Soup-lovers

[mccardey]

Originally Posted by Silver King

either way, it was sad to see great cutlery abused and wasted in such a fashion.

Once when I was young and silly and didn't know any better, I put one of my husband's knives (joint bank accounts, joint ownership of house, but separate knives ) into the dishwasher.

Well, I won't be doing that again.

I hate to see a brave man cry like a broken child.

[RedRajah]

I love my cleaver. I picked mine up at an Asian market in Cleveland for a reasonable price and it's served me well now for almost 10 years.

[LJD]

I don't bother with stock when I make soup. I just use water. I don't have the freezer space to make a big batch and store it--I only have the freezer on top of my fridge, and I live in an apartment building and I'm not allowed to add additional appliances like a chest freezer. Not that there is any space for one anyways. Even if I did have the space, I I'd probably be too lazy. Mostly I make really hearty bean soups that I don't think would benefit much from stock, although when I make red lentil soup, I often throw in lamb or chicken bones if I had them. The best was when we'd gone out for my dad's birthday and ordered two tandoori lamb legs, and I added that to the soup.

I'm sort of on the lookout for more soup recipes now as bacon/sausage are now pretty iffy due to a new medication I'm on, and I don't think a few of the soups I make would be very good without them. Heavy, one-pot meal sort of soups.

I usually make four servings on Monday and have it for lunches throughout the week. My boyfriend won't touch soup--he seems to find the very concept of cooking things in a big pot of water/stock repellent, which I don't get--so it's all mine.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by TedTheewen

I love Stilton! There is a wonderful cheese shop near me (of course) that gets Stilton imported from England. I'll look to see about a Stilton soup.

Are you looking for a cheese soup, similar to a cheddar soup? Or are you looking for perhaps a puffy cheese dumping to go with the soup?

Not really. I'm thinking more like what Stacia describes below.

Originally Posted by TedTheewen

Tonight I'm going to experiment with a new dumpling recipe that includes an egg. Normally I have avoided those but according to the book I mentioned previously in this thread adding an egg will make the dumpling more airy.

By all means let us know how it turns out.

Originally Posted by Stacia Kane

This is my question, too. I'm not a fan of Stilton (or any blue cheese/really strong cheese) so can't say how well it might melt into a soup; I've never cooked with it. But my first thought was to do something like:

saute/sweat the leeks and celery in a bit of butter & olive oil. I'd suggest maybe Herbs de Provence here, too; I think they'd be nice. I'd also suggest some potatoes, maybe, if you're looking to add something to give it more substance?

Then add your stock, and simmer for a bit, then add cream and blend well, and simmer for a bit.

Again, I don't know if here you'd add cubes/crumbles of Stilton and let them melt in, or if you'd like to do something like a French Onion soup, where you pop croutons on the top, cover them with cheese, and stick it under the broiler to melt it? Or, yeah, like a cheesy dumpling?

What you described is exactly what I had in mind. Except I'm looking to melt the Stilton. I've got to ponder on the relative amount of each ingredient and go from there.

Thanks, guys.

[Stacia Kane]

You might want to look at recipes for potato-leek soups, and see if any include cheese. Or baked potato soups, which often do. You'd probably find some ideas there for ways to modify those recipes and build your own soup from it.

ETA: I'd also consider adding shallots, and jacking it with some white wine.

[kikazaru]

Originally Posted by Haggis

I don't do soups. Not because I don't want to, but because I'm not good at them. Except for lobster stew.

But I had this idea of a chicken stock based soup with leeks and celery, perhaps some cream, and then some added Stilton cheese. Can any of you soup makers help me here? Is this workable?

I think that this would be delicious if you added broccoli - sauté the leeks, celery, onion, a garlic clove in a bit of butter. Add stock, some potato and broccoli, cook til very soft, add some salt and pepper, tarragon or perhaps thyme, and stilton crumbles puree (careful with pureeing hot liquids) and a splash of cream. Serve with more stilton crumbled on top.

[mccardey]

Originally Posted by LJD

I don't bother with stock when I make soup. .

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Stacia Kane

You might want to look at recipes for potato-leek soups, and see if any include cheese. Or baked potato soups, which often do. You'd probably find some ideas there for ways to modify those recipes and build your own soup from it.

ETA: I'd also consider adding shallots, and jacking it with some white wine.

I should have done this in the first place. I've found quite a few great recipes. Like this one, for example.

I might be adding some crumbled bacon too.

[TedTheewen]

So, last night's dumpling experiment was iffy. The dumplings turned out like a light-weight gnocchi. I need to play with it more.

You know, Stilton can be used for an awesome sauce on a steak. That makes me wonder if it would be best to use a beef broth with it.

[Stacia Kane]

Originally Posted by Haggis

I should have done this in the first place.

Actually, I've been thinking about this thread on and off all day, and was coming back to post a general comment about how awesome everyone here is.

How cool is it that we can come in here and say "Hey, I'm thinking it might be fun to do something with these ingredients, what do you think?" and have people responding with all kinds of ideas and suggestions?

It's so much fun to talk about food and cooking with other people who care about and enjoy it. Personally, I kind of prefer it to just Googling alone; I mean, I will and do search the internet, but it's fun to discuss it here, isn't it?

Originally Posted by TedTheewen

So, last night's dumpling experiment was iffy. The dumplings turned out like a light-weight gnocchi. I need to play with it more.

Hmm. I'm not a big fan of gnocchi, either; maybe that's why I didn't like the egg dumplings much?

You know, Stilton can be used for an awesome sauce on a steak. That makes me wonder if it would be best to use a beef broth with it.

I've made soups using both beef and chicken stock together before, too, so that's an idea. (And sometimes I boil potatoes in that combo.)

But I'm a fan of soups that use more than one kind of meat, too; chicken and meatballs, chicken and ground pork, beef and pork...

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Stacia Kane

Actually, I've been thinking about this thread on and off all day, and was coming back to post a general comment about how awesome everyone here is.

How cool is it that we can come in here and say "Hey, I'm thinking it might be fun to do something with these ingredients, what do you think?" and have people responding with all kinds of ideas and suggestions?

It's so much fun to talk about food and cooking with other people who care about and enjoy it. Personally, I kind of prefer it to just Googling alone; I mean, I will and do search the internet, but it's fun to discuss it here, isn't it?

You're right, of course. The reason I didn't think to Google a recipe first (or check out the 20 cookbooks on my shelf) is that the first thing to occur to me was "I'll bet somebody here knows about this." Plus, like you say, it's fun to talk about. And you get other ideas. Ted's idea about beef stock for this soup ain't a bad one. it's something to consider, that's for sure.

[TedTheewen]

I've learned that a decent stock can be made from pork neck bones but one must wrap them in cheese clothe first because of all the little bones. It works well, too.

I have some beef spare ribs, the big bronto-bones kind, in the freezer. I dearly love using them and I got these on sale for $.95 a pound. I'm mulling over what exactly I'll do but I'm thinking some sort of variation of French Onion soup is in the works.

[Haggis]

That sounds perfect.

[Sarita]

Originally Posted by Haggis

What you described is exactly what I had in mind. Except I'm looking to melt the Stilton. I've got to ponder on the relative amount of each ingredient and go from there.

Melt the Stilton! I do a bleu cheese cabbage soup with crumbled bacon on top and it melts into the body of the soup perfectly. It doesn't thicken like a block cheese would (cheddar) but it does give a nice silky quality to the broth. If you want to thicken it up, I would consider a roux or my preference, some pureed potato (*cough* or tofu *cough*).

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Sarita

Melt the Stilton! I do a bleu cheese cabbage soup with crumbled bacon on top and it melts into the body of the soup perfectly. It doesn't thicken like a block cheese would (cheddar) but it does give a nice silky quality to the broth. If you want to thicken it up, I would consider a roux or my preference, some pureed potato (*cough* or tofu *cough*).

*cough*

[Cella]

Ooo! I have bragging to do!


About soup.



Over the weekend I roasted veggies (Portabella (sp?) mushrooms, purple onion, sweet potatoes and eggplant). Then I found a recipe on how to make a soup with the leftovers and it was actually delicious! Most of what I come up with in the kitchen is just this side of edible, so I was very proud of myself.

*beams*

*shares it*

[mccardey]

Cella, that sounds delicious (Also incredibly thrifty!)

[Cella]

Originally Posted by mccardey

Cella, that sounds delicious (Also incredibly thrifty!)

Thank you!

and it would have been if I hadn't bought everything at Whole Foods

[mccardey]

Originally Posted by Cella

Thank you!

and it would have been if I hadn't bought everything at Whole Foods

No it wouldn't. It would have Cost The Earth. (Do you have that advertisement?) I'm hopeless at thrifty. Every now and then we have our friends over for great big Italian pasta-sauce-making day - it's an Australian thing - and we worked out once that each jar we make costs just a shade under twice the price in the supermarket. But we have so much fun. It's a hobby. And cheaper than crack.

[Cella]

Mmmm...homemade sauce is the best. I'd love to try and make some myself someday. Or at the very least, have you over to do it for me.

[Sarita]

Originally Posted by mccardey

No it wouldn't. It would have Cost The Earth. (Do you have that advertisement?) I'm hopeless at thrifty. Every now and then we have our friends over for great big Italian pasta-sauce-making day - it's an Australian thing - and we worked out once that each jar we make costs just a shade under twice the price in the supermarket. But we have so much fun. It's a hobby. And cheaper than crack.

Yum. Do you start with fresh tomatoes or use canned whole/crushed/what? I always make my own sauce, usually just at the time I'm making dinner and I use canned crushed tomato with no additives, which is what I'm making for dinner tonight

Sorry, not soup... carry on

[mccardey]

Originally Posted by Sarita

Yum. Do you start with fresh tomatoes or use canned whole/crushed/what? I always make my own sauce, usually just at the time I'm making dinner and I use canned crushed tomato with no additives, which is what I'm making for dinner tonight

Sorry, not soup... carry on

derail/

I use canned if I'm just making up a pot, but for The Big Italian Cook-Up, we go to the Produce Markets very early on one Tuesday morning and buy a couple of cartons of tomatoes - and a bag of onions and garlic and whatever else we don't have in the garden. Costs very little - pennies. We let the tomatoes ripen up till the next Saturday, (the house smells wonderful!) and then our cooking friends come over in the mid-morning with champagne and orange juice, and we spend all day cooking up sauce, with the music blaring, and lunch barbeque-ing, and cheese and red wine and that sort of thing getting scoffed by the bucketload.

Then we stick the sauce into jars, stick the jars through the canner and retire, completely knackered, for a very light dinner and a huge dessert while they cool. It's enormous fun. The sauce costs nothing to make. It's the wine and the cheese and champagne that ramps the price up

You're all invited next time - which will be when we get back to Australia.

/end derail

[TedTheewen]

When I worked at a pizza place, the owner used to let me get the big #10 cans of tomato puree and stewed tomatoes, direct from his wholesaler. It saved me a ton of money and I would fill up a freezer.

[Haggis]

Originally Posted by Cella

Ooo! I have bragging to do!


About soup.



Over the weekend I roasted veggies (Portabella (sp?) mushrooms, purple onion, sweet potatoes and eggplant). Then I found a recipe on how to make a soup with the leftovers and it was actually delicious! Most of what I come up with in the kitchen is just this side of edible, so I was very proud of myself.

*beams*

*shares it*

Give.

Nao.

Want.

Those ingredients sound like they'd make an awesome soup.