Not Mama's Chicken Noodle Soup

Yesterday Kevin was traveling and would be home late. With no time in his schedule for dinner, I knew he'd be hungry. I decided to make soup for dinner. It could be made ahead and simply heated it up when he got home.

But, it was Valentine's Day and let's face it, chicken noodle soup – though healthy and soul nourishing – is, well, boring. For a twist I made a Sherry-laced chicken broth to pour over shredded chicken, cheese tortellini, spinach, and caramelized leeks. (Recipe in the post below.)

The trick to this soup is to have the broth, chicken, spinach, pasta, and leeks separate then compose each bowl just before serving. That way all of the ingredients are cooked perfectly* and re-warmed with the piping hot both.

* I generally avoid using spinach in soup because it turns an ugly green and kind of slimy. Here I use raw spinach and it perfectly wilts under the hot broth.