Party Menu!! Part 1 --- Tomato Bisque Soup

We organized a SURPRISE birthday party for my son's 16th Birthday!! It was a very small gathering....
The menu was
Lasagna - by Aparna
Spinach Rice - by Bairavi
Potato Dry Curry - by Asha
Salad - by Priya
Cake - ordered by Sabitha
AND
Drum Roll please
I made Tomato Bisque soup, Focaccia bread and bread bowls.......

I am still waiting for the Lasagna recipe from Aparna.

Here is the recipe for Tomato Bisque Soup (serves 8 to 10)
Ingredients
Olive Oil - 3 tablespoons
Onion - 1 (diced)
Celery - 2 ribs
Garlic - 8 to 10 clovces minced
Diced Tomatoes - 1 (32 Ounce) Cans or (or 3 large fresh tomatoes, diced)
Fresh Basil - 3 to 4 tables spoons Chopped (or 2 tablespoonsdried basil)
Tomato Puree -2 (16 ounce cans)
Vegetable Stock - 1 (24 ounce ) carton
Heavy Whipping Cream- 1/4 cup
Bay Leaf - 1
Cayenne Pepper Powder - 1 Teaspoon
Salt and pepper to taste.
Method
--->Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot.
--->Dice onion and celery and add to pot.
--->Saute until the onion is transparent.
--->Add garlic, diced tomatoes and basil, and stir.
--->Stir in tomato puree and vegetable stock slowly
--->Once it starts to boil, with your hand blender blend all ingredients to a puree.
--->Soup should be an Orange color with green basil bits in it.
--->Add bay leaf, Cayenne Pepper, Salt and Pepper, and simmer on low for about an hour.
--->Add the heavy whipping cream, Remove the Bay Leaf and blend again.
---> Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 8-10.

NOTES:
I doubled the recipe and it served more than 20. Really tasty. I had made bread bowls to drink this in, I will upload those recipes one by one....
Try and use fresh ingredients, the more you resort to canned and dry spices, the less tastier...
I used 1 small can of tomatoes and 2 fresh tomatoes....
USE fresh garlic, dont buy the aready peeled ones from the store....

That is a Harley Davidson cake and it was WICKED.......