KEEPING WARM: Creamy Potato Soup

Sparkling snow. Glistening icicles. Frigid temperatures. It’s January and winter. January is also National Soup Month. What I like most about the winter season is the amazing soups you can make to eat hot and which keep you warm on chilly days. In most cases, they are healthy. Many have lower calories than other foods, and they fill you up.

I have so many favorites. My husband is the connoisseur of soup-making—all of them from scratch. My favorite one is his ham and potato soup, but his chicken and rice, with lots of carrots added, is another winner. Our local supermarket here in Florida has a “soup counter,” where you can purchase at least six different already-made, piping hot selections. I dive right in and grab a small tub of the clam chowder served on Fridays. (Now this one may not fit the low-calorie chart.)                                                   

Growing up on a farm, we have all kinds of soups: beef noddle, red cabbage soup (Borscht), chicken noodle, vegetable, cream of potato, etc. They weren’t fancy like the present Campbell’s hearty, no-water-added varieties such as “Chicken and Sausage Gumbo” which I purchase every trip to the store. I hate to admit it, but anything with the word gumbo has me hooked.

What is your favorite winter soup? Do you like a broth or cream base to it?

Below is my recipe for potato soup. It takes a little longer to make, but it’s worth the effort!

       CREAMY POTATO SOUP

1 (one) lb. bacon, fried and chopped in small pieces—save ¼ cup bacon grease in pan for frying other vegetables. Save some chopped bacon for topping as well.

2 stalks of celery, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
Approx. eight (8) Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed —russet, red, and others will also work
4 cups chicken broth—enough to cover the potatoes
3 TBSP butter
¼ cup flour
1 cup of heavy cream (I use whole milk)
Salt and Pepper to taste
*two (2) cloves minced (Optional)
*tarragon or cilantro (Optional)
*shredded cheese or bacon crumbles for topping, if desired

STEP 1

Fry bacon in a large frying pan until done and remove from pan. Chop into small pieces.. Drain off bacon grease, about 1/4 cup. Cook celery and onion in the reserved bacon drippings for five minutes until soft. (Here is where you can add minced garlic, if you want it.)

Add your cubed potatoes and toss to coat—sauté 3-5 minutes. Toss in bacon to pan and pour enough chicken stock to cover potatoes. Cover and simmer until tender.

STEP 2

Melt butter and whisk in flour, cooking and stirring over heat for a few minutes. Once rue is made, whisk in cream (or milk) and cook again, stirring until thickened. Stir cream/milk mixture into the potato mixture. Take about a half-cup of soup and puree it, returning it to the pan. Use more puree for a thicker soup.

Top with additional bacon bits or shredded cheese. Serve piping hot. Serves eight (8)

LUCY ~ THE CLARINETIST - Coming October 26th

October reminds us of cool, crisp days, a rainbow of colored leaves, and Halloween. October is also National Dessert Month. With seasonal ingredients like spicy cinnamon, rich caramel, and decadent pecans, autumn is one of the best seasons for baking. Who doesn’t enjoy pumpkin pie heaped with Kool Whip? Or apple pie or crisp? How about pecan pie and the many cobblers?

This month, on October 26th, I’m releasing my last novella in the Musical Christmas Series. It’s Lucy –The Clarinetist, and like the preceding novellas, it includes a recipe that one of the main characters enjoys. This time it’s Andre Almanza who likes apple pie with a cinnamon crumb crust.

            APPLE PIE WITH CINNAMON CRUMB CRUST TOPPING

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg (optional)

Dash of salt

6 cups thinly sliced pared apples (McIntosh work well)

2 TBSP. butter or margarine

Deep Dish Pastry for a 9-inch pie  (You need only the bottom crust)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry or use one purchased from the store. (Frozen deep dish varieties work best.)

Stir together sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt and mix with apples. Turn into pastry-lined pan and dot with butter.

 CINNAMON CRUMB CRUST:

Mix 1 cup flour, ½ cup cold butter, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and ½ cup (packed) brown sugar. Cut dry ingredients into butter with pastry cutter until crumbly. Carefully spread the mixture on the top of the apples, packing it down around the edges.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes.

NOTE: You many need to cover topping with aluminum foil for the last ten minutes to prevent excess browning.  Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

BLURB:

A merry novella for the holiday season!

Lucy Ciaffonni wants nothing more than to start her own public relations firm, but she’s stuck at the local bank performing boring communications and advertising duties. When her best friend and computer guru, Andre Almanza, buys an area farm to create a barn theater, Lucy is pulled into the mystery of discovering where a rare, German, H.F. Kayser clarinet was hidden on the property during Prohibition.

Andre Almanza has always adored Lucy from afar. He hopes she’ll take the position of barn theater manager. When she agrees to help him renovate the barn and update and furnish his huge Victorian house, he is delighted—that is, until the entire town becomes involved in locating the missing antique instrument. To complicate matters, there are ruthless people who want to recover the expensive clarinet and cash in on its legend and value.

Will Lucy and Andre locate the clarinet and finally acknowledge the sparks of romance that have been smoldering between them for the longest time? Will it be the perfect Christmas?

       GET YOUR PRE-ORDER AND COPY OF "LUCY ~ THE CLARINETIST HERE!

 

BON APPETITE - August is SALSA Month!

It's that time of the year when the tomatoes are ripening faster than we can eat them. This is an ideal time to make salsa.

FRESH SALSA

• 4 cups chopped peeled fresh tomatoes
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt - optional
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped find - optional

In a bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Let stand for about 1 hour. Serve at room temperature. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator. Yield: 3-1/2 cups. You can substitute lime juice instead of vinegar.

National Pie Day - January 23rd - Let the Celebration Begin!

According to the American Pie Council, National Pie Day is January 23th. Although pies have been around in various forms since the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks, the early meat pies (pyes) appeared in England as early as the twelfth century. The crust of the pie was referred to as “coffyn”. It’s amusing to note that these pies were made using fowl, and the legs were left to hang over the side the dish to be used as handles.

It’s speculated that in the 1500s, fruit pies or pasties were made, and the first cherry pie was presented to Queen Elizabeth I.

The first English settlers brought pie to America, but the pies were actually cooked in long narrow pans which they called “coffins” like the crust in England. As in the Roman times, the early America pie crusts were not always eaten, but simply designed to hold the filling while the pie baked.  During the American Revolution, the term crust originated instead of “coffin”.

Over the years, pie has become part of the American culture and is considered one of the most favorite and traditional desserts in America—from the delicious cherry to the pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, to the apple pie which boasts the saying, “as American as apple pie.”

What’s your favorite type of pie? Mine is toss-up between coconut crème and pumpkin.

But here is a really delicious pecan pie that I won’t pass up!

Pecan Pie

4 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

l cup light corn syrup

½ teaspoonsalt

3 tablesppons melted butter (or

         margarine)

2 ½ tablespoons dark rum

1 cup (about 7 ounces) shelled

         pecans

1.    Prepare unbaked 9-inch pastry shell, following the recipe.

2.    Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl. Stir in sugar, corn syrup, salt, and butter, missing just to blend. (Do NOT over beat.) Stir in rum and pecans. Pour into a prepared pastry shell.

3.    Bake in moderate over (375 degrees) for 40 minutes or until filling is golden brown and firm to the light touch.  Serve at room temperature with a bowl of whipped cream, Kool Whip, or vanilla ice cream.

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This month I have several ebooks on sale for $0.99 or a reduced rate.  

Please visit my "Amazon Author Page" to choose:

 https://www.amazon.com/Judy-Ann-Davis/e/B006GXN502/