With chilly weather close at hand, I love making hot, hearty soups as a dinner alternative. A stockpot simmering for hours in the kitchen fills the house with warm undercurrents as well as appetizing fragrances. A few sips from the taster spoon to check the pot along the way only adds to the anticipation. Ah, sweet bliss! And since most soups are even more flavorful after the ingredients have “married” over a few days, I always make enough to be enjoyed once or twice more … as bowls “nuked” on-the-go or for an easy weekend lunch. Like the last cup of eggnog at Christmas or the leftover turkey sandwiches after Thanksgiving, the soup gets better and better with each re-heating. Your gang will be sorry when it’s all gone but eager for the next great pot.
Growing up, my mom seemed to reserve her soup-making for comfort food when we got sick or when she had good bones around which to build a broth – a chicken carcass from a Sunday after-church dinner, turkey bones from Thanksgiving, or a wonderful ham bone from a large Easter gathering. She hardly served soups until Campbell started regularly marketing its canned soup products on our tiny black-and-white television. Most days I can’t remember my own cell phone number but I can still recall those Campbell kids singing: “Uh Mmm good, Uh Mmm good, that’s why Campbell Soups are Uh Mmm good!”
Soups evoke a casual family-style ambiance so they’re great for family get-togethers, sleepovers, entertaining neighbors, card games and scrap-booking. Soups are great for filling thermoses to take along on cool weather road adventures, school trips, tailgate parties and outings of all kinds – biking, football games, mountain climbing, snowboarding, etc. Increasingly, people are serving a couple of different soups at informal parties because they are easy to make and serve for a large group, surprisingly fun for guests and offer minimal cleanup, especially when you serve the hot liquid in deep, disposable cups or mugs. And you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to throw together a hearty soup that will delight and please your guests.
With soups, most of the cook’s work is on the front end – starting with compiling the freshest of seasonal ingredients, followed by lots of slicing and dicing. However, the true magic of soup making is in the slow simmering of the pot to bring out the best of the individual ingredients and blend them into a flavorful union. And, based on what they say about “watched pots,” all that simmering affords you some quality time to read, knit or nap in between.
My favorite soups are those that provide full meals in a bowl or are accompanied by equally hearty sandwiches. Attached are some of my personal favorites, mostly passed on from family and friends, and I have more recipes on the Danville Weekly Web site: www.DanvilleWeekly.com. See issue of Nov. 4, Living, Epicure.
So, think of soup as a form of homemade love to warm the heart and satisfy the tummy. Mix up a batch of love for your hungry bunch or a parcel of friends on a chilly day. You just may find them singing “Uh Mmm, good!”
Aunt Geneva’s Quick Naw’leans Gumbo: 8-10 servings
My aunt served this gumbo during the Christmas holidays. I find it a joyful soup to serve in cups as a first course of a holiday meal or as a great Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve meal, for out-of-town guests to enjoy casually as they get hungry from tree decorating or arriving from the airport with an appetite. It’s a great party soup. The “quick” in the name refers to skipping the roux and using prepared ingredients.
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz.) tomatoes
3 cups water
1 small bay leaf
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper (I use both red and green for color)
1 Tbsp. minced parsley
3 Tbsp. file powder( or more to taste)
1 lb. sliced chicken breasts (I use thighs)
3 hot links, sliced
2 cups frozen sliced okra
3 cups cooked rice
2 cups frozen shrimp (for special occasions, I use 3 cups of the large size)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
Hot sauce (optional)
Combine chicken broth, tomatoes, water, bay leaf, thyme, butter, onion, green pepper, parsley, file powder, chicken, sausage, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a stockpot or large Dutch oven. Cook 30 minutes. Add okra. Cook according to time on package (8-10 min.) Add rice and shrimp. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving. (Note: If you prefer, you can cook rice separately and put in bottom of bowl before serving the gumbo over it.) Serve and season with hot sauce, if desired.
Mushroom Barley Soup: 6-8 servings
As vegetarians, this was our favorite soup for years. It continues to be one of my winter favorites, served with grilled cheese sandwiches.
1/2 cup raw pearled barley
6 1/2 cups stock or water (I use vegetable broth)
1/2 – 1 tsp. salt
3-4 Tbsp. tamari
3-4 Tbsp. dry sherry
3 Tbsp. butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 heaping cup chopped onion
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (any kind)
freshly ground black pepper
Cook the barley in 1-1/2 cups of the stock or water until tender. (Cook it right in the soup pot.) Add the remaining stock or water, tamari and sherry. Saute the onions and garlic in butter until soft; add the mushrooms and 1/2 tsp. salt. When all is tender, add to barley, being sure to include the liquid the vegetables expressed while cooking. Give it a generous grinding of pepper and simmer 20 minutes, covered, over very low heat. Season to taste.
Sandra’s Hot Cheese Beer Soup: 6 servings
4 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1-2 carrot, chopped
4 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken stock
7 oz. beer
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated (add up to 3/4 cup more as desired)
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
Sat and pepper to taste
Saute onion, celery and carrots in butter until soft. Stir flour into vegetables and add chicken stock slowly. Continue to stir mixture until well blended. Bring to a boil, add beer and simmer until vegetables are tender. Add cream and cheese. Cook until cheese is melted. Season to taste; serve in bowls and garnish with parsley.
Cecily’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
3-4 corn tortillas – cut in strips and toast
1-1/2 lb. chicken
3 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic-chopped
1 16 oz. bag corn w/peppers (chuck wagon corn)
1 small can chopped chilis
1 small can chopped ripe olives
1/4 tsp. coarse pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1/2-1 c. picante sauce
Combine chicken and broth in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked and tender. Remove chicken from broth, cool slightly and shred. Skim any fat from broth. Add onion and garlic to broth, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add shredded chicken, corn and next five ingredients and picante. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Add cilantro, cook five more minutes. Serve with toasted tortilla strips. Also serve with grated Monterey jack cheese and slices of avocado if you like – it makes it yummy!
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup: 4-6 servings
The lemon flavor is a lift to the spirits and so soothing.
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
6 cups chicken broth
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
1 small carrot, peeled
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup long grain rice
2 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2 Tbsp. finely chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring chicken broth, onion carrot, bay leaf and salt to a simmer. Add chicken breasts, cover and poach (simmering gently over low heat) for 30 minutes. Remove chicken breasts, let slightly cool and pull or cut meat into strips. Set aside. Strain soup and bring to boil. Add rice and gently simmer for 20 minutes, then add chicken back to soup for another five minutes. Whisk eggs until they are frothy, and whisk in lemon juice. Add a cup of the hot soup, slowly, whisking as you pour in. Add another cup in the same manner. Take soup off the heat and add egg mixture into it. Sprinkle with parsley, season with salt and pepper. Serve.
–Jacqui Love Marshall lives in Danville with her vintage-car-loving husband, two pugs and binders of recipes.
