Soups

Butternut Squash Soup

1 small onion, chopped

2 small apples, cored, peeled and chopped

1 large butternut squash cut in ½

1 cup cream

32 oz. chicken broth

Salt and Cayenne to taste

Bake the squash on 350 for ~ an hour. (Needs to be fork-tender) Sauté` the apples and onions in a small saucepan until the onions are clear. Scrape the squash from its peel and add to a blender along w/ the onions and apples; pour in ½ cup chicken broth and blend. Pour into a large pot and add the rest of the broth and cream adjusting to the correct thickness. Add seasonings and serve.

Shrimp Bisque

3T. flour

3 T. butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 – 1 ½ cup shrimp broth (see instructions below)

2 lbs. medium shrimp

1 medium onion, chopped small for garnish (optional)

3 pods garlic, minced

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Salt, pepper and cayenne to taste

Fresh Tarragon, minced (optional)

For Shrimp Broth: Peel the shrimp. Place the shells in a 4 qt. pot w/ ~2 cups of water and simmer for 20-30 min. reducing the liquid by ½. Cover and set aside for an hour. Drain and keep at room temp.

For Bisque: In a Dutch oven (not cast iron or aluminum) melt the butter; whisk in the flour and cook for 2 min. until the flour is dissolved; add the garlic and onion and cook (on medium heat) until the onions are clear and the garlic is soft. (~15 min.) Whisk in the shrimp broth, stirring continually until the broth is smooth. Dice the shrimp and add to the pot; simmer another 2 min. – just until the shrimp are pink. (The broth should still be a bit thick at this point. (If it’s not you can remove the shrimp and reduce the liquid until it has “body”.)  Add the cream, salt, both peppers (and tarragon) and simmer on low for another 5 min. stirring continually. (Don’t over-cook the shrimp though!) Serve immediately. Sprinkle w/ green onions if desired. Serve w/ crusty bread.

Creamed Corn Soup with Chives

5-6 ears of corn, corn kernels taken off the cob

2 T. Corn Meal

1 cup heavy cream, more or less

Milk to thin

2 T. sugar

4 T. butter

Melt the butter and sauté the corn until tender. Sprinkle the corn meal and sugar over the corn. Stir until thickened. Add the cream just until the corn loosens a bit. Pour the mixture into a blender and puree. (Add milk if necessary to thin.) Strain the mixture through a fine sieve. Serve in shot glasses and sprinkle w/ chives.

Split Pea Soup

4 slices thick bacon

3 carrots, chopped finely

1 onion, chopped

4 pods of garlic, minced

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups (or more) water

1 lb. split peas

Cook bacon until crisp; remove and drain. Add the carrots and onions to the bacon grease and cook until the onions are clear. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in the peas and add hot chicken broth and water. Cook  until tender. (~1 hr)

Tomato Basil Soup

3 cans chef’s cut tomatoes

12 leaves basil, chopped

3 T. Sugar

Soda and salt

A little wine if desired

1 cup cream

Cook all ingredients except the cream in a large skillet simmering for about 15 minutes. Pour into a blender and puree until all the large chunks of tomato are gone. Pour back into the skillet and add cream. Warm and serve.

Matzo Ball Soup

For Soup:

1 whole chicken, cut up

3 carrots, rough chop

3 celery, rough chop

1 onion, rough chop

2 sprigs parsley

1 tsp. chicken bouillon cube

1 T. Kosher salt

Place all the ingredients in a large pot and add enough water to cover everything. Boil until the chicken is done. (~2 hrs) Take the chicken off the bone to serve w/ Matzo balls.

For Matzo Balls:

10 oz. Matzo crackers

8-9 oz. Matzo meal

7-8 extra large eggs, separated

Chicken fat

Vegetable oil

1 onion, minced

Chicken broth

Fresh parsley, minced

Salt and pepper

In a large bowl, break up the crackers and cover w/ chicken broth. In a small skillet render the chicken fat in enough vegetable oil to cover the bottom of the skillet; drain, reserving the fat. Put the fat back into the small skillet and add the minced onions and cook until clear. Add to the matzo cracker mixture. Temp the yolks and add to the matzo mixture and then add the parsley and blend well. Beat the eggs white until stiff and fold into the matzo mixture. Cool in the fridge for ~20 or up to 12 hours.

Keep hands wet while shaping the balls, but make golf ball sized balls and place gently into some simmering chicken broth to cook. The matzo balls need to cook for at least 12-15 min. If they fall apart, they don’t have enough meal. If they don’t float to the top, they don’t have enough egg. Take them out and let them rest on a cookie sheet; can be refrigerated for up to one week.

To serve:

Blanch some julienne sliced carrots. Cut up the chicken meat. Boil a few vermicelli noodles and display along with 2-3 matzo balls in a large bowl. Warm everything and pour boiling hot chicken broth on top at the last second.

My Father-in-law was a food chemist. He taught us numerous GREAT recipes before his death in '82.
Here is my favorite:

Grumpy's Chicken Soup

1 whole fryer, cut-up

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped (you can omit the celery and replace it w/ 1 tsp. of celery seed instead of ½ tsp.)

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 medium potatoes, chopped into ½” pieces

2 tsp. curry powder

½ tsp. celery seed

10 cups chicken broth (I use Knorr Low Sodium Bullion cubes)

2 tsp. salt

½ tsp. dried thyme

Pepper and cayenne to taste

Cilantro

Bring the broth to a boil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add everything but the potatoes and cilantro. Simmer on medium-high heat for 30 minutes then add the potatoes. Simmer another 30 minutes or until the chicken looks like the meat is falling off the bone. Remove the chicken and cool ~15 minutes. (The broth needs to continue to simmer while the chicken is cooling.) Bone and skin the chicken chop it into 1” pieces and return to the pot. Re-warm the chicken and serve w/ chopped cilantro.         

Grumpy’s recipe: Had ½ tsp of curry, no carrots, 1 stalk of celery, 2 onions and ½ tsp. sage in it if you want a bit of a change. I also add green beans or peas to my soup most of the time.  

Whenever either of my parents get sick, they always ask for this Potato Soup...

Potato Soup

1/4 c. butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1/4 c. flour

3 c. chicken broth

4-5 medium potatoes, cubed

1 T. salt

dash of pepper

1/2 c. cream

For garnish:

6 sliced of bacon, cooked

1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese

2 green onions, chopped

Saute the onions and celery with the butter. Cook until the onions are clear. Add flour to the butter mixture and cook for 2-3 min. but do not brown. Stir until completely smooth. Add the chicken broth and whisk until the liquid in smooth. Add the potatoes and salt; simmer until the potatoes are completely cooked. (~20 min depending on their size) Smash about 1/2 of the potatoes with a potato masher (or fork) until the soup thickens. Add the cream and warm. (Do not boil or the cream will break.) Serve immediately with the bacon, cheddar and onions.