Anything you can do, I can do better.

My mother has an extremely close-nit group of gal pals that refer to themselves as the ya yas.  She informed me that two of the ya yas, or as I like to call them, my aunts, were coming to town and, in turn, would like see my new house.  Of course, I had to whip up a fabulous luncheon in their honor.

I debated several menus.  The chilly fall weather has set in here in Vegas and the highs have been in the 50s.  I decided on a soup and panini combo.  What better than a revamp on America's favorite? - tomato and grilled cheese.

I should mention these ladies are seasoned diners and drinkers. Everything must be fabulous and most importantly delicious!

I got some little red baja tomatoes.  I used about 36 of them.  Romas would have worked just as well.  I sliced them in half.

I laid them out on a sheet pan and drizzled them with olive oil, and sprinkled them with salt, pepper, and chili flakes.

I roasted them on high, 475 and brown and crackly.

I laid out some bacon on a sheet pan and baked until crispy.  Baking bacon is an easy way to cut down on the mess, and cook a large amount at one time. Around 350 should do the trick.

In the meantime, I diced up some garlic and onion and sauteed it in the bacon fat left on the pan.

When the garlic and red onion started to brown, I deglazed the pot with 1/2 cup of vodka.  I let the vodka reduce and them added 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock.

Next, I placed the garlic and onion mixture, and the roasted tomatoes in the blender and pureed until smooth. I returned the soup to the pan and finished it with 4 cups of heavy cream.  I let the soup simmer to reduce and keep warm.

For a lovely garnish, I fried some whole basil leaves in olive oil.  Be careful! They tend to pop and spit hot oil.

I got some yummy cheese, apple smoked gruyere, and sharp white cheddar.  I sliced it up and layered between buttered sourdough slices with the cooked bacon.  I placed the sandwiches on the george foreman to grill them like a panini.

For a scrumptious cocktail, I served bocce ball martinis.  I shook 1/2 shot butterscotch schnapps, 1 shot of amaretto, and orange juice in the martini shaker and strained into a martini glass.  Of course, you can serve this tasty cocktail on the rocks, but girls love to socialize with a martini glass.

Although grilled cheese and tomato soup may not sound elegant, you can make it into something decadent and spectacular.  The creamy tomato vodka soup with fried basil was delicious.  The chili flakes added a bit of zing and the vodka added complex flavor.  As for the grilled cheese, we all know, everything is better with bacon!

So, take that campbell's.  Like I said, anything you can do, I can do better!  Kick the can - this version is way better.  Now, off for a jog....bacon and heavy cream comes at a price!