by Cheryl Wolhar - MyVineSpace on November 22, 2009
 Over the weekend I was challenged by some of my tweeps to come up with a Cream of Bacon Soup recipe. This wasn’t the first time this idea has come up in my [many] conversations about #bacon. The subject even came up once during a winemaker dinner.
I was always threatening to make it and everyone always thought it was a great idea, but somehow I never got around to it. But this time the challenge was made and I accepted. The following recipe is my own although I did get some good advice from tweeps such as, “start with a roux” and pair with a Sauvignon Blanc. My post begins with a blow by blow description of the process but I provide the full ingredient list with shorter directions at the end. |
Here are the wines I served, a 2004 Pezzi King Jane’s Reserve and a 2008 Murphy-Goode The Fume’. Both were were excellent pairings with this rich dish. The Murphy-Goode was crisp and tart while the Pezzi was smooth and mellow. Both were delicious and we enjoyed them very much. |
|
Start by chopping all the vegetables into small dice and setting aside in a small bowl.
|
Chop the bacon into small dice. |
Cook bacon in large soup kettle on low heat until barely crisp but not hard. |
Add vegetable mixture to bacon fat, cover and cook vegetables on low heat until carrots are soft. Add butter to vegetable mixture and brown slightly.
Add flour slowly to butter and mix thoroughly. Cook vegetable/flour mixture until light brown, this will be a somewhat dry, pasty mixture and might form into a ball.
|
Slowly add broth over medium heat stirring to smooth consistency, simmer slowly for 5 minutes. |
Puree vegetable/broth mixture until smooth. |
Add white pepper, cayenne, cream and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. |
| Add the cooked bacon and heat through. |
| Garnish and serve hot with bread. I served it with french rolls and everyone was very happy dipping the bread into the soup. Since the soup was so rich, I served mixed baby greens with baby shrimp as our second course. |
|
Cream of Bacon Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
½ cup carrots – diced small
½ cup celery – diced small
1 large shallot – diced small
3 large cloves of garlic chopped fine (or more)
6 slices thick cut smoked bacon – diced small
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
sliced chives or green onion for garnish
Directions:
1. Cook bacon in large soup kettle on low heat until barely crisp but not hard
2. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and set aside
3. Add vegetable mixture to bacon fat
4. Cover and cook vegetables on low heat until carrots are soft
5. Add butter to vegetable mixture and brown slightly
6. Add flour slowly to butter and mix thoroughly
7. Cook vegetable/flour mixture until light brown, this will be a somewhat dry, pasty vegetable/flour mixture and might form a ball
8. Slowly add broth over medium heat stirring to smooth consistency
9. Simmer slowly for 5 minutes
10. Puree vegetable/broth mixture until smooth
11. Add white pepper and cayenne
12. Add cream and bacon and heat through
13. Serve in bowls, garnish and serve while hot |
by Cheryl Wolhar - MyVineSpace on October 1, 2009
This is my own pumpkin soup recipe just in time for Thanksgiving. My secret is using “3 kinds of pepper” gives any dish a deep smoky, peppery flavor with a hint of heat.
To really look cool you can serve soup in a large roasted pumpkin shell. That always gets lots of ohhhs and ahhhhs from my guests.
Ingredients:
1 large onion sliced
3 cloves garlic chopped (unless you love garlic like me and put in as much as you like)
¼ cup olive oil
1 small to medium sugar pumpkin; seeded and cut into chunks
48 oz. chicken broth
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper (imparts a smoky flavor)
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper (adds a peppery)
Dash or two of red pepper (cayenne powder, adds a small bit of heat)
Dash of nutmeg
I tsp dry sage
¼ C. butter
1 cup heavy cream or half n half
Crumbled bacon and/or chives for topping
Directions:
In a large stock pot, cook onion and garlic and pumpkin chunks in olive oil and cook over low heat until soft onion is soft.
Cover with chicken broth and cook until pumpkin is soft enough to puree.
Puree mixture.
Add butter and cream.
Add salt, 3 kinds of pepper and sage.
Heat thoroughly.
Top with bacon and chives and serve.
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by Cheryl Wolhar - MyVineSpace on September 24, 2009
This is our favorite gravy and I make it every year for Thanksgiving. The spicy flavor goes so well with the Turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I usually serve a crisp, spicy Gewurztraminer with this gravy. This is the only gravy I make for Thanksgiving now and it is a huge family favorite. I used to struggle to make gravy each year using drippings or simmering neck bones and giblets until I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks Chef Paul Prudhomme, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen. This is now one of my Thanksgiving staples and as long as you can make a roux then you can have delicious gravy every time.
Ingredients:
¾ c chopped onions
¾ c chopped green bell peppers
¼ c chopped celery
¼ veg oil
¼ + 1 tlbs all-purpose flour
¾ tsp ground red pepper (preferably cayenne)
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
¼ c minced jalapeno peppers
1 tsp minced garlic (I usually use 3 – 4 large cloves)
3 c broth (beef, chicken, vegetable or turkey)
Directions:
I usually double the recipe so we have plenty for leftovers. Fresh jalapenos are preferred; if you have to use pickled ones, rinse as much vinegar from them as possible. I use 2 peppers; 1 [...]
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by Cheryl Wolhar - MyVineSpace on September 18, 2009
I love this sauce with beef or venison. You can also use a bottle of Cab or Pinot if that is what you have on hand. This Christmas I will serve it with my favorite Beef Wellington… yum… I can’t wait!
Ingredients:
6 shallots finely pureed
4 cloves of garlic finely pureed
Olive oil – 3 tbsp
3 tbsp flour
1 14 oz can chicken stock
1 bottle Wine (the best you can afford)
Pinch of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cream
Note: Use the best bottle of wine you can afford, a good rule of thumb is that “if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t cook with it” but you should never blow your whole dinner budget on wine for sauce. This recipe makes a lot of sauce so you might want to cut it in half or make it all and freeze the leftovers for another dinner.
Directions:
Puree shallots and garlic in blender or food processor if possible or chop as fine as possible
Sauté shallots and garlic in Oil for a few minutes until soft and clear
Add the flour and sauté for a couple of minutes
Add the Herbs and wine followed by chicken stock and seasonings.
Simmer the sauces down to less than ¼ the volume [...]
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by Cheryl Wolhar on August 25, 2009
This is another family favorite and is usually served on Thanksgiving, however, this year I served the Pumpkin Soup which was also a big hit! The best thing about this recipe is that you can use it to make any “cream” soup that you want, i.e. Cream of Broccoli, Cream of Asparagus, etc… Just substitute the green chilies for any vegetable that you prefer.
Ingredients:
58 oz. fresh chicken stock
(4 – 14 ½ oz. cans if fresh is unavailable)
1 onion diced small
12 oz canned green chilies minced
½ teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup butter melted
1 cup flour
Salt to taste
1 cup heavy cream
Directions:
Bring stock to a boil.
Sauté onion and green chilies in a small amount of oil on low heat until onion is soft and somewhat caramelized; add spices; add to stock and simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine melted butter and flour, mix well.
Add ¾ of butter/flour mixture to the soup and whip until smooth. It will begin to thicken (If a thicker soup is desired add more of the mixture.)
To finish, add the cream slowly while stirring. Add salt and adjust seasonings.
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Over the weekend I was challenged by some of my tweeps to come up with a Cream of Bacon Soup recipe. This wasn’t the first time this idea has come up in my [many] conversations about #bacon. The subject even came up once during a winemaker dinner.
The Murphy-Goode was crisp and tart while the Pezzi was smooth and mellow. Both were delicious and we enjoyed them very much.
