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SOUPS
FRENCH ONION SOUP

Serves 6
4 TO 5 RED ONIONS
2 TBLS. BACON GREASE
DRY RED WINE, 2 cups
1/4 C. BRANDY
FRESH GARLIC
BEEF BROTH
FRENCH BREAD
UNSALTED BUTTER

In a deep pan for soup, add your bacon grease and then 1 tbls. of the butter. Slice the onions thin, but not paper-thin and add those to the bacon grease and sauté. Add the garlic, sauté until the onions are opaque and starting to get sticky on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat up a bit and add the brandy, now flambé the onions until the flame goes out by itself. Add the rest of the butter to help loosen the good stuff from the bottom of the pan, now add the red wine and let that cook for about 10 minutes. If you have homemade beef broth (yeah right!) add it, about 6 to 8 cups. Same amount for the canned beef broth. Lid it and simmer it for 2 hours. Toast your bread, put it in the bottom of a LARGE soup bowl and lay a slice of provolone or mozzarella cheese on top of the bread and add the soup.


WHITE CLAM CHOWDER (Chauncey's New England Style Chowder)

Serves 6
I have to tell you, of all the places that I have eaten New England Clam Chowder, none compare to this tasty magnificent soup. I DO NOT like a clam chowder that you can eat with a fork, but if that's how you like it, no big deal, THICKEN IT! Don't get me wrong, this chowder is not watery, but you do need a spoon. Now this recipe has a bit of a twist to it~~~~~BACON! That's right bacon and once you try this, you will not be happy with clam chowder any other way. So lets get started.

1/2 lb. Good hickory, honey or apple cured bacon, sliced into bit size pieces
3 big shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cans chopped or minced clams, drained but save the juice
3/4 to 1 LB baby red potatoes, get the small creamers, dice into small chunks
1 pint heavy cream
1 QT. Half and half
1/2 cup cream sherry or dry, I just prefer cream
1/4 cup minced FRESH Italian flat parsley
2 TBS. unsalted butter
1 bottle clam juice
Salt and white pepper

I like to fry the bacon up in the same big deep pan that I am gong to make the chowder in, we are going for flavor folks! Now fry that bacon crispy, crispy, crispy, but don't burn it. With a slotted, take the bacon out and keep to the side. There should be about 2 or 3 TBS of the fat in the pan, add the butter and melt it and cook till the foam goes away and then add your shallots, garlic and cook that over medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Now add the drained clams and continue to cook for another 3 or 4, now add the sherry. Add your potatoes and bacon crisps, now if you need more butter, add more or the bacon fat or both. All the brown on the bottom of the pan should have loosened and mixed with the sherry being added. Turn the flame down very low and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the clam juice and continue to cook over very low heat for another 5 minutes. Turn the heat off and let cool , covered . About an hour. Now turn the heat back on low and slowly bring it just to a boil and add the half and half and then the heavy cream and the parsley and cover and continue to cook for about another hour, stir it occasionally.

If you want this thicker, I take some of the juice and sift flour into it and mix it and add it to the pot stirring to get the thickness you want. Turn off and let cool, then serve with hot sweet French bread. Let me know what you think!!!

VICHYSSOISE (cold potato soup)

Serves 4 to 6
4 med. potatoes, slice thinned
3 med. Onions, sliced thin
4 leeks, use the white part ONLY and slice them thin
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1 quart of chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 cup half and half
salt and white pepper
Chives minced well

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add onion, leeks and garlic. Sauté slowly and stir until the onions are opaque but do not brown them. Add the potatoes and broth and 1 tsp. Salt (if you think so) and simmer slowly until the potatoes are soft. Adds the milk and the half and half and bring up to a boiling point, but do not boil! Take off heat and let cool a bit. Puree the soup in small batches, add salt and white pepper, and chill for a few hours. When you get ready to serve, sprinkle over the top of the soup the minced chives






Page last updated: Oct 27, 2007

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