February 14: Soup Party

To this day, whenever I think about soup I think of the old "Seinfeld" skit featuring the Soup Nazi ("No soup for you!"). Maybe that's why the idea of attending my first soup party at my sister's house gave me chuckle. Don't get me wrong, it's a very unique idea and perfectly fitting for the month of February, especially in Michigan. But, I didn't quite know what a soup party would look like, and I was still skeptical that soup alone would fill everyone up. Not to mention, the thought of 5-6 kettles of soup brewing across my sister's counter top did seem a bit comical...in my head at least. However, this was not my sister's first soup party, so I put those minor details aside and placed my trust into her capable soup-cooking hands. Now for those of you who are not familiar with the concept of a soup party, basically, all guests are asked to bring a crock pot full of a soup of their choice (and some good bread or a soup accessory, such as cheese, if you like). All soups are placed out and each party attendee has the privilege of sampling the various options. However, I'm getting way ahead of myself, as the first step in this experience, if you're not hosting the event, is actually transporting a crock pot full of soup to the party location; a task that, for us, was easier said than done. To minimize the amount of sloshing and spilling during the journey, we decided to place the crock pot on the floor of the front passenger side so that my wife could monitor the situation. Not a great choice, as we quickly came to discover. See, an abrupt stop, a sloping road or the standard Michigan potholes, large and small, can disrupt the calmness of a traveling soup. Thus, all the way over to my sister's abode, cries of "soup, soup", which was our code word for warning each other of a potential soup hazard, rang out through the confines of our vehicle. So many times, that I'm surprised my children did not make up a song about it. Finally, we arrive...an hour early! Yes, my mistake. I thought my sister had indicated a 2:00 start time, when in reality it was 3:00. So not only are we battling soup at this point, we also must carry the burden of being those people that show up so early to the party. My sister was cordial, though, ensuring us that she was glad we came early as she could use the extra hands; so it wasn't too bad. At last, all guests arrived - my Aunt and Uncle, cousins and their families - and, just like I imagined, there were the crock pots aligning my sister's stove top. But, I have to say, what a pleasant experience this soup party was. All of the soup selections, which included two types of chilis as well (yummy!), were very delicious. My sister topped the whole thing off with a chocolate fountain for dessert, much to the delight of the younger party guests; complete with all of the dippins' from pound cake to pretzels to strawberries to marshmallows. So, here's my advice to all of you. If you're ever invited to a soup party, definitely make sure you go despite any images of the Soup Nazi playing through your head. Just make sure you pack an old blanket upon which to place your crock pot during travel, like my cousin did, so you avoid doing the "soup, soup" shuffle all the way there.