Welcome to December,
I’m happy to be here. The It’s Giving Thanks Wrap will continue to be available throughout this week and perhaps beyond. The Italian Wedding Soup Hoagie could be available in limited supply throughout the month. Don’t forget to pick up your brothmonger gift cards for the soup lovers in your life. The next Soup & Shvitz event with Bad Sauna is December 12. Get your tickets here.

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

Anyway, see you on Wednesday with a clean as heck kitchen.
Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

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I would just like to take a moment to remind everyone in case they forgot – the left lane on the highway is for passing. It’s not for hanging out. Over the weekend, I took my sister to a music festival. We listened to sets by The Last Dinner Party, Doechii (unbelievable), Clairo, Role Model, etc. We sang our favorite songs at each other. We fought through crowds and talked to strangers and took pictures with three girls wearing matching shirts on which they had bedazzled the word “cunt.” I saw my boyfriend Lucy Dacus for the second time in four days. Merriweather Post Pavillion is an enormous venue offering enough alcohol and chicken tenders to keep twenty thousand gays happy for three days straight. In the morning I woke up and realized I had eaten forty cigarettes. I drove four hours back to Pittsburgh where I immediately got into the bathtub, leaving my bags, blankets, pillows, and purse in the car. When I got out of the tub I felt in my bones that I needed to make myself some pastina.

Pastina is a very good soup and I am very good at making it. It is comforting and filling while being light at the same time. It’s so easy to make with just a few ingredients and a huge payoff. It can be universally applied – great for when you are feeling a little tickle in your throat or when you potentially have partaken in a few too many drugs and or alcohol. Or when you’re just a little kid who loves soup. A few weeks ago Ryan’s cousin Stephanie asked me for my pastina recipe after her three year old son told her that she wasn’t making it as good as I do. I responded to her saying that of course I would give her the recipe but failed to mention that I do not have a pastina recipe. So to give it to Steph, I first must give it to myself and, of course, to you. Xavier, this recipe is for you. I know you can’t read yet but be nice to your mom.

PASTINA
3 carrots (washed & roughly chopped)
1 celery bunch (stalks diced, root discarded)
20 garlic cloves
1 tbsp. chicken bullion
3 - 4 quarts chicken broth
4 eggs
½ cup grated parmesan (plus more for serving)
1 tsp. black pepper (plus more for serving)
1 lb. small pasta like stars or ditalini

In a large pot (5-7 quarts), add all of the vegetables along with the chicken bullion and chicken broth. Simmer for 30 minutes or until all of the vegetables are very soft. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the soft vegetables to a blender and blend them until the mixture resembles a bisque. Alternatively, blend the soup in the pot with an immersion blender. Return the blended vegetables to the broth and bring it back to simmer. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, cheese, and pepper. With the soup simmering, whisk in the egg mixture. Salt to taste. In a separate pot of salted water, boil the pasta until it’s al dente. To serve, ladle some pasta into a bowl and pour the soup over it. Top with parmesan cheese, fresh cracked pepper, and nice olive oil. Once the soup is cool, the pasta can be added to the soup to store.

This soup should be golden in color and creamy in texture. I like to use chicken base or bullion in this recipe to give the soup more depth. For the pasta, I recommend stars or ditalini. I do not recommend using acini de pepe (this is only for wedding soup) or orzo (this is for murderers).

Since I last published a recipe so many wonderful things have happened. I have read the entirety of Lord Of The Rings three times this year and I think it’s the best thing ever and I never want to stop reading it on a loop. I also read Pride and Prejudice for the first time this year and man is it good. I watched Lost for the first time and I can confirm that the ending is disappointing but the journey is totally worth it. I love football. I love Pittsburgh. My best friend had a baby who is beautiful and perfect. I love my friends more and more with each passing day and I love my boyfriend and my house and my family and my dog and my job and my restaurant. And I love you. I love you so much. I feel happy and fulfilled and now that fall is beginning, I want to kill everyone less and less (except for when they sit in the left lane).

Make your pastina and enjoy your lazy Sunday even if it’s actually Monday. Even if it’s actually Wednesday. By the end of this week, TS12 will be here and our lives will all be made 12% better by it.

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

I realize that some of you were looking forward to Butternut Squash and French Onion. We will be going forward this week with the assortment listed above. The soups on the calendar for this week will be available next week. I am sorry about my brain and I beg your forgiveness.

Thank you
I love you
- the BMer

Hello friends,
Here is our soup calendar for the month of August. It’s been one year since I bought the space that would become brothmonger. It’s pretty hard to believe. Thank you for your support along the way and in the future. I am happier now than I have been in my adult life and I owe it all to you. I hope to see you in the shop soon. Over Little Italy Days we will have extended hours and special menus so follow us on instagram to stay updated.

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

NEXT WEEK JULY 8 - 12
ITALIAN WEDDING (contains wheat & dairy)
CLAM CHOWDER (contains wheat & dairy)
HUNGARIAN MUSHROOM (vegetarian / contains wheat & dairy
WATERMELON GAZPACHO (vegan / gf)
COCONUT CHICKPEA (vegan / gf)

brothmonger will be closed this week on Friday and Saturday July 4 & 5.

If you have any questions or soup requests for the later half of the month, please email me or comment on the newsletter.

ps. punch cards are back

Have a nice holiday
Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

Here is our grab n go soup calendar for the month of May. Please note that the number of soups listed each week has changed from five to four. As summer approaches, I’d like to give myself more room for creative freedom when it comes to the grab n go selections. We will still have lots of soups available, including pastina, throughout the month. Please be sure to check our Instagram story for the daily updates on what is available in the fridge. If you have a special request, please feel free to email or dm me.

Also Happy Mother’s Day and it’s my mom’s birthday month. Love you mom.

Thank you
Love you
-the BMer

White Chicken Chili
Chicken Noodle
Clam Chowder
Wedding Soup
Lamb Stew

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

In September of 2022 my Godfather and Uncle Clem, died suddenly and I published this newsletter discussing my personal and professional experience with death and dying and sharing some soothing soup recipes. This weekend, his eldest daughter married her high school sweetheart in a beautiful, joyous and sad ceremony. I miss my uncle every day but he has been heavy on my mind leading up to this wedding. I was honored when MaryKate asked me to make soup to serve at the reception. I like the way my role in life has shifted from teaching people how to write an obituary to making soup for my cherished cousin's wedding. I served Italian Wedding (duh) and Roasted Red Pepper Bisque. By the end of the night, I had shared the bisque recipe multiple times.

I am not into tomato soup. I don’t like making it or eating it. Tomato soup should just give it up and become red sauce and get onto some fettuccine. Of course, this opinion leaves me with the question of what soup I will dip my grilled cheeses into? The answer? Red Pepper Bisque. This recipe is vegan and gluten free. I know a cup of oil seems like a lot but it goes a long way to make the soup creamy in the absence of dairy products.

RED PEPPER BISQUE

1 small red onion, quartered
1 small yellow onion, quartered
2 heads garlic, halved
4 carrots, quartered lengthwise
5 red bell peppers
1 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 14 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Bunch basil

Preheat the oven to 450. On a large sheet tray, arrange 3 red peppers, onions, carrots, and garlic. Drizzle oil over all vegetables and season with salt. Roast for 40 minutes or until everything is tender. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat 1 cup of olive oil (yes). Add tomato paste, tomato, and remaining red peppers and simmer. Pull the roasted vegetables from the oven and pour two cups of water over them. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, scrape the tray and add the liquid and vegetables into the tomato pot. Transfer soup to a blender and add the red wine vinegar and basil. Blend until creamy and salt to taste. Make a grilled cheese sandwich. Put chipped ham on it. Go to town.

Something that helps to make this soup shine is a really nice blender. I’ve been wanting to share this recipe for a few months and recently began testing. While I was out, I realized that I didn’t have a blender at home as all of my possessions now live at the restaurant. I had already gathered all of the soup ingredients in the Strip District so I popped into the kitchen store and unintentionally walked out with a three hundred dollar blender. I am by no means telling you that you should go buy an expensive blender for this soup. What I am saying is that the Zwilling Enfinigy Power Blender is the tits.

BMHQ will be closed tomorrow Tuesday January 21. We’re having a new refrigerator delivered and we’re going to stare at it all day. Also, I am very sick and need a day of rest. See you Wednesday!

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer

I want your midnights
But I’ll be feeding you sauerkraut on New Years Day

Thank you
I love you
-the BMer