Grandpa's Home Cooking

Monet’s Soup: Potage à la Dauphine

First I will share with you a little retro scene brought up to date in today's real world. I will then share the recipe. Then I will present the Mrs. verdict. Did she like the soup? And finally, I will present a picture of our kitty, Frisky, who is always nearby and sniffing when grandpa is cooking.

Some of you folk may recall a classic 1940s or 1950s scene between a husband and wife. George comes home from the foundry, swinging his lunch pail and smiling broadly as he climbs the steps of 'his' old front porch. He greets Florence with a peck on the cheek, and he says, “Hi Honey, I'm starving, what’s for supper?” The wife trembles a bit, smiles, and fearfully replies “I’ve cooked something new to surprise you George.” His smile disappears and he says, “Like, what?” Florence announces her special creation. And George raises his nose and gives her a :-(,

Now here's an up-to-date 2011 version of this old story brought to life. The husband is the cook.

My wife comes to the front porch to greet me this morning before going to work. I was sitting in an old fashioned, 1940's style  white wicker chair, and I was looking at Monet’s cookbook. I cautiously said, “Hey, sweetheart, I’m going to make you a very special Monet soup for our supper. It will be great with a wonderful spinach salad and a glass of chilled Pinot Grigio on what will be a very hot night.” Nancy’s big smile gives way to a questioning look :-? She deadpans, “Uh, what kind of soup, Ross?” I gave her my big smile and said ... "It's a Claude Monet soup ... it's his Potage à la Dauphine!"

"What kind of soup, Ross:-?"

"Oooh ...  ees what will be a wonderful cream of turnip soup :-!"

The Mrs. wrinkles her nose way up and gives me one of these replies: :-(, 

A discussion follows and Grandpa agrees to a modification. He will add brocolli florets to jazz up the taste a bit, to give the soup more flavor. Here's the recipe and then I will tell you the outcome. Does the Mrs. like the soup?

Ingredients:

• 6-8 small white turnips (about 1 1 /4 pounds)
• 1 & 1/2 quarts of water
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut in slices to ease melting (1 stick)
• 2 cups of light cream half & half, or 1/2 cup salted butter, cut in slices (I used half & half)
• 1-2 cups of broccoli florets (the Mrs. idea, optional)
• Salt, pepper, & garlic powder to taste*

(*Combine 1 cup of salt, 1/4th cup of black pepper, and 1/4th cup of garlic powder in a jar. Cap the top and shake. Use your fingers to sprinkle the seasoning mix. Keep your jar handy and use the seasoning mix often.)

Instructions:

Cut off the leaf and root. Scrap and wash the turnips well. You may want to use a potato peeler to take off the outer skin. Put the turnips in a pot with 1 & 1/2 quarts of water and the 1/4 cup of the sliced butter. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes or until the turnips crush easily. 

Strain and reserve the liquid. Use a potato masher to puree the turnips. Pour the liquid back over the turnips. Put the pot back on a very low heat. While the liquid and puree'd turnips are reheating, add the half & half, cream, or butter slices. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Do not let the soup boil. Season the soup with the mix of salt, pepper, and garlic powder and taste:-)  (so that you'll know how Monet tasted the soup!) Then, if you wish to do as the spouse suggests, add the brocolli florets and keep the pot simmering until the brocolli is soft and the soup is hot. Serve with the pride you feel when you have prepared a special dish for your love. 

Serve the soup with a big spinach salad and with artisan French bread and butter. Claude Monet wanted a soup served at the beginning of every meal. 

The verdict: "It's very good!" 

And finally, here's a picture of our kitty, Frisky, with her tongue out!  

Roasted Poblano Pepper and Corn Chowder

This is a really nice soup with just enough warmth to soothe your soul.  It is gentle. You need not worry about it being too spicy. It contains wonderful ingredients and has a rich  taste. Serve Roasted Poblano Pepper and Corn Chowder as a meal or to compliment a meal. It is so good that the people at your table are likely to eat the entire pot of soup in one setting.

Double or triple the recipe to serve it to a crowd. This is a terrific soup to serve to a group.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 Tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 ½ -2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 red potatoes, diced with skin on
• ¼ tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp red pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 14.5 oz cans cream style corn
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cut in pieces
• 1 large poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced*

* To roast the pablano pepper: Cut off the top of the pepper and take out all of the seeds. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet about six inches under broiler. Broil on each side for about 5-6 minutes. The skin should be blistered. Remove the pepper from oven and wrap it in the foil. Put the foil/pepper in a zip-topped bag and let it rest for at least 10 minutes. When you're ready to make the soup, unwrap the foil and peel the skin off of the pepper. Then dice the pepper pulp.

Instructions:

Melt butter in soup pot, add onion, and sauté until tender. Add 1 ½ cup vegetable or chicken broth and diced red potatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the potatoes begin to get tender. Add the cream corn and evaporated milk. Simmer another 10-12 minutes. Add the cream cheese and the diced poblano pepper. Stir and heat until the cream cheese is melted, and the soup is hot (but not boiling). Serve this soup with tortilla chips or a good crusty artisan bread.

This soup will become a favorite!

Irish Pub Stew

Twill be St. Patty's Day before you know it, so you may want to get the ingredients to make this Irish Stew. There are pubs in Ireland that make this stew every day of the year for the lads and lassies who eat at their establishment. I got the recipe from the book Irish Pub Cooking and I made a pot of the stew for our dinner yesterday. We'll enjoy it again tonight.

You'll want to serve this stew in bowls with the juices. I put some on a plate to photograph the goodness of the stew.

"Pull up a stool, sup a pint, and tuck into some delicious pub food."

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons of all purpose flour
• 3 pounds of lamb, cut in chunks
• 3 large onions, chopped
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 pound of potatoes cut in chunks
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• A scant 3 1/2 cups of beef stock (A carton of beef stock contains 4 cups)
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsely to garnish

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Put the flour in a plastic zip lock bag with some salt and pepper and shake the bag to mix the ingredients. Add the chunks of lamb to the bag and close and shake the bag to coat the meat. (You'll need to do this in batches.)  Arrange the chunks of floured lamb in layers on the bottom of your large casserole dish.

Add a layer of onions, then the carrots, and finally the potatoes. Sprinkle on the thyme and then pour in the beef stock. Cook your casserole for 3 hours. Garnish the bowls of stew with chopped parsley.

Island She-Crab Soup w/ Fresh Marjoram

My 100th post since Grandpa's Home Cooking was launched March 12, 2010.

♫ If your fond of sand dunes and salty air, quaint little villages here and there♫  ... then you may love Island She-Crab Soup. Try topping it with chopped fresh marjoram. Nancy went out to our herb patch on a cold January night and picked and chopped some fresh marjoram for our soup. Ooh, oh, oh, is that a nice flavor to lift an already great soup up a notch. If you make this soup in the summer, try chopped marigold leaves.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crab meat, drained and flaked*
• 2 cans cream of celery soup
• 3 cups milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4th teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4th teaspoon white pepper
• 1/4th cup of good dry sherry
• Chopped fresh marjoram or marigold leaves

*Ask the fishmonger about crab meat options. For this supper, Nancy got the soup started while I sat at a table and carefully picked the crab meat out of leftover Dungenous crab, added it to the pot, added the seasonings, and served the table. You can also use fresh Blue crab, Snow crab leg, Alaskan king crab leg, or even canned crab meat. 

Instructions:

This is easy cooking. Just combine the celery soup, milk, cream, eggs, butter, Old Bay seasoning, Worcestershire, garlic, and white pepper in a large soup pot or dutch oven. Stir the soup while bringing the mixture to a boil. Then add the crab meat and lower the heat to medium. Stir the soup until heated through. Then stir in the sherry. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle the top of the soup with chopped fresh marjoram or marigold leaves. 

Here are Nancy and I pictured on our first ferry boat crossing to Ocracoke Island, NC, circa 1978.(33 years ago). We were newlyweds. I believe we got the She-Crab soup recipe from the Island Inn while we were on this trip. We would soon move to Kansas City, Missouri. A year later we returned to Chicago where we lived on the 32nd floor of a hi-rise apartment just off of Michigan Avenue. We had a nice view of the The John Hancock Center, Lake Michigan, and the Chicago Skyline. With North Carolina still on our mind, we finally moved here in 1986. 

 

Monet's Leek & Potato Soup

Soup was served at every evening meal in Monet's house. What a great idea. It sounds as if it was the customary 1st course. At our house, a delicious soup and a fresh rustic baked bread, and one of Grandma's beautiful salads is enough food to satisfy as our complete meal. Tonight I prepared Monet's Leek and Potato soup for our dinner. It is delicious. The soup and slices of a rustic French bread provided us with enough food for a hearty cold winter night dinner. Afterward, we relaxed in our living room listening to classical music and enjoying a fire in the fireplace.

I'm happy to have a beautiful used copy of Monet's Table, The Cooking Journals of Claude Monet. The book is available online and at bookshops. You might enjoy using this book to prepare meals for your table. This book contains beautiful photographs of Giverny, writing about the family's life at Giverny, and Monet's favorite recipes. The book contains recipes for Soups (11), Eggs, Sauces, Appetizers and Side Dishes, Poultry, Meat, Game, Fish, Desserts, Teas, Jams, and Preserves. I'll continue to prepare recipes from this book and post some on Grandpa's Home Cooking. 

Soupe aux poireaux et pommes de terre (Leek and Potato Soup):

 

1/2 cup unsalted butter

6 large leeks, white parts only, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 teaspoon salt

4 large potatoes, sliced (with slices quartered)

fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

seasonings

Provides 4 servings

 Heat 1/4 cup of butter in a (heavy) pan and sauté the leeks. While they are cooking, heat 1 quart water with the salt to just below a boil. Add the water to the leeks, all at once. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the sliced (I quarter) potatoes, add seasonings, cover, and continue cooking the soup for 20 minutes. Add the rest of the butter before serving. Sprinkle parsley over the top of the soup. Delicious.

Now. A word about the potatoes. I researched this and learned from Kate's Global Kitchen that for making chowder and chunky soups one should select waxy low-starch varieties such as Superior, Kennebe, Red Bliss, and other white and red skinned potatoes. I selected red skin potatoes. Monet's recipe says to slice the potatoes. For ease of eating, I quartered the slices. The firm texture holds up even after a long simmer. 

For rustic soups that rely solely on the starch from the potatoes to thicken them, the best are high starch russets or medium-starch Yukon Golds.

Monet's recipe said nothing about seasonings. Adding salt and pepper is a given. However, I use a mix of seasoning which includes salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I have a glass canning jar which contains a mix of 1 cup salt, 1/4th cup pepper, and 1/4th cup garlic powder. I added a couple of pinches of this seasoning to this soup. (I warmed leftover soup for lunch the day after and it was really good.)

And there you have it. Why not have one of Claude Monet's artistic soups for super. I'll be making another of his other favorite soups soon.

Russian Cabbage Soup

The flavors in this soup are amazing. We're going sit down to a enjoy bowl of hot Sweet Russian Cabbage soup tonight, while the snow falls all about us. After dinner, with beautiful classical music on the radio and a comfortable chair in front of a roaring fire in our fireplace, we'll still savor the flavors in this delicious soup as we enjoy each other's company. What more could you ask for? You can love this soup wherever you are and whatever the weather. And the after taste of a variety distinctive flavor's will continue to amaze you. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (14.5 oz) Can diced tomatoes
• 2 Medium carrots, chopped
• 1 Yellow onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 Cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 Quarts beef broth
• 3 Tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 Head cabbage, shredded

Instructions:

1. In a heavy soup pot, brown the beef and drain the fat!

2. Add the onions, carrots, cabbage, and garlic and cook until the onions are transparent.

3. Add the last of ingredients.

4. Simmer the soup for 45 minutes or until the carrots are tender.

5. Join hands at the table and prepare for a love feast.

Wherever you are and whatever the weather, you'll have a gourmet meal with this sweet Russian cabbage soup. 

When I made this soup I pictured a peasant family gathered about a candle lit table in Siberia, and looking out their window at the snow blowing across their field. As I cut the onion for my soup, I pictured a snowy night in front of the colorful and beautifully lit St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. I've never been to St. Basil's but I'd love to stand outside on a snowy night and look at the great onion domes.

Country Ham, Bean, & Collard Greens Soup

Here's comfort for a cold winters night. Tasty. Nutritious. And just plain good, with rich flavor, warmth, and goodness for your body. It's easy to make. You'll wish to have enough of this soup to provide at least two meals. You can use regular ham, but I like to make it with country ham. If you can't find a slice of country ham at your grocer (and you probably won't), go on out to the Cracker Barrel country store on I-Whatever. I expect you'll find a slice there. Either way, country ham or city ham, this soup's good.

As for the beans, Emeril Lagasse convinced me that canned beans are good. But if you want to mess around picking through and soaking dried beans, go right ahead.

Ingredients:

• *2 Cans of white beans (Great Northern or Cannellini will do the trick) 
• 1/2 pound country ham cut into 1/4" x 1" pieces (Put your ruler away. You want small pieces)
• 1 Yellow onion, diced into small pieces
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (Don't you leave this goodness out!)
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 8 oz fresh Collard Greens (Yeah, you can use spinach, arugula, or even mustard greens)
• Salt and pepper to taste (If you use country ham, you may only need add black pepper)

* If it makes you feel better, soak 1/2 pound of dried Great Northern beans over night and use them in place of canned beans. 1/2 pound of dry beans equals 2 cans of cooked beans and vice versa:-)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium high heat. I like to use my cast-iron Dutch oven to make soup. Add the onion, garlic, and thyme. Stir good to combine and saute the ingredients for 6-8 minutes. The onions ought to be translucent (and not burned brown). Add the beans, ham, and chicken stock and simmer until the beans are tender, but not mushy. Now add your greens and continue to simmer the soup until the greens are wilted. 

Serve your soup with fresh cornbread. Grandma made a pan of fresh pan o'cornbread for our supper. It goes so well with this soup!

Chicken Vegetable Soup

It's as easy as can be to make a pot of wholesome chicken vegetable soup. You might intentionally shop for ingredients to make this soup, but hold on. Look first to see what you already have on hand. You might, as I do, keep some zip bags in the freezer of chicken parts you didn't need to cook for a meal. I keep a zip bag of livers, another of wings, and I've a notion to start keeping one chicken legs since they often do not get eaten. Then too, you might use the white and dark meat left over from last nights dinner. 

By the way. Get busy some afternoon and make a pot of chili or chicken soup for shut-ins or folks living in an independent living facility. Take them some freezer containers of your homemade soup. There are times they don't want to go to the facility dining room.

Ingredients:

• Chicken, cubed (use as much or as little leftover or fresh chicken as you have)
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 2-3 large fresh carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks or more of celery, chopped
• 2-3 (32 oz) boxes of chicken broth, or as much broth from cans 
• Parsley, chopped (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crackers
• Butter

Note: If you do not have leftover chicken, buy a small package of fresh skinless chicken breasts. Cut the breasts into cubes and add the raw chicken to the pot. Just bring the pot to a boil until the chicken and vegetables are thoroughly cooked. 

Instructions:

Chop vegetables and chicken and put them in your soup pot. Pour enough chicken broth over the vegetables to make a good pot of soup. I usually use 2-3, 32 oz boxes of chicken broth (or like amount of chicken broth from cans). Season the pot with salt and pepper. Cook the soup over a medium hot burner until the pot is boiling (and any fresh chicken added is thoroughly cooked). Lower the heat to very low to keep the soup hot until you're ready to serve it.  Yes, you surely can add other chopped vegetables you have on hand and wish to use.

Serve up this great soup with crackers and butter and you've got a great meal for tonight and maybe tomorrow night too!

Grandpa's Chili, Famous Since 1949

Everyone, it seems, has their own chili recipe. And many think their chili is the best! I’m not an exception. I came up with this chili recipe in 1949. After I got home from school, mother called me from her office and said, "Son, I'm tired, I don't suppose you'd like to make a pot of chili for the family dinner." I jumped at the chance. She knew I loved to cook and that I had watched her make chili many times. But I took this opportunity to make the chili the way I wanted and invented the following recipe. I'd be very surprised if anyone makes chili like I do. But you ought try it, you might really like it.

Ingredients:

• 28.5 ounce can of original Hunts Diced Tomatoes
• 15 ounce can Hunts Tomato Sauce
• 1 can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup (an 8-year old's addition and I still use it)
• 2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed in a colander
• 2-3 large carrots, diced
• 4 stalks of celery, remove the strings and  slice
• Chopped leaves from one stalk of celery
• Large sweet onion, diced
• Water
• 1½ pounds of ground chuck
• Bunch green onions, diced
• Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• A few shakes of Tobasco sauce, (or Cholula Sauce)

Mom used a little chili powder when she thought I wasn't looking and wouldn't notice.  A kid wouldn't use chili powder or hot sauce in 1949. Now I like to use Mexican Cholula sauce because it has a wonderful bright tomato taste.

This pot ought to provide 12 large servings.

Instructions:

Pour the diced tomatoes, 2-3 cans of water, tomato sauce, tomato soup, kidney beans, carrots, celery, sweet onion, onion, salt, and freshly ground pepper in a 4 qt or stock pot, and begin to heat the ingredients using a moderate setting (lower the setting if the soup starts boiling). Stir now and then.

Meanwhile, crumble and lightly brown meat in a skillet. Add salt and pepper to taste. As the meat begins to brown, add the chopped green onions, and about 5 healthy shakes of Worcestershire sauce. When the meat is browned, pour the contents of the skillet in a colander to drain off as much grease as possible. Then pour the meat mixture into the soup pot, add the spices and a couple of shots of Cholula sauce (if desired).

Finish heating until the chili is ready to be served.

I like to serve the chili with both soda crackers and club crackers and I always butter my crackers. I know. The Fat Police be on you if they catch you doing this! When I was a kid, I'd lather the butter on the cracker and then I'd spoon some of the soup solids on top and it it:-) You can't take the boy out of some men.

Now I want to tell you of something good that you can do. Make a big pot of this for folks living in an Independant Living Facility. Divide the contents of the pot into freezer containers and freeze the chili. When folks don't feel like going down to the dining room now and then, they can take a container out of their freezer, thaw it, heat it in their microwave and have a fine dinner. Provide thawing and heating instructions. 

You going to have a crowd for dinner. Make as much chili as you'll need. This is a fine meal for a crowd. They'll love being served this chili on a cold winter's night. Serve some Merlot with it, or ice cold milk if that's what your crowd might like. A glass of ice cold milk goes great with this chili.