Tomato Basil Soup

A friend of mine sent me this recipe and I decided to make it tonight.  I made a few changes, but it still turned out great.  I served it with some spruced up Grilled Cheese sandwiches and it made a fabulous dinner on a cool, drizzly night.  Plus, it made quite a bit, so I have soup for lunch for a few days!

Tomato Basil Soup
4 cups fresh tomatoes, cored, peeled, and chopped (8-10) or canned whole tomatoes, crushed
4 cups tomato juice (or part vegetable or part chicken stock)
12-14 basil leaves, washed fresh
1 cup heavy cream
1stick sweet unsalted butter
salt
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
1. Combine tomatoes, juice/and or stock in saucepan.
2. Puree, along with the basil leaves, in small batches, in blender, food processor (or better yet, one of those handy hand-held food blenders, right in the cooking pan).
3.Return to saucepan and add cream and butter, while stirring, over low heat. Garnish with basil leaves and serve with your favorite bread.

***I used 2 large cans of canned whole tomatoes and pureed both the juice and tomatoes together, and just didnt add any extra tomato juice or stock.  I initially strained the tomatoes and by eyeballing it, it appeared to be approximately 4 cups, so I decided to not open an additional can of juice.  It worked out great!

***I also pureed the tomatoes and basil together at the very beginning, then let it simmer with the salt and pepper and tomato juice for about 15 minutes.  Then I added the butter and cream and let it simmer for about 5 more minutes.  Turned out great!