Hot soup for a cold day

 


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  It's Sunday, we have almost two feet of snow on the ground (and falling) and that means soup at my house. I am the Queen of Quick Soups, many recipes of which I have from my mother, the Empress of Quick Soups. This start-with-one, end-with-two recipe is my own, however, devised by streamlining a couple more complicated soups into one easy process.

BAKED POTATO SOUP and CORN CHOWDER

Start with two large soup pots. For both soups, you will need:

1/2 pound bacon, diced and divided
2 onions, chopped
diced potatoes - enough to fill each pot 3/4 full
chicken stock - enough to just cover the potatoes
4 bay leaves, divided


Saute half  the bacon with one onion in each pot. Fill with the diced potatoes, bay leaves, and cover with chicken stock. Boil gently until the potatoes are fork-tender. 

For the Baked Potato Soup:
 
1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded chedder cheese or to taste
Milk

Add the sour cream and the cheese. Stir until melted, then add milk until the soup looks nice and chowder-y. 

For the Corn Chowder:

1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
Milk

Add the corn, creamed corn, and the milk until it, too is nice and chowder-like.

We go very low-sodium in my house, but you can add salt to taste. I always like to crack a goodly bit of pepper into the pot as well. If you are cooking vegetarian, substitute finely diced celery and butter for the bacon, and use vegetable broth instead of chicken. You can add faux bacon bits at the end, if you like. Serve with warm bread or rolls and a nice wine.

Speaking of recipe here on Jungle Reds, we served Deb Crombie's Christmas Cocktails at our Christmas Day dinner for 24 and they were a huge hit. Spencer, who was tending bar, added extra juice and sparkling water, so they were light and refreshing. I highly commend them for all your holiday parties!