Chilled Apple Soup

This was the appetizer for my Fall Back to Summer Luxury Dinner for Project Foodbuzz Challenge 3.  Check out the full menu and entertaining tips, and if you would like to be a guest please vote for me!!!  Voting this round narrows the field from 200 to 100, so your vote means alot!  Thank you so much :)

When I was talking to my mom about the menu for the dinner, she recalled an apple soup she had at some point this summer.  I couldn't recall trying it, but I tried a couple of recipes based on what mom could recall and fell in love.  While it was good on its own, the addition of greek yogurt and chopped salted peanuts really made it shine.  Give it a try while it's still apple season and let me know what you think!

Chilled Apple Soup
adapted from this site
Serves 8

5c apple cider (or unsweetened apple juice)
10 large apples (I used a mix from Smolak Farms, I believe there were some Mutsu, tart Mac's, and maybe a Cortland or two in there)
4c white wine (I used Honey Moon Viognier from TJ's and a semi-dry apple wine from a CT orchard)
zest of 1 lemon
2 cinnamon sticks (~3" long)
4T fruit jam
1/4c dry unseasoned bread crumbs (I may have used Fiber One Crumbs)
juice of 1 lemon
~1/2c 2% greek yogurt
1/2c chopped salted peanuts

Bring cider to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Stir in apples, wine, zest and cinnamon stick.  Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for ~15min.  Stir in jam, bread crumbs and lemon juice and simmer for ~10min.  Remove from heat and transfer half (or 1/4, depending on the size of your blender or food processor) to a blender (I used my Vitamix) and puree.   Transfer soup to a bowl, then puree the rest of the soup.   Add the soup back to the pot, taste and adjust seasonings (you may want more lemon juice to balance out the sweetness).  Heat the soup back up to boiling, then reduce the heat and simmer until it reaches your desired thickness.   Refrigerate until chilled, can be prepared a few days ahead of time.

Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt and a good sprinkling of peanuts.  Don't be afraid to add more peanuts, as we all went back for more!