fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the flour and cook,
stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, with their
juice, and stir, scraping the flour up off the bottom of the
pan. Add the milk or cream and cook, stirring
occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with the
spoon, until the whole thing comes to a boil. Reduce to a
simmer and cook for 3 minutes.- Remove the soup from the heat and puree using an
immersion blender. Or transfer to a standing blender, in
batches if necessary, and puree, starting on low speed
and gradually increasing to high, then return to the pan.
Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the
whiskey, if using, and bring to a simmer. Serve
immediately, topping each serving with a generous
drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of herbs, and if you like, a
crack or two of freshly ground pepper, with the
sandwiches alongside.
Extra-Cheesy Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
I usually use a slice each of American and cheddar cheese,
forgoing a category B cheese. Serve half a sandwich per
person with the soup, or double this recipe and make the
sandwiches in two skillets. (If you have only one skillet,
make the sandwiches in batches and keep the first batch
warm in a low oven, on a rack on a baking sheet.)
NOTE: Category A cheeses are good melting cheeses like
American, cheddar, Jack, Fontina, young Swiss, Gruyère,
Muenster, young provolone, and young Gouda, among
others. Category B cheeses are strongly flavored grating