IT'S NATIONAL HOMEMADE SOUP DAY!

With record cold and snowfall around the country, National Homemade Soup Day couldn't come at a better time. Here are my favorite homemade soup recipes... fast, easy, and homemade delicious!

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP RECIPE: My number one all-time most popular soup recipe is my Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. I've made it hundreds of times for thousands of people. Everyone loves it- you will too. Get the recipe...

My all-time most popular recipe... Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. So much so, I now grow my own butternut squash from all the seeds!

LOADED BAKED POTATO SOUP: The comfort of a fully loaded baked potato, spoon version. Your family and friends will love this soup! Perfect for family game night, a tailgate, or a quick weeknight dinner. Best of all, everyone can customize their bowl of soup their own way. Get the recipe...

Loaded Baked Potato soup is even better than its namesake. Another fast, easy, and delicious recipe.

LOWER ALABAMA STYLE GUMBO: I don't think I like anything more than gumbo. You can put just about anything you want into it; this one happens to be shrimp and Alabama made Conecuh sausage but I also make it with chicken. Mardi Gras is in February so it is gumbo season! Get the recipe...

Lower Alabama gumbo always is chock full of fresh Gulf shrimp!

SAUSAGE, WHITE BEAN & ESCAROLE SOUP: This has to be a one of the most flavorful and easiest recipes I've ever come up with. You might not know what escarole is; a leafy green vegetable used frequently in Italian cooking. You certainly can substitute kale in place of escarole if you cannot find it. Get the recipe...

Easy and so much flavor... try my Sausage, White Bean, and Escarole Soup- I promise it will become a cold weather favorite!

CHEF MICHELE RAGUSSIS' AWARD-WINNING NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER RECIPE! Michele recently shared her recipe with me and it is one you'll want to try. Most of us only order Clam Chowder in a restaurant; now you can make it at home! Get the recipe...

Chef Michele Ragussis' award-winning restaurant style New England Clam Chowder.

MY AWARD-WINNING CHILI RECIPE: My chili is so fast and easy with smoky chipotle and roasted tomatoes creating warm and cozy flavor. You make it in a crockpot so it could not be easier... and our friend Melanie has won her local chili competition with it several years in a row! Get the recipe...

Martie's award winning crockpot chili recipe

RECIPE: LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Always being on the road or in someone else's kitchen, you would think I'd make sure I had everything I needed BEFORE I started cooking. I planned to make my Mom's pound cake recipe and was already in the middle of creaming the butter when I discovered the cream cheese was waaay past the expiration date. I did however, have some perfectly good ricotta cheese in the fridge so I ended up with this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake. So moist yet a bit fluffy and very, very good. This will never replace my Mom's pound cake but I gotta tell you, it is the perfect shower, party, or afternoon tea cake. It is a lot better than that Lemon Pound Cake you get at Starbucks! Put it on your list to try.

A baking mistake sometimes results in something really good. Try this Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake recipe. Moist yet fluffy. Really easy. Really good.

LEMON RICOTTA POUND CAKE

Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature

3 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoons lemon zest

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

4 whole eggs, room temperature

2 egg whites, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp lemon extract

1/8 tsp salt

LEMON GLAZE

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 cups Confectioners' sugar (plus more if desired)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prep two 9 x 5 loaf pans; grease and flour or spray all sides with Baker's Joy.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add the ricotta and beat until combined. Then add the sugar, a little at a time. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, beating until they are combined. Add the egg whites and beat until they are just incorporated. Turn the speed on the mixer down. Add the lemon juice. Combine the salt and the flour; adding a little at a time to the mixer until it is blended. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.

Pour into the prepared pans. Place on a baking sheet and place on center rack of your oven. Bake for 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn out onto a wire cooling rack to allow it to cool until just slightly warm before icing.

For the glaze, combine the lemon juice and Confectioners' sugar and whisk; the glaze should be thick and creamy and not too stiff. You should be able to pour it. Add more lemon juice or sugar as necessary to achieve the pourable consistency.

Using a toothpick, poke a few holes into the top of the cake. Pour onto the top of the cake and spread. Allow to cool. Add a second layer if you want a thick glaze.

Serve with berries, whipped cream or any of your favorites.

WARM AND WONDERFUL: INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS ARE EASY TO MASTER

Soufflés always intimidate, but they are not difficult. These individual chocolate soufflés are fluffy, delightful bites of chocolate heaven. And so easy! They will be a favorite... serve them warm out of the oven with just a drizzle of heavy cream... or ice cream, or whiskey sauce, or whatever you have around.

INDIVIDUAL CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉS

Prep Time: 20 minutes    Cook Time: 15 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon cocoa

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for the ramekins

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely

3 large egg yolks, room temperature

6 large egg whites, room temperature

1/16 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter four oven-proof ramekins. Combine the cocoa and 2 tablespoons sugar. Dust the ramekins with the cocoa and sugar mixture. Set aside.

Carefully melt the chocolate in a heat-proof glass bowl over simmering water. Chocolate burns quickly so don't leave it unattended. Stir until just melted then remove the chocolate from the heat. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, gently whisking them together with the chocolate. Set aside.  

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with salt on medium speed until they are shiny and form soft peaks. Then turn the mixer on high and add the sugar, a little at a time until the egg whites will hold stiff shiny peaks.

Next, begin to incorporate the egg whites into the chocolate. This is an important step. You do not want to deflate the egg whites, but you do need to make sure there are no visible whites peeking through. Use a large spoon, spatula, or whisk; work gently. Add about a cup of the egg whites to the chocolate to smooth out the chocolate a bit. Then add the rest, 1/3 at a time, spooning up and over, very gently, to incorporate. It should be very light and fluffy, but make sure you have no threads of white peeking through the chocolate.

Spoon into the prepared ramekins- leaving about 1/2 inch at the top. Bake for 15 minutes or you can bake up to 18 minutes to make them more cake-like.

You can let these sit for up to 30 minutes before baking or you can bake them immediately. Makes 4.