I love Jasper White's chowder.... this defines all that is good in a creamy New England Chowder.
Alexa
*******************************************************

NEW ENGLAND FISH CHOWDER by Jasper White

To me, this is the most authentic and most important recipe in this book. It is the gold standard for chowder: a hearty main course with deep flavors, luxurious texture, and generous chunks of fish, onion, and potato. New England Fish Chowder is easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and doesn’2equire you to be fussy or exact. After making this chowder a few times, you will begin to understand the Zen of chowder.

4 ounces meaty salt pork, rind removed and cut into 1/3-inch dice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium onions (14 ounces), cut into 3/4-inch dice
6 to 8 sprigs fresh summer savory or thyme, leaves removed and chopped (1 tablespoon)
2 dried bay leaves
2 pounds Yukon Gold, Maine, PEI, or other all-purpose potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/3-inch thick
5 cups Strong Fish Stock, Traditional Fish Stock, Chicken Stock, or water (as a last resort)
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds skinless haddock or cod fillets, preferably over 1 inch thick, pinbones removed
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (or up to 2 cups if desired)
For garnish
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

1. Heat a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced salt pork. Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the pork is a crisp golden brown. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cracklings to a small ovenproof dish, leaving the fat in the pot, and reserve until later.

2. Add the butter, onions, savory or thyme, and bay leaves to the pot and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, until the onions and softened but not browned.

3. Add the potatoes and stock. If the stock doesn’#over the potatoes, add just enough water to cover them. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil, cover, and cook the potatoes vigorously for about 10 minutes, until they are soft on the outside but still firm in the center. If the stock hasn’4hickened lightly, smash a few of the potato slices against the side of the pot and cook for a minute or two longer to release their starch. Reduce the heat to low and season assertively with salt and pepper (you want to almost overseason the chowder at this point to avoid having to stir it much once the fish is added). Add the fish fillets and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and allow the chowder to sit for 10 minutes (the fish will finish cooking during this time).

4. Gently stir in the cream and taste for salt and pepper. If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder after it has chilled completely. Otherwise, let it sit for up to an hour at room temperature, allowing the flavors to meld.

5. When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don’,et it boil. Warm the cracklings in a low oven (200 °F) for a few minutes.

6. Use a slotted spoon to mound the chunks of fish, the onions, and potatoes in the center of large soup plates or shallow bowls, and ladle the creamy broth around. Scatter the cracklings over the individual servings and finish each with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and minced chives.

That recipe looks great Alex! We had some fabulous clam chowder at the Oar House in Portsmouth thanks to your recommendation!

I make chowder in a similar fashion as described above.

Saute bacon until crisp. Break in pieces.
Remove bacon and add chopped onions to the grease. Saute until soft add cubed potatoes , I like a small dice.
Add a bottle of clam juice and just enough water to cover potatoes.
Add a sprig of thyme or a bit of dried.
Boil until potatoes are cooked but firm, not long.
Add cream, season with salt and pepper and simmer until it's the thickness you like.
Add clams, shrimp or lobster and cooked bacon. If I'm using shrimp or lobster I also use a splash of sherry....for some reason or other!

Alternatively you can make a white sauce from flour and milk using the bacon grease as your fat or just use butter.

Add clam juice ( I've used chicken broth if I didn't have clam juice) and diced potatoes. Cook until think and add your clams, shrimp or lobster.

Chase, We went to the Oar House last Fall and liked it too; I'm glad Alex suggested it as I had forgotten about it. I was on a fish and chips kick while in NE and had a cup of chowder along with the F&C.

Thanks for the chowder recipe.

So many new (to me) recipes to try. Great thread.

It's 55 degrees and raining here so I am going to make German Sausage Chowder for dinner tonight.

German Sausage Chowder

1 lb. kielbasa sausage cut into 1" slices
2 medium potatoes diced
1 medium onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 C water
1 small cabbage-shredded(4 cups)
3 C milk
3 Tbs. all purpose flour
1 C swiss cheese-shredded

In a large saucepan saute sausage and onion until onion starts to soften.
Add water, potatoes salt and pepper and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
Add cabbage- stir and cook 10 minutes.
Stir in 2 1/2 C milk.
Blend remaining 1/2 C milk with the flour and stir in soup.
Cook and stir until thickened.
Top bowls with shredded cheese.

Serves 6.

Di

I love soup and I'm saving this entire thread. I don't follow recipes for soup, but I follow basic techniques and I get ideas from new recipes.

Lately I've been making Indian-flavors in soup - I bought so much bulk turmeric I stored it in a canning jar and I am out of it already. And I found these lovely red lentils - they are almost orange in color - at the local Persian market. They dissolve in soup and thicken it. So you can have your legumes and not know it!

Last soup I made was a red lentil, cauliflower, corn, white squash (a paler, plumper, sweeter version of zucchini), shredded carrot, onion, garlic, ginger with a chix broth base and spiced with turmeric, curry and 2 long chili peppers from my neighbor's garden. I added a handful of chopped cilantro to the bowls before ladling on the soup. The squash and corn added sweetness to the soup and it was so delicious and comforting.

I have some more chix broth so I think I will make a fagioli-type soup with pasta, beans and fresh spinach next.

Also got 2 packages of oxtails from Costco waiting in the freezer. Alas, we are having a late summer heat wave here after having almost no summer. Oxtails make the best, best, best beef broth ever!

Thanks for the chowder recipes.

So, it seems that, when spotting that fresh and cheap XYZ seafood ingredient on that cold foggy coastal day, all that I need for a minimal chowder is potatoes, water, salt/pepper and a thickener - flour, cream, cornstarch, or more potatoes. Better would be if I had some stock or milk, butter or another fat, some aromatic veg, some spice or green herb, and some version of pork.

I can remember that. If it's right.

I like chowder, but haven't made it hardly ever. I'm too intimated by the muscular clam chowders of various rough-hewn seaside eateries, effortlessly floating spoons and threatening to kick sand in my thin, pallid soup.

This thread is making me think of GardenGuru. I still have his compilation of "the best soups" from here. And Ohiomom, whom I find to be, the soup queen. Awesome soups. I miss them.

Usually, I make barley and vegetable with beef, but made it with chicken this weekend. It had different kinds of squash in it, sauteed with some pancetta; sort of a transitional soup. My favorite thick cream based soup was a corn chowder with the addition of some smoked chicken. That's been my most memorable.

Sherry also got together a great collection of soup recipes from this forum.

Love this thread :)

We will never have a soup weather here but I am making soup regardless. I understand that my experience will not be very relevant for most of you but it might be interesting anyway, so I share.
I am making one or two fish soups per month, as I buy a whole fish from the market, filee it and bones and head goes for soup. I have made 2 soups this far, both were very good and very filling. Right now I have red snapper waiting in the freezer, have not decided what to do with it.
I tried to make bone broth and would have potentially used it to French Onion soup, but unfortunately I burnt the bones, so no broth this time.
So I will continue following this thread and once it is complete, save it for future reference. Excellent info:)

I made the soup I mentioned in my last post, from my leftover polenta, and it turned out to be quite tasty, so I wrote it out to post. Decided against the bacon, as I wanted the garden fresh flavor of the tomatoes, peppers & Summer squashes to stand on their own. Mmmmm.

Tomato-Polenta Soup w/Peppers & Summer Squashes

2 T olive oil
1/3 c minced onion
1 1/2 c peeled, deseeded, diced tomato
6 c chix stock
1 c red & green bell peppers, 3/4" dice
1 1/2 c mixed Summer squashes, 3/4 dice
1/2 c dry white wine
1 1/2 c pre cooked polenta
1/3 c green onions, sliced.
1 T loosely packed, minced , fresh oregano
1 T (or more to taste) loosely packed, minced, fresh basil
1 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t salt
1 t celery salt*

Break up polenta into a large bowl and pour half the stock over it. Set aside to soak as you prep the other ingredients.

Heat olive oil over med-high heat. Saute onions until limp, then add tomato and cook until fragrant. Add the other half of stock and set to simmering. Whisk the polenta and stock until the polenta is broken up into individual granules. Add to tomato and stock mixture.

Add the rest of the ingredients except for the green onions & basil. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add the green onions & basil, simmer for 5 more minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve.

*I make my own celery salt, with more celery seed and less salt than commercial brands. If using commercial, I'd probably leave out the extra salt, and add more celery salt as needed later.

This is one that I make all the time.

SMOKY SWEET POTATO CHICKEN SOUP
RACHAEL RAY

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 ribs celery
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle chili in adobo, finely chopped, plus a spoon of sauce from the can
Salt and black pepper
1 teaspoon dry thyme, eyeball it
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
5 cups chicken stock
1 large sweet potato
3/4 to 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, a generous handful, roughly chopped
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish, optional

Directions
Heat a soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, about 2 turns of the pan.

While soup pot heats, chop carrots in half lengthwise then slice into thin half moons. Add the carrots to the pot while it heats, stirring to coat the carrots in the oil. Chop and drop in celery and onion, chopping as small as you can, but don't make yourself crazy. Add the garlic, chipotle, and adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season the veggies with salt, pepper, thyme, and bay leaf. Cook the veggies together 1 minute. Add the wine and reduce a minute. Add the stock to the pot, cover the pot, and raise heat to high. Bring the soup to a boil, remove the cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into quarters lengthwise, then thinly slice into bite size pieces. Add the cut chicken and sweet potatoes and simmer 5 minutes until sweet potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Turn the heat off and add the scallions and cilantro. Serve each portion of soup with a dollop of sour cream

I think this one, adapted from the NY Times, is my all time favorite soup...

Red Lentil and Carrot Soup
Time: 45 minutes Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil, more for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground chili powder or cayenne, more to taste
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth (or two 15 oz cans)
1 cup water
1 cup red lentils
2 carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over high heat until hot and shimmering. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes.

Stir in tomato paste, cumin, salt, black pepper and chili powder or cayenne, and sauté for 2 minutes longer.
3. Add broth, water, lentils and carrot. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover pot and turn heat to medium-low. Simmer until lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Using an immersion or regular blender or a food processor, purée half the soup then add it back to pot. Soup should be somewhat chunky.

I tried a new soup today, wanted something light to go with my summerish meals of hummus, pita and tomato/green pepper/cuke salads. Dead easy, quick and yummy! Higly unusual though, for open minds and barley lovers.

Turkish Barley Buttermilk Soup from "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Moore Lappe

Can be made in about a half hour if you halve the recipe, which I did. Othewise, serves 4.

Saute in a heavy pot until golden:
Olive oil as needed and 2 large onions

Add and stir until lightly toasted:
1 cup barley

When onion is well browned, add:
5 cups seasoned stock (I used veggie but light chicken would probably be OK)

Have ready:
2 cups buttermilk or yogurt
1 tsp. dried dill
butter

Cook until the barley is well done, which will take about 45 min. Be ready to add more broth if needed. Remove from heat, let cool a bit and add the buttermilk slowly and more stock if too thick. Sprinkle in the dill to taste and butter.

Simple, but yum. Here's a picture but it really doesn't look like much, the barley doesn't show. The barley broth and dill balance nicely with the kick of the buttermilk.

diinohio, I made your German Sausage Chowder on Saturday. The weather here had cooled off a bit, meaning it was in the 80s instead of 90s. Not totally soup weather as some of you are experiencing but honestly, I can eat soup any time of year! (It's actually cooled off even more this morning, it's in the 50s!! But I digress.)

Anyway, it was quite lovely. The soup, I mean. E-Z to make and delicious. Definitely a keeper!!

I made a Cauliflower Soup this weekend that's delicious! I got the recipe from the blog, La Table De Nana.

Cauliflower Soup with Spiced Pear Chips
"Dressed up with a touch of orange and snappy, spiced pear chips, cauliflower becomes fit for company in this easy soup. Make it a day or two ahead of time and you only need to reheat and finish it with a fresh burst of orange just before serving. The pear chips can be made days ahead of time and stored in a cookie tin but you might need to hide them so they don't disappear before it's time to serve the soup."

SOUP
2 tablespoons (25 mL) butter or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 all-purpose potato, peeled and diced
4 cups (1 L) vegetable or chicken stock (approximately)
2 cups (500 mL) water
7 cups (1.75 L) chopped cauliflower (approximately 1 head)
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) grated orange zest
1 tablespoon (15 mL) freshly squeezed orange juice

SPICED PEAR CHIPS*
1 firm ripe Bartlett or Bosc pear
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) cinnamon
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For soup, melt butter over medium heat in a large pot. Add onion and saut� for about 5 minutes until softened but not browned. Add garlic, bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) salt and 1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) pepper and saut� for 1 minute or until garlic is softened and fragrant.

Add potato, stock and water; bring to a boil, scraping up bits stuck to pot. Stir in cauliflower. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and boil gently for about 15 minutes or until cauliflower and potatoes are soft. Remove from heat.

Discard bay leaf. Using an immersion blender in pot or, transferring soup in batches to an upright blender, pur�e soup until very smooth. Soup can be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

For spiced pear chips, preheat oven to 275�F (140� C).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pear lengthwise into paper-thin slices. Combine paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper to taste. Lightly sprinkle over both sides of pear slices. Place on baking sheet in a single layer. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top and set another baking sheet on top of paper to keep pears flat.

Bake for 45 minutes or until pears are very soft and starting to dry around the edges. Remove top baking sheet and carefully peel off top piece of parchment. Bake for 15 to 30 minutes longer, checking often, until pears are dry and firm. They will crisp more upon cooling. Carefully peel pears from parchment while still warm and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To serve, return soup to pot if necessary and reheat over medium heat until steaming, stirring often. Stir in orange zest and juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into warmed bowls and float a pear chip on top of each. Serve extra pear chips on the side.

*I made apple chips, slicing the apple horizontally. Continue with recipe as written.

Serves 8

Source: Holiday 2008 Food And Drink Magazine/LCBO via Monique/La Table De Nana

Lori

All this talk of chowder created some pretty strong cravings! This one is scallop and haddock. That is what looked best at the market today

What delicious-looking soups!! Lots of recipes to copy. Had half a plain rotisserie chicken left over, so I simmered it with water, lemon grass, curry, garlic and onions. Added leftover veggies after about an hour and continued to simmer for another 20 mins, and then added leftover boiled noodles when it was almost done. It was really good, especially for a clean-the-fridge type meal. :o)

Posted by caliloo "-------
All this talk of chowder created some pretty strong cravings! This one is scallop and haddock. That is what looked best at the market today "

A perfect example of what I always believe in, that good presentation is free, but it adds so much more to the eating enjoyment.

Furthermore, good presentation takes no more time.

Thumbs up.

dcarch

One of my favorites. Om nom nom nom.

Trinity Square Cafe Moroccan Tomato Soup

2 tb Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped
5 Cloves garlic, minced
1 cn Tomatoes (28 oz)
1 c Peanut butter
1 ts Cumin
1 tb Hot pepper sauce
2 tb Cayenne
1 tb Chili powder
2 tb White vinegar
1 ts Salt
1 ts Pepper
1 tb Sugar
1/4 c Tomato paste
2 c Water

In a large sauce pan, heat oil and fry onion and garlic until golden brown. Place the tomatoes and their liquid in a bowl, and crush the tomatoes with a potato masher or a spoon, breaking them into small pieces [I put the tomatoes through my food processor or blender first]. Add the tomatoes and their liquid to the onions, reduce heat to very low, add peanut butter, and stir until well combined. Add cumin, hot sauce, cayenne, chili, vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, tomato paste and water, and stir until well combined. Cook over low heat at a bare simmering for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently. (This soup burns very easily, so keep the heat low and don't allow it to come to a full boil.)

Mmm, jessy, that sounds good.

It also seems that you are a fellow Cheezburger fan. Nom nom nom. ;)

I have a few great soups listed on my website, come take a look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Recipes

(Rachel - cheezburger, failblog, chatroulettetrolls, failbook, operachic and one other opera blog, Dr. Laura, breakawaycook, thibeaultstable, xkcd, couple others. Go LOLcats!)

Ain't Jessy a bit young for "nom nom nom"?

?

: )
lyra

Lyra, it's LOLspeak for eating/chewing/yummy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Icanhascheezburger

they had cauliflower on special yesterday, $1.50 a big head. Can't decide...I have a cauliflower cheddar soup in my brain....but can also almost taste a celery, cauliflower, carrot and onion soup.

We're getting cauliflower at 55 cents a head...so cauliflower for dinner, Asian style fridge pickles, some blanched for the freezer, cauliflower slaw, and I'm wondering how cauliflower dehydrates for Winter soups. Didn't even THINK about "cream of" soup, jeepers...just made a big pot of split pea and another of smoked corn chowder...that's what freezers are for, I guess.

Here's is an extremely simple/fast soup that we like. Avgolemono soup, a Greek soup. It is a lemony pasta soup.

Heat 6-7 cups of chicken stock to boiling. Add 8-16 oz package of orzo, which is a pasta shaped like large rice grains, 8 oz gives you a thinner soup, 16 oz gives you a thick stew-like consistency. Cook orzo to al dente. Whisk a few TBSP flour into a cup of water or some cool stock that you reserved, mix into the soup, simmer a bit longer. Heat off. Beat 2-3 eggs in a bowl, ladle 3 cups of the hot stock (preferably without too much orzo, but a little won't matter) into a manageable container, pour that stock slowly into the eggs while whisking, don't curdle the eggs. Return the egg-stock mixture back to the pot. Add juice from 2-3 lemons and pepper to taste. Garnish with something green - mint, parsley, etc. Optionally, include some shredded chicken. In a pinch, you can substitute white rice for the orzo, but in that case use 1/4 the volume since rice expands so much and absorbs so much liquid.

I love that soup John. I had forgotten all about it. I haven't made it in quite some time.

I've made quite a bit of soups and stews lately. Today I made potato soup, yesterday it was beef stew and the week before it was chicken noodle soup. Yum! It's definitely soup weather. Here's the chicken noodle soup recipe. It's a basic & yummy recipe. I would say "it's just like Mom used to make," but Mom always opened one of those red & white cans. The homemade version is much better!

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemande Chicken Noodle Soup

Today I made chili....a turkey chili. I thought it might be good to simmer the turkey in the crushed tomatoes and all the seasonings w/o browning it first. Bad decision. The turkey has disappeared into the rest, and besides, I think I really prefer beef for chili. Will not make this recipe again.

Teresa

I'm ready, I got a ham hock and some beans at the Amish market today. I'm making Sharon's osso buco tonight for tomorrow night's dinner, tomorrow...soup.

Here's another one of my favorites. Since the tomatoes are roasted, their flavor is intensified even when using the less than perfect tomatoes available in the next few months:

Roasted Tomato Soup

2-1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes (mix of fresh cherry and plum tomatoes)
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 small yellow onions, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 quart chicken stock
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons butter
12 sun-dried tomato halves
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves, optional
1/2 cup heavy cream, optional

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, core and cut the tomatoes into halves. Spread the tomatoes, garlic cloves and onions onto a baking tray. Drizzle with 1/2 cup of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 25 to 40 minutes, or until caramelized.

Remove roasted tomatoes, garlic and onion from the oven and transfer to a large stock pot. Add 3/4 of the chicken stock, bay leaves, butter, and sun-dried tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced by a third.

Wash and dry basil leaves, if using, and add to the pot. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Return soup to low heat, add cream and adjust consistency with remaining chicken stock, if necessary. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with splash of heavy cream.

Source: Adapted from Tyler Florence

Lori

I'm on a soup-only diet - trying to lose weight - so this thread is very helpful. I'm going to try that tomato soup next.

Many, many years ago when I was a college student, I developed this chili recipe. It's quick, easy and a blasphame to really chili but it's still darn good.

New England Pantry Chili

1½ lb. ground beef
1 14½oz. can Del Monte Stewed Tomato, crushed
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 16oz. can Baked Kidney Beans with pork.
1-2 tablespoons ground cumin
½ can beer
Tabasco sauce to taste.

In a large pot, scramble ground beef. Drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 1 hour. Drink remaining 1/2 can of beer.

Bloody Heart chili today! Boiled a whole beef heart and when it cooled I pulled it onto a cutting board. Trimmed all the fat and strings away then cubed the meat in very small pieces. The blood had made a very nice broth... bloody broth on Holloween! Crushed the cumin in my mortar and pestle. Cracked the peppercorns the same. A sprinkle of home dried cilantro. Cloves of garlic to keep the vampires away from my chili. The last of the garden tomatoes so tough I squirted the insides out and disposed of the leathery skins. Dry kidney beans (of course!)... soaked to remove the foul wind. Last a hailish hot handful of habeneras, cayenne, and jalapenos to make it smoke. Boiled the bloody brew while dressed in black from head to toe...

: )
lyra

Boo:
I'm way ahead, I made a large pot of Chicken Wedding Soup, w. tthe little meat balls2 weeks ago.

Put it in the freezer in portions, for when the gang comes up.

No Photo's, everyone knows what this soup looks like.
*************************
I Just saw last years Photo's, it looks the same.

Chicken Wedding Soup

I borrowed some and made a little Stew.

Lou’s - Italian Chicken Wedding soup

There are many variations to this soup and everyone has the best
Recipe. Some like white meat, while some prefer only dark meat.
You can add Spinach ,Escarole , or what ever you like.

I’ll just do my thing here and you can do yours ( in addition to )
Most of the time I use a 10 Quart pot, so there is a lot left over
For Care Packages to take home. But here I broke it down smaller.

Ingredients: Use a 6 Quart Pot

Put in 4 Quarts of Hot Water
4 tablespoons of Chicken Flavored Soup base
( add more; to taste, when almost done)

Add all this to the water and simmer:
1 Whole chicken or 8 Thighs
2 Stalks of celery , sliced in half and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
2 Carrots Quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
1/2 Cup of tomato chopped small, or crushed tomatoes.
1 Cup of onions , chopped small
4 Garlic Cloves, cut small
1 heaping tablespoon of Parsley flakes
Pinch of Oregano
An Italian Pinch of Rosemary
1 glass of Wine (for the cook )

Cook 1/2 lb. of Sea Shells , Noodles in water with,
some Soup Base added. I think Ditalinni is Traditional .
Drain well when cooked.
Or you can use Spaghetti # 9, broken into 3 pieces .
Add to finished soup and simmer a few minutes.
An alternative to using Soup Base with the 4 Quarts of water,
is to use 2 Quarts of your favorite Chicken Broth
And 2 Quarts of water. Add some bullion cubes if needed.
When the Chicken is cooked tender enough to pull the meat,
Take It out of the pot , let it cool and remove all the meat,
from the bones. Carefully check for any pieces of bone.
Cut this meat into pieces about 2 inches by ¾ inch pieces.

Add the Chicken back in, when the Carrots are getting soft.
Along with 1 lb. of small cooked meatballs. ( about ¾ inch round )
Simmer another 10 minutes

When the vegetables are almost done , you can add some cut
Spinach or Escarole or leave it out.

Add salt and pepper, or more Chicken Flavored Soup Base to taste,
After the macaroni is added. You can also ad more Garlic Powder to taste.
That’s It !!!!! Sounds like a lot of work but it’s easy , with the wine!!! Bouno Appetito ,
LOU

My Grandma-in-law gave this recipe to me back in the '60's.
I have no idea where she got it.
I haven't made it in years.
In fact, had forgotten about it.
But this soup thread remined me.
Now I'm waiting for the weather to cool off,
so I can make it again.

Sausage-Bean Chowder

1 lb bulk pork breakfast sausage
2 cans (16 oz) kidney beans
1 can (1 lb 13 oz) tomatoes, broken up
1 qt water
1 large onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup diced potato
1/2 green pepper, chopped

In a skillet, cook pork sausage until browned.
Pour off fat.
In large kettle, combine next 9 ingredients.
Add sausage.
Simmer, covered, 1 hour.
Add potatoes & green pepper.
Cook until potatoes are tender.
Remove bay leaf before serving.
Yield: 8 generous portions.

Rusty

A dear friend gave me this recipe years ago and I have made it fairly frequently. I always think of it when the weather gets cool. It's a stick to your ribs kind of dish.

HUNGRY MAN"S STEW

Brown together:
1 lb. ground beef, 1/4 lb. hot pork sausage and 2 large chopped onions.

Add : 1/4 teas. cayenne pepper, 1 teas. garlic salt, 2 C. canned crushed tomatoes, 2 C. water, and 1 1/2 teas. worcestershire sauce. Simmer for 2 hours.

Last 30 minutes add 3 med. potatoes, diced and 1 can of cream style corn.

Salt to taste. I usually add a pod of dried hot pepper to the pot, too.

This makes a good bit so there's most often leftovers. Sometimes I serve the leftovers the next day with pinto beans and cole slaw. Oh yeah, always cornbread and we nearly always spoon the stew over the cornbread, Yeah, I'm from the south. :-)

jude

Mmmm! I love Italian Wedding Soup! Lou, for your meatballs (bite your tongue Jessy!), do you use your regular meatball recipe our is there a trick to them?

Boo:
I use my regular meatball recipe but use Powdered Onion and Garlic, because they are small.

I have a 1 teaspoon Mellon Scoop, with a trigger release,
to measure and pack them.
They are baked a little and frozen. If they are baked too long they get hard in the Soup.
LOU
************************************

Lou’s - small Meatballs for Wedding Chicken Soup
I use Powdered Spices because of the small sized meatballs.
1 pound of ground sirloin, mix in 1/4 lb. of Ground Pork
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of Parsley Flakes
1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
3/4 teaspoon of Powdered Onion
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
3 tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese
1 Egg beaten with 3 tablespoons of Chicken Stock

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl and sprinkle onto
the separated Ground Sirloin and add the egg mixture.
Blend all the ingredients thru the meat without too much mixing.
Add water if needed . Shape & roll all the mixture into penny size meatballs.
Place in an oiled pan and bake at 350 deg. , just until firm, not too cooked.
Place on a Paper Towel , to absorb the fat.

Put into the wedding soup , or freeze for later use.

Thanks Lou! I think I know what I'm making this weekend!

I mentioned albondigas soup (or is it ''abondigas''? I'm never sure) but since I made it last week, might as well include a sketchy recipe.

Make broth from beef or chicken stock, a couple of diced carrots, a few peeled and diced tomatoes, and whatever other veg you like - onions, celery, bell peppers, cabbage, etc. However, don't put the delicate, fast-cooking stuff (e.g. tomatoes) in the broth just yet. Some basil and oregano are nice. Salt and pepper. Add as much heat and spice as you like - chili powder, red pepper flakes, a minced hot chili or two. Bring the broth to boil, reduce to simmer.

Now make meatballs. Start with 1-2 lbs ground pork and/or beef. I'm not a fan of store-bought ground meat - better to buy cuts, trim off the biggest fat caps and gristly ends, and grind yourself. If using a food processor, cut meat into cubes and pulse several times, stop when the meat is still chunky - don't make pate. Take the biggest pieces you trimmed off the meat and add to the simmering broth - just for flavour, you won't eat them. To the ground meat, add some garlic, a medium onion, a shredded slice of bread, an egg, a splish of milk, salt and pepper, and make smallish meatballs. Brown the meatballs in plenty of oil.

Turn up the heat on the broth, add the meatballs, and simmer until they are cooked, or longer. The meatballs will probably be cooked in 10 min, but simmering them in the broth for 30 min will richen the broth's flavour. A few minutes before serving, fish out the meat trimmings. Add the reserved veg and turn up the heat a bit - by waiting until now, you avoid cooking these veggies to mush. Garnish with pretty greenry - cilantro, parsley, etc.

Boo:
I forgot !!!

I use the KA mixer, with the Paddle beater, now. Just throw in everything.

The beater pulls out all the gristle, from the meat.
Lou

I forget to stop by this forum often, but everytime I do, I'm blown away by you all. What great recipes and kindness in sharing them! It is finally soup weather here in North Texas and I made my first Vitamix potato & spinach soup from their cookbook for lunch yesterday! So quick and easy. I found this thread just before bed and it prompted me to put beans to soak so I can make something yummy for today's lunch. Thank you all for sharing your recipes, experiences and photos.
Robin

I made Avgolemono soup (Greek chicken rice egg lemon soup) for dinner last night. I can't believe how EASY it was! I had been avoiding it because I was afraid I would curdle the eggs. But I didn't. Of course my version was vegetarian. Very easy and very elegant. You can make a quickie heartier version by just adding the eggs and lemon to canned chicken rice soup.

Basics of Avgolemono soup

For 2-3 people, boil 3-4 cups of good broth (in my case vegetable, traditionally chicken). Add one cup or more cooked brown rice. I guess white rice is more traditional but I don't like white rice. Some directions call for cooking the rice in the broth ahead of time. If you do that, use the larger amount of broth, adding more if needed to make it soupy. You can add other things, but this is a delicate light soup so be careful. Some garlic, onion, celery and carrot won't hurt, but go light. Also my ubiquitous bay leaf would be OK I guess. The seasonings I used were 1 tsp. dried dill, 1 tsp. dried chives, and about 1/2 tsp. Turkish oregano from Penzeys.

While the soup is cooking, take two eggs at room temp. and divide them into yolks and whites. To the yolks, add 1/8 cup lemon juice. I guess that's about the juice from one lemon. Go easy on the lemon juice, you can always add more. Maybe start with 2 TBLSP and add more to your taste. BF thought it was a tad too lemony, I LOVED it. He isn't crazy about lemon like me. Beat the yolks well. Now, whip the whites until very soft peaks form. You don't really want terribly stiff peaks for this. Combine the yolks and the whipped whites, gently.

Once the broth is ready, let it cool a bit so it isn't boiling hot. Now, very gently, drizzle some of the hot broth into the egg mixture. I did about 3 ladles full, one at a time. Drizzle and beat the mixture as you are adding the broth. You should have a foamy mix at this point if you are lucky! Now, slowly drizzle this foamy mix back into the hot soup pot, stirring constantly as you go. At this point you should have a lovely creamy looking soup.

You can add chunks/shreds of cooked chicken to this if you like, for more heft if you are serving it as a main course. If you are vegetarian it wouldn't hurt to add about a 1/2 cup of cooked navy beans to make it more substantial. That's not traditional but I think it would be good. But I haven't tried that. To make more soup to serve more people, just double the recipe.

Adjust seasonings to taste. Could be garnished with fresh parsley, chives, dill, etc.

Wanted to tack on an easy and tasty variant on tomato soup. This one has no cream or butter, but is still thick, sweet and tangy with a orange-basil accent.

Open two 28-oz cans of whole tomatoes. Place tomatoes on baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar, roast at 375F for 45 minutes. Save the canning juice. Remove crust from 3 slices of bread, roughly dice. Heat a bit of olive oil in large pot on medium heat. Rough chop 1 onion and 3 cloves garlic, cook in oil until soft. Add a bit of chicken stock as needed to avoid burning. Add reserved canning juice, some basil, some flake red pepper, the bread, and a big pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, add 1 cup stock, and simmer. Add roasted tomatoes and any juice released during roasting. Roughly mash tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree to smooth. Add more stock as needed to achieve desired consistency. Squeeze the juice from one orange or two tangerines, and add the juice slowly, stirring and tasting as you go. The juice adds a bright, sweet, tart flavour, which you can make subtle or bold by varying the amount of juice used. Serve with garnish of bread cubes, chopped chives, and/or orange peel/zest.

Here are a couple of soups we've been making. Both are recipes from Elephant's Deli here in Portland, favorites of daughter and mine. Elephant's publishes the recipes, so we decided to duplicate them at home.

The exact wording is not Elephant's, I simply copy/pasted from ''My Recipes'' on Calorie Count where I've been storing recipes lately. I've noted where I tweaked the recipe a bit. Also, my serving sizes may be inconsistent.

Mama Leone's Soup

Makes 6 servings, each 160 calories.

1/2 lb chicken breast
15 oz canned diced tomato
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 onion
3 stalk celery
1 tbsp garlic
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp tarragon
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups spinach

1. Lightly salt and pepper chicken breasts, bake 20 minutes at 375F, dice meat and set aside.
2. In large pot over medium heat, heat oil, melt butter, and cook onions and celery (both diced) until onions translucent (about 7-10 minutes).
3. Add garlic (minced or crushed), tarragon and oregano (dry or fresh), paprika, black pepper, and 1 tsp salt. Stir and cook a few more minutes.
4. Add flour, stir until absorbed.
5. Add chicken broth, stirring and scraping bottom of pot. Bring to boil.
6. Add tomato with the sauce (I give the tomatoes a buzz in the food processor to smooth them out) and cream, stir, reduce heat and simmer for at least 30 minutes.
7. Add diced chicken and simmer for at least another 10 minutes.
8. Adjust seasoning, adding rest of salt if desired.
9. Finely slice or shred spinach, add shortly before serving.
10. Note:
11. Chicken may be dark meat.
12. Cream may be replaced with half and half, but it won't be as good.

Elephant's Tomato Orange Soup

Makes 6 servings, each 220 calories.

1/2 cup butter
1 onion
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp baking soda (I omit this, because I never have any around)
1 tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup orange juice (recipe says 1 cup, I find that a wee bit much)
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Melt butter, add diced onion, cook to translucent.
2. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered 15 minutes.
3. Puree in a food processor or blender. If you want a particularly smooth soup, strain through a sieve or food mill.
4. Return to pot and add orange juice and cream. Adjust seasonings, and serve.

Lastly, this is a tomato orange soup that does not use cream or butter. Not an Elephant's recipe.

Tomato Basil Orange Soup, Creamless

Makes 8 servings, each 80 calories.

56 oz canned whole tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 cup chicken stock
3 slice bread
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp orange juice

1. Place canned whole tomatoes (two 28-oz cans) on baking sheet, sprinkle with brown sugar, roast at 375F for 45 minutes. Save the canning juice.
2. Roughly dice bread, after removing crust.
3. Heat oil in large pot on medium heat.
4. Rough chop onions and garlic, cook in oil until soft. Add a bit of stock as needed to avoid burning.
5. Add reserved canning juice, basil, red pepper, bread, and salt. Reduce heat to low, add 1 cup stock, and simmer.
6. Add roasted tomatoes and any juice released during roasting. Roughly mash tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes.
7. Transfer to blender and puree to smooth. Add remaining stock as needed to achieve desired consistency.
8. Squeeze orange and add juice slowly, stirring and tasting as you go. The juice adds a bright, sweet, tart flavour, which you can make subtle or bold.
9. Serve with garnish of bread cubes, chopped chives, and/or orange peel/zest.
10. Notes:
11. Basil may be fresh or dried. A tangerine may be substituted for the orange, as can commercial orange juice. Vegetable stock may be used.

I've also recently made the above soup as a sweet tomato bisque, leaving out the bread and orange, but adding plenty of brown sugar and/or honey and some cream.

Ooof, I'm an idiot - I already posted the third recipe. Sorry.

Just adding - on the Mama Leone's recipe, above, I found that a bit of hot sauce (like, 2-3 drops per quart of soup), a couple of oranges and their zest, and some orange juice (maybe 1/4 cup per quart of soup? Didn't measure) will ''zing up'' the soup a bit.

My hubby is away I get bored tomorrow Im making fresh tomato soup.You bake tomtoes,onions,garlic then put in blender,mmmIm also making a ham & bean mmm cant wait.

I needed to revive this thread and find something warm to make. More snow is on the way! In fact, 90 miles north of here they are getting pounded as I type this. Sigh.....