Tomato Basil Soup

This is the BEST soup ever, in my opinion of course. Mark first prepared this in celebration of my birthday in October of last year ~ along with eggplant parmesan, salad, and bread from Panera ~ I digress from the soup. Anyway, it has become a favorite of ours and we have had it several times since October. It is on my mind because we enjoyed it again tonight, and I thought I would share it here. If you make it and you do not like it, I will be sad, very sad.... So, please ENJOY! This is taken from Stop and Smell the Rosemary - A cookbook by The Junior League of Houston, Inc.

10 to 12 Roma tomatoes, peeled, or 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, drained
3 cups tomato juice
2 cups chicken stock
15 or more fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Combine tomatoes, tomato juice and chicken stock in a large saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Add basil. Transfer soup in batches to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return to saucepan over low heat. Whisk in cream, butter, salt, and pepper. Whisk until butter is melted and soup is thoroghly heated. Garnish with Parmesan. Mmmmm......

This is great with the bread from Panera (or any good bread) and salad. Yummy!!!