Leftover Soup and Fromage Fort

After making a simple salad, I decided to apply the same concept to soup - again ala Jacques Pepin. The hook here is using a simple base and tossing in vegetables that aren't in prime condition. Now, I'm not saying putting in rotting vegetables, but vegetables that you wouldn't necessarily buy from the supermarket. In this case, the chicory from my simple salad...it wasn't rotting, but it definitely lost it's crispiness. Need to amp up the base flavor, but in a pinch this is still a satisfying and flavorful soup and a great way to not waste food.

Ingredients
1/2 head Chicory that was cut into salad sized pieces (or any other vegetable shredded - aka zucchini, carrots, cabbage, etc.)
1 onion thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
3 cups good quality chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine
Salt and Pepper
Multi grain bread sliced - surprisingly Garden of Eden's is great and Whole Food's is below average
Fromage Fort (recipe below)

1) Sautee onions and bay leaf with 1/2 the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat stirring and making sure not to burn.
2) Once the onion turns a light golden color toss in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Toss in the wine and cook for 15-30 seconds until the alcohol evaporates.
3) Add the chicory, chicken broth, salt and pepper and cook for 15-20 minutes.
4) Toast bread with olive oil, salt, and pepper
5) When finished taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add soup to bowl and add olive oil to taste. On the side smear the fromage forte on the bread. The nutty bread mixed with the rich cheese, dipped into the soup makes for some hella tasty eating.

Fromage Forte
Picked this up again for Mr. Jacques Pepin. Basically a good way to get rid of a bunch of old cheeses. I used good cheeses (not supermarket ones) that were developing mold. According to the dudes at bobolink, they mentioned good quality cheese are still good after they develop mold - just cut it off and it should be OK. I would ask your local cheese monger to double check before doing this though. Any who - when you blend the cheeses, you get a very strong uber cheese flavor.

Ingredients
A whole mess load of grated or cubed cheeses - I used Piave, cheddar, and a stinky brie
1/4 cup white wine
1 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic finely minced

1) Add butter and garlic in a medium sauce pan over low heat.
2) Add grated cheese and white wine.
3) Whisk until completely smooth maybe 7-10 minutes. Make sure to watch out since the cheese can burn easily. This can be prevented by whisking often. Enjoy, you basically made a fondue...