Lorraine Wallace dishes on her new book of favorite soups for husband, Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday.
By Sheila Mulhern
While not a professional chef, Lorraine Wallace’s soups are so delicious you would never know! Image by Nancy Ellison.
Finding time to bring your family together for a meal these days can frequently seem like a daunting task, especially if your husband is popular news anchor, Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday or aka “Mr. Sunday”. Lorraine Wallace found the solution in preparing a variety of soup dinners for her busy family and now shares her collection of 78 recipes in her new book, “Mr. Sunday’s Soups“.
Assembled seasonally (hint for winter she includes Tortellini Meatball Soup and Ancho Pork & Hominy Soup) these are sure to satisfy your belly and create comforting memories around the dinner table.
A book reception (where yes! you can sample some of the tasty entrées) will be hosted by Bonnie McElveen-Hunter this month, but its by invitation only. But you can get a taste of the book by ordering it HERE. We asked a few questions on favorite recipes and soup memories with the author.
Washington Life: How did you come up with the idea to write this book?
Lorraine Wallace: Seven years ago when my husband took the job as anchor of “Fox News Sunday”, he would come home from interviewing top officials, tired and hungry. Meanwhile, our teenage son Remick would just be rolling out of bed to start his day. Soup was my solution to gather our family around the table for a quick, nutritious meal before Chris would head upstairs with the Sunday papers and our dog Winston for a nap, and Remick would head out for a day of baseball games.
It worked so well for our family that I thought it would be a good solution for other families with hectic schedules.
WL: Why do you think soup is a comforting food that can bring families together?
LW: Soup is healthy, nutritious and economical. It’s easy to make—and to eat. Who doesn’t like soup? And there’s a perfect soup for every occasion: a Wellness Soup when someone in your family is coming down with a cold, a hearty lentil soup on a cold day, a refreshing cool gazpacho in the summer.
WL: Are there any DC-themed soup recipes?
LW: Yes, there are several. The Senate bean soup, the Hillwood Museum Borscht, and even our butcher at Wagshall’s market—Pam’s New Orleans style Gumbo.
WL: In a pinch when you have the least amount of time available to cook?
LW: I go to the Hearty Lentil soup, because it is Chris’s favorite and is packed with protein and vegetables.
WL: Do you have any favorite “soup” memories from your childhood? What is the importance of each soup story in your collection?
LW: My favorite childhood soup is probably the same as everyone: Chicken Noodle–because it is easy to eat and fun to fish out the noodles from the bowl.
Each soup has a story in our Wallace tradition of “Soup Sunday” and wonderful memories of shared family time around the table. We are all big football fans. During the playoffs, I make a mean buffalo turkey chili. We bring the tray tables up from the basement, sit around our den, watch the game, and chow down on chili. Just thinking about it, I can hardly wait for the Super Bowl.
