 4 but I also love cold Vichyssoise and hot French Onion Soup LOL!

SharonCb

Southwestern Beef Soup (really stew)
French Onion Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Baked Potato Soup or Roasted Tomato Soup (can't decide which one)

1. Mulligatawny soup (stew)

2. Lobster Bisque

3. Greek Chicken Soup with Lemon

$. French Onion Soup

My favorites.
1. Creamy Corn Chowder
2. Split Pea with Ham
3. Greek Lamb Stew
4. Curried Pumpkin Soup

Clare

Hard for me to narrow to four soups as I love many, many.

She Crab Soup
Sausage & Shrimp Gumbo
Roasted Garlic Soup
Chili
French Onion
Roasted Tomato

Sorry, I cheated!

Eileen,
I compiled a recipe book of the soups posted here on the forum over the last couple years. It is really huge. If you like, I could e-mail it to you. I know tht Woodie's Mixican Corn Chowder is in there. I love that soup. I modified it some for our tastes, but the basic recipe is great. Her tortellini AND marilyn's tortellini are also very good and are in the book. If you are interested, then tell me here and I will send you an e-mail through gardenweb. Then when you mail me back, I will forward it to you (if you would like it)
Sherry

Eileen, I feel autumn-deprived too, it was still in the 70s last week. I still have a pot of basil growing on the front porch!

Soup? I love it, but you're right, it doesn't seem like "soup weather" yet. My favorites?

Salmon Chowder
Bean Soup
Chicken Chili
Beef Barley

The soup I make most, though? Plain old beef vegetable, with whatever vegetables I have left over or that look good and are cheap!

Annie

My 4 favorite soups:

1) - Italian Wedding Soup
2) - New England Clam Chowder
3) - Potato-Cheese Soup
4) - Vegetable Ham Soup (kicked up with hot sauce)
5) - Chicken Dumpling Soup )sorry for cheating, but I love chicken soups!)

Enjoy!! Sounds like a lot of fun! We're also having a hot-wave here - wish the temps would be as nice as the leaves are right now! lol! What a lovely time of year it is!
Barb

1) Lobster bisque
2) Avgolomono (something like Food & Wine's version with mini lamb meatballs would be nice to give substance)
3) The carrot-ginger soup my mom makes
4) Lentil or split pea with ham hock

Please tell how you go about setting up this most wonderful sounding party. I'd love to make a soup party and would love (no, make that need) guidance about how to pull it off. I've been thinking about doing one and am clueless about how to actually do it--like, do you have multiple soup bowls so people can try several?, do you use disposable things? do the guess sit at tables, on sofas, etc? desserts? drinks,? Obviously, I need help!

Thanks so much.

Kathleen: Stanley makes 1 and 2 pound bread bowls I get the 1lb Id perfer to get 1/2lb but they dont sell them...I may tey to make my own this time. I put them in the oven to dry them out so that they hold up with the liquid then I keep them in a warm oven just until serving time. Shebop: Please do send that compilation its greatly appreciated! Happygram: I basically set up my Kitchen island with small bowls of things that compliment whatever soups Im serving Parm cheese,Mozzarella, sour cream S&P hot sauce etc.... I prepare my soups the day before so Im not crazy the day of the gathering....I simmer the soups and everyone sets there own bread bowl up truthfully the family and close friends do not mind reusing there bread bowl for a additional soup tasting but I always do have extra bread bowls and some soup bowls in case we run out,I ceratinly wouldnt advise this for DH Boss coming to dinner I serve and have a sit down LOL! Everyone basically grab a seat the couch (usually the guys are in the den watching football) the women are in the kitchen etc. This is very informal and I find people enjoy themselves better like this. I certainly adore this because the SIL's bring dessert and the clean up is minimal and my work is really nothing the day of. I always serve a white and red wine and I put out several kinds of beer and of course soda. Try this its alot of fun

Forgot to mention I will be doing Pea soup with pumpernickel croutons, I am also swaying towards Oxtail Soup(something different)

#1 my Butternut Squash Soup

#2 Italian Wedding Soup w/ mini meatballs from Rachael Ray

#3 my Cream of Tomato Soup Winterstyle

# Amish Chicken Corn Chowder with Rivels

Eileen,
You don't have an option for sending you an e-mail throuygh gardenweb, so just e-mail me at "sheshebop@myself.com" and I will forward the cookbook to you.

Sherry, I would love it if you could send me your soup cookbook. I think this fall we've gotten everyone else's cold weather plus rain in spades, so soup is perfect. I feel sad that we've missed what's normally one of the most glorious seasons.

You should be able to reach me through the gardenweb link. If there's a problem just let me know.

Carol

How timely is this post! I am just finishing cleaning up from our 6th annual bonfire and soup party last night. We had about 35 people, a beautiful night (finally a respite from the cold tems and rain) and lots of fun!

I served:

Ribollita
Turkey Spaetzle
Tomato Basil
Navy Bean with Ham
Chicken Tortilla

Homemade olive oil bread, mini cheddar corn muffins, pepperoni rolls, garlic croutons and breadsticks. There was barely a cup of soup leftover!

Hope your party goes well, Eileen. If you are interested in any of the recipes from above, I'd be happy to share.

Linda

My top 4:

1. Lemon Chicken Soup
2. Baked Potato Soup
3. French onion soup
4. Tomato Basil with beef (I really cheat on this: LaMadeline's and add some browned ground beef)

Sounds like fun!

Brenda

1)FRENCH ONION
2)ROASTED TOMATO
3)WILD MUSHROOM
4)CLAM CHOWDER

Sherry - I'd love that soup compilation, too. Thanks so much.

Eileen - this is a great idea. I might have to try it myself.

I'm not a big soup person, but I'd love many of the above. Hard for me to put them in order, but:

1) mulligatawny
2) a curried pumpkin or butternut squash
3) wild mushroom
4) Thai chicken galanga soup (the one with curry, coconut milk, mushrooms and lemongrass).

5) I also love Barefoot Contessa's potato-fennel soup (I add a little sherry at the end) - but since it's the one soup I make regularly, I'd want different soups.

Lynn.

I forgot egg drop soup, with a hint of garlic and a little whole kernel corn and topped with green onions.

It is probably my favorite!

Eileen, these soup parties are so much fun! My fourth annual will be in January, and everyone looks forward to it. I'll do two soups this time, as everyone insists on bringing food and dessert, and we end up with way too much food. At the last soup tasting, we did bloody mary soup in plastic shot glasses for appetizers and chocolate soup for dessert. Tried to keep with a soup theme. I buy those small glass bowls at the dollar store for the soup and they work out great. I love your idea of using bread bowls. Have fun!

Someday I'm going to do this too. It's a great idea.

Sherry - could I please get a copy of that soup compilation too? thanks!

It's finally chilly in Missouri today and soup is on the brain!!

I would vote...
1. Shrimp/crab/lobster bisque/chowder with a chardonnay
2. Roasted Butternut Squash & Chestnut Soup with Browned Butter (made this over the weekend and it's divine - used dry marsala and a little apple cider in the base!)
3. Some sort of chili - also made this over the weekend
4. Chicken and Dumplings - (too hard to do)? You could substitute ready made biscuits for the dumplings, so you place one in the bowl and ladel the soup on top.
5. Beef Stew with a hearty red wine!

Oh yum, oh yum, oh yum!

I love these soup parties everyone throws, and will probably try to do one myself this winter.

I would vote for following soups:

New England Clam Chowder
Roasted Butternut Squash
French Onion
Tortilla Chicken Soup
Italian Sausage Minestrone, oops that's 5

Have to agree with the others, that this is a great party idea

This is a fun idea. We did a "Soup"erbowl party one year for the game and it was a big hit.

My favorites are:

Corn chowder
beef stew (i still put it in the soup category)
tomato soup (cream of or roasted)
baked potato soup

I had a squash/apple soup Friday night when we went out and I'd love to recreate that recipe. It was delicious.

(at my party the corn chowder was most popular, followed by cream of mushroom, and a hearty beef stew. I can't even remember the other one I did. I remember there were four)

Eileen, are you tabulating??
WHICH SOUP IS WINNING???

I love soups, and right now I have leftover Dhaal (my current favorite) and avgolemono with Dutch noodles. I make soups two or three times a week, except when the weather is too warm, and even them I often make cold soup. It would be very hard to list my top four, but I'll have a go:

1. Dhaal (Indian lentil soup - I serve it with tortilla chips)
2. Avgolemono (Greek chicken soup) with wide Dutch noodle (I cook those separately and add them at the end.
3. Vietnamese Crab Asparagus soup.
4. Chicken Posole (Mexican chicken soup)

I would have put seafood gumbo on the list (near the top), but it's not a good soup to leave simmering, since the shrimp would get tough.

I need to write down my recipe for Dhaal because I make it my own way and like the way it turns out.

Lars

I've been busy cutting and pasting and thinking, and after all of these fabulous suggestions, I think I'm brave enough to try a soup party.

Sherry -- I'd love to get the recipe collection you made.

Thanks so much.

Mary

Mary , when I hosted a soup party for my BIL's 50th, I bought oversized coffee mugs for the soup at a discount store. They worked great because people could hold their soup and still have a hand free for a refreshment or other nibblie. The guests took their mugs home as a "party favour"...bonus I didn't have to wash them! LOL

I also served lots and lots of "toppers" , oyster crackers, veggie crisps, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, can't recall all of them but they were tailored to the soups I served.

Oh, I also labeled the soups so that folk knew what they were getting in case of allergies etc. Crock pots are great top serve in.

I think Eileen has one of these, I love mine, great for soup parties! 3 sep controls..great for soups, and the holidays....HSN.com

It's cold here tonight, it was 84 yesterday! Right now, tonight, here is what I would have liked to have had for dinner. It's down to 45 and I'm not liking it all!!

French Onion
Ham and Bean
Potatoe
Split Pea
Broccoli Cheese

Kathleen, I love that server/warmer thing! Perfect for entertaining.

David

Kathleen, I think French Onion is one highly mentioned..

But might be a bit tough to do "classically" in a bread bowl. Have to have the broiler going..LOL

1. Chowder: potato, corn, clam..or all three together. LOL
2. Veggie Beef or minestrone or meatball (beef broth, veggies, pasta)
3. Cream of Tomato
4. Mexican or Tortilla flavor Chicken

I agree, French Onion would be tough to d ofor a crowd.

A couple others I have made for past soup parties that have done well:

Baked Potato
Cream of Mushroom
Italian Wedding Soup
Black Bean Chili
Hearty Harvest Soup
Beer Cheese
Pepperoni Soup
Butternut Squash Bisque
Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Tomato Bisque with Tortellini
Minnesota Wild Rice Soup

All were fine made ahead and just reheated for the party.

Linda

For those who requested the soup compilation, I have sent you a message by Gardenweb. You need to e-mail me. I have posted my e-mail here for you. "sheshebop@myself.com"
I do NOT get gardenweb mail at all. I repeat I DO NOT GET GARDENWEB MAIL.

My favorites:
French Onion Soup (you could have a side of broiled french bread slices with gruyere cheese to lay on top)
Lasagne Soup
Butternut squash
NE Clam Chowder

Think about colors. You want an eye pleasing assortment. If you are doing pea soup, I'd lose the chowder.
Sounds like a great party.
Jo

Pumpkin Apple Soup
Cream of Mushroom
Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup (from the Harvest Forum)
Caldo Verde (Portuguese kale soup)

Roasted Tomato Garlic Soup
Recipe By :Katie
12 tomatoes -- *see Note
2 carrots -- cut in 1" pieces
1 large onion -- quartered
2 whole heads garlic -- peeled (or more, to taste)
olive oil
2 cups chicken broth -- (or 3)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil -- (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
cream -- to taste

Core tomatoes and cut in half. Place, cut side up, on foil covered
cookie sheet with carrots, onion and garlic. Brush with
olive oil. Bake at 400F for about an hour, or until vegies
are roasted and a little blackened. Place in a large
saucepan with the chicken broth and basil and
simmer for about 10 minutes. Blend with a stick
blender (or in small batches in a blender) until
almost smooth. Add cream to taste. To can: Process
in a pressure canner, pints for 60 min. and quarts for
70 min.For dial gauge canners use 11 pounds pressure
at 0-2000 ft., 12 lbs. at 2001-4000 ft., 13 lbs. at 4001-6000
ft. and 14 lbs. above 6000 ft. For weighted gauge canners
use 10 lbs. pressure at 0-1000 ft., and 15 lbs. over 1000 ft.
*Note: These measurements are approximate...I use
whatever it takes to cover the cookie sheet. This makes
1 1/2 to 2 quarts of soup.

Ha, I was scrolling to the bottom to post my Tomato Soup, and there it is, lol. (Lisa, for canning, the directions should include a line that says "Do not include cream when canning")

It was hard to choose just 4.

1. Roasted Tomato Garlic
2. Corn/Vegie Chowder
3. French Onion
4. Beef Stew (hard choice between stew and chili, soooo....)
5. Chili

I agree, onion soup would be hard, besides, I don't like it, LOL. I like stick to the spoon soups unless everyone is seated. I don't consider chili a soup, but it is easy to serve in a mug, and very filling! Oh, I forgot, E is using bread bowls!
David, it is great for entertaining, bought it while recoup from surgery..dh couldn't understand how I had a box waiting for me when I got home from hosp! Nothing like a little shopping to ease the pain! LOL

Kathleen, I love that tri-serving gizmo. We do big parties a lot and I'm always looking for inventive buffet ideas to keep things warm (besides 5 chafing dishes, which also works). Last year we invested in a wide hot plate type device to keep roast beast at a decent on table temp.

I've already sent the link to my husband as a "hint".

Femme, you can use frying pans on them too, and have an omelet party! Keep hinting to dh..last time I posted it, they were sold out. They have a 2 burner too, but the 3 is great for us.
Found this.....courtesy of thatsmy home.com

These bread bowls work best with thick soups, chili's and chowders.

Bread Bowls
5 1/2 to 6 C. all-purpose flour, divided

2 T. sugar

2 envelopes rapid-rising yeast

1 1/2 t. salt

1 C. water

1 C. milk
2 T. butter

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt.

In a saucepan, heat water, milk and butter until very warm (120ºF. to 130ºF.). Gradually add to dry ingredients. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 equal portions; shape each into a ball. Place on greased baking sheets. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

With sharp knife, make 4 (1/4-inch deep) slashes in crisscross fashion on top of loaves. Bake at 375ºF. for 20 to 25 minutes or until done. Remove from baking sheets; cool on wire rack. Cut one-third off top of loaf; hollow out loaf to form 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick bowl and fill with soup.

Kathleen, I love that serving setup! Lars, I'm going to have to try the Vietnamese Crab Asparagus soup - that sounds amazing. My favorites change regularly, but currently some of them are:
1) Tomato Dill Soup
2) Vegetarian Minestrone
3) Cream of Asparagus
4) Chicken Tortilla

That sounds like a great idea for party - I may steal your idea for after the holidays . . .

Kathleen you have a great memory I do own this 3 burner and love it and i will be using it! I suggest it for anyone who entertains I originally bought this for Margarets Communion i served shell steaks for 100 guests (no Im not rich my butcher had a crazy sale and I just went crazy)and made 3 differnt sauces for the steak it keeps everything nice and hot. This also illeviates the stove going and people raching over hot pots I actually used this outdoor too! Well I am definately making Pea Soup,New England Chowder...Pondering thoughts on Oxtail Soup and Italian wedding soup ( Ive had several request for wedding soup).

I do have a good memory, SOMETIMES, Eileen! Years ago, did you ever post on the Taste of Home bulletin board? There was someone there who was going to start a catering business, and I kind of remembered the name??
Anyway, what time should I be there..I am only 45 min away, LOL
Have you ever used the buffet server for omelets? I use it for the gravy and veggies for the holidays too. Very convenient!

Eileen, Fantastic idea for a party!!! You've inspired me to have one of my own. Plus I will actually get to enjoy the party instead of "making sure everyone else is getting what THEY need!"..

I'm a big soup maker so it's hard to pare this down. I won't put them in order since it's all a tie but...

Pasta E Fagioli
Chicken corn chowder
split pea w/ ham
tortilla soup

Maybe we'll all get some good soup recipes we DON'T have out of this thread. Yeah for fall weather!! Have a fantastic party.

Question: Do you make any of your soups in advance and in what order, if you did, would you make them? You've got my mind thinking now :)

Oh Sherrie....You know the song. I would LOVE to have an email with this soup compilation of yours!!!! I just posted my 2 cents without reading the whole post and did so now and how great that you made a recipe book. If you have time or would be so kind to forward your soup cookbook to me,,that would be great. nicole24252@cox.net

Ooohh,,I am going to have to look at HSN for what Kathleen has posted. I can see many uses for this and just love it. Thanks for the picture and where you got it.

I love your idea of a soup party!

My favorites in no particular order are:

War wonton soup
split pea and ham
lasagne soup
clam chowder

shelley

Katie,
I want to thank you for the tomato garlic soup recipe. I usually don't care for tomato soup, but I had so many tomatoes this year, I figured I would try it. Everyone in my house loves this soup - it's so easy to make, I think the roasting really brings out the flavor. I left mine a little chunky. Didn't can it because it was gone the same day :)
Lisa

Katie - I made your Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup last night too :) Its great - even without the cream. My hand held immersion blender didn't do such a great job and I had some big pieces of the outside layer of the onions and pieces of carrots that were too hard and it wasn't looking so great (but it still tasted great) and then I put it through my little old fashioned blender and it is just perfect and delicious! Thanks so much for a great recipe.

What soups won??? Do tell.

WINNERS: #1 French Onion Soup #2 Corn Chowder #3 New England Clam Chowder #4 Butter Nut Squash................So there we have it our top 4 choices! Thanks to all who participated!!