Cream of Broccoli (or Brussels Sprouts) Soup

I am really excited to share this recipe with you guys.  Really, really excited.

You see, when I was a student at UCLA oh so many moons ago, one of my favorite things to do was go to the cafe in Kerckhoff Hall for lunch.  They had a cream of broccoli soup there that was just divine.  It was served in a bread bowl, had big chunks of broccoli and just the right texture -- not so creamy that it was practically congealed, but not so thin that it was like water, either.  If I opted not to have the bread bowl, I'd have it with a toasted cheese bagel.



I still dream of that soup.  I haven't gone back for it since I graduated -- I don't know if that cafe still exists, and if it does, that they even still serve the soup, or if they do, if they use the same kind they did before (I doubt it was made in house).  But even if everything were the same, I'm not the same, my palate has developed a lot since then, and I bet it wouldn't be as good as my memory.  So I'm not going to be seeking it out.

I can, however, attempt to make my own version of this soup at home.  In fact, it's been a kind of quest of mine.  I've tried sooooooo many different broccoli soup variations over the years, but they've all been disappointing.  That's why I've never posted about it.  First, most of the recipes use a lot of cheese.  I didn't remember this soup being a "broccoli cheese soup," but maybe I just didn't know it was in there, so I was game to try it out.  Several recipes later, I was convinced that cheese was not involved.  Cheese just made the soup grainy and gave it an unpleasant texture, especially when heated to high temperatures (which is a requirement of mine; I like my hot soups SUPER HOT.  There's nothing worse than tepid soup) -- the cheese would separate.  Ick.  Second, the recipes used either a lot of cream, which STILL didn't make it thicken as it was supposed to, so added a ton of calories for no reason, or no cream, and claimed that using a stick blender to homogenize the whole thing would give it a thick texture -- which didn't actually work very well, it wasn't a creamy thickness, and the next day all the blended vegetables settled to the bottom of the pot, with the water-like broth at the top.  Ew.  And for me, big, identifiable chunks of broccoli is a must, which blending would make difficult if not impossible.



Well, I have found the recipe that finally resembles the soup I love and remember -- at least in the most important aspects.  It's thick, chunky, and makes my mouth sing with happiness.  It's creamy in just the right way, yet uses very little cream compared to other recipes, and no cheese at all (except for the cheese you sprinkle on top if you like, but the soup is so rich you really don't need it).  It's also for my more-sophisticated palate, with depth of flavor coming from cooking the vegetables a good, long time, white wine, and frozen cubes of demi-glace I keep around to give more oomph to just about anything.  You can, of course, use store-bought demi-glace, or simply substitute with regular broth.  The soup will still be delicious.

The funny thing is that the recipe looked so plain and simple (and I'd been burned so many times before) that instead of actually using broccoli, which I didn't have, I substituted it with what I did have on hand -- Brussels sprouts, which I quartered.  As much as I like Brussels sprouts, and as delicious as the soup turned out, I can't wait to make this properly, with broccoli, which is probably my favorite vegetable.  But it definitely works with both!



The soup is a little more rustic than one might expect from a cream soup.  Grated carrot, celery, and onion display themselves unapologetically.  For a less rustic look, I suppose the vegetables could be pureed before the saute step, which would 'hide' them better.  I may try it next time just to see if that actually works, though having them be obviously there doesn't affect my enjoyment at all.

I should also mention that after refrigerating, the soup thickens up quite a bit.  When reheating, add enough water while stirring to get to the consistency you like.

Cream of Broccoli (or Brussels Sprouts) Soup (recipe adapted from The Domestic Goddess)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 head broccoli, divided into florets (or 1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved if small, quartered if large)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 vidalia (or other sweet) onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped or grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsps freshly chopped parsley
• 7 tbsps flour
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cubes frozen demi-glace (about 2 tbsps)
• 1 cup water (or instead of the demi-glace and water, use another cup of chicken broth)
• 1 cup white wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 cup whipping cream

Method

1. Melt the butter and olive oil in large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the broccoli, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and parsley. Stir to combine the vegetables with the fat.
3. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, or until the onion and broccoli are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the flour and stir the mixture until the flour has almost completely disappeared (one or two specks is okay).
5. Add the chicken broth, demi-glace, water, and wine. Cover and simmer the soup for 40 minutes. Stir and scrap the bottom every once in awhile, as at this point the soup may stick and you don't want the bottom to burn.
6. Taste the soup and adjust seasonings -- add thyme and salt/pepper if needed.
7. Add the cream and cook through, about 5 minutes.

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Homemade tomato soup is one of those things that is a hundred, no, a thousand, times better than any premade stuff you can buy at the store.  It's a bit involved to make, true, especially for something that seems so deceptively simple.  I mean, a tomato soup -- what could sound easier?



Don't get me wrong, it is easy.  It's just more dishwashing than I would like. :D  Still, the results are so spectacular that I can't really complain.  Start with good tomatoes.  I used tomatoes from my garden -- a few of the larger ones that actually ripened during our cold Seattle summer.  The garlic and basil were also from my garden, I'm proud to say!



Start by roasting the tomatoes, garlic, and onion with salt, pepper, and olive oil.  Once the tomatoes are nice and soft, puree them with the garlic, onion, and some basil.  I used my new immersion blender, but this can also be done in a regular blender or a food processor.



This next step, in my opinion, is not really optional.  After the tomato mixture has been pureed, strain it through a fine mesh sieve.  All the little bits of tomato skin and things that didn't get finely pureed get separated out, making the resulting soup wonderfully smooth in texture.  To this I added soy milk (substituting for heavy cream with no ill effect, though I'm sure it would have been even more delicious with the cream), a splash of white wine, and a pinch of sugar.  I like my soups very hot, so I strained the soup into a small pot and kept it on low heat while I prepared the other part of dinner -- what's tomato soup without grilled cheese?



In this case, it was a grilled cheese sandwich made from a plain bagel and Irish white cheddar.  It was the only kind of bread I had, but it worked great.  Excellent dunkability.  A fantastic complement to the deep, rich flavor of the soup. :-)  The recipe I provide makes one large bowl, or two smaller ones.  If you decide to double or even triple it, to make all the dishes worth it, keep in mind you'll probably have to puree and strain in batches.



Creamy Tomato Bisque

Ingredients

• 4 large tomatoes, cored
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1/4 of an onion, chopped
• salt
• pepper
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp basil, sliced or chopped
• a splash of white wine (optional)
• a big pinch of sugar
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream (can be substituted with milk)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place the cored tomatoes on the sheet.  Partially wrap garlic and onion in some foil.  Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tomatoes, garlic, and onion.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Close the foil over the garlic and onion to make a pouch.
3. Roast in the oven for 35 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and starting to brown on top, but not falling apart.
4. Place the tomatoes, garlic, and onion (be careful opening the pouch!) in a container (bowl, blender, food processor).  Add the basil, reserving some for garnishing if you wish, and the wine, if using.  Blend to a fine puree.
5. Strain the mixture into a small pot or a large bowl.
6. Add the sugar and stir.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
7. Add the milk or cream, enough to achieve the desired color and texture, and stir until combined completely.
8. When soup has reached the desired temperature, divide into bowls, garnish, and serve.

Simple Kimchi Jigae

This is a post I should have made awhile ago -- back in May, to be exact, when I first made the dish.  Actually, if I remember correctly, I made it practically every day for a week, because it was so easy and yummy, and I had the ingredients on hand.



This is probably not the best time to be posting a recipe for a soup/stew, given that many parts of the country seem to be experiencing an autumn heat wave right now, but hey, this will come in handy for when the weather turns cooler, or for those folks who live in colder areas!

The first thing to know about this particular recipe for kimchi jigae is that it's very customizable.  You can use or not use or substitute just about anything... except for the kimchi.  That part is sort of necessary for it to be kimchi jigae.  What I provide below is a super basic recipe for 1 serving that you can adjust to your own taste and requirements.  The kimchi provides all the seasoning the stew requires, but you can get really fancy and use chicken broth instead of water, or add extra salt and pepper, etc.

If you're like me, you bought a huge tub of kimchi during your last trip to the Korean grocery store, because it's the most economical, and it's preserved so it'll last forever, right?  Well, yes and no.  It's like sticking things in the freezer.  It might still be safe to eat 2 years later, but will it taste any good?  The thing with kimchi is that it just keeps fermenting.  And eventually, it gets to a point where it's too fermented, and it doesn't taste good on its own anymore (unless, of course, you are the sort who likes super-fermented kimchi).  When it gets to that point, it's perfect for making kimchi jigae!

Simple Kimchi Jigae

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 strips of pork belly, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup packed kimchi, with some juice
• 1/4 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 1/2 -2 cups cold water
• 1/2 cup tofu, cubed
• sliced scallions

Method

1. Heat the sesame oil in a small pot.
2. Add the pork belly and fry until the pieces start to get brown spots.
3. Add the kimchi and garlic, then stir fry everything together for a few minutes.
4. Pour in the water, enough to cover by about 1/2 inch.
5. Add the tofu and bring the soup to a boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Garnish with the scallions and serve hot.

Slow Cooker French Onion Soup

French onion soup is one of those foods that captured me utterly as a child and I've loved it since the first moment I tasted the hot, salty beef broth full of tender onions, gooey cheese, and soup-soaked bread. It quickly became one of those items that, if I saw it on a restaurant menu, I had to order it. Maybe it's that childhood memory, but even after having had it countless of times at many varied dining establishments, from the modest to the highbrow, I still think Mimi's Cafe, the location of that first taste of heaven, serves some of the best French onion soup around.



Over the years, however, I've become more conscious of my salt intake, and French onion soup everywhere tends to be oversalted. Being able to control the amount of salt is a very good reason to try and make it at home, but for whatever reason, I never have. It's not supposed to be a difficult dish to make, but on some level I found it intimidating (or the fear of failure intimidating).

Recently, Trix and I decided to resurrect our "Friday Night Dinners," except we're no longer going to adhere to any strict schedule, and our efforts are going to primarily focus on the slow cooker. This is to accommodate Trix's limited and often unpredictable schedule, but still allow us to do something we enjoy.

Trix loved this French onion soup recipe. I just found it OK, a bit too sweet (next time I probably won't add the sugar). However, the key to this dish is the broth. If you don't start with a broth you love, the results aren't going to be something you love, either. She used Better Than Bouillon; I used Trader Joe's organic beef broth. The soup cooking in the slow cooker all day made the house smell WONDERFUL. It smelled better than it tasted, actually -- but I can't wait to try this again with homemade beef broth. I'm betting it will make a huge difference.

The best thing about this experience is that I've gotten over my intimidation of making this dish!



Slow Cooker French Onion Soup (recipe adapted from A Year of Slow Cooking)

Ingredients

• 32oz beef broth
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 yellow onions, sliced thin
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 slices of French bread
• 4 slices of Swiss cheese (or gruyere cheese)

Method

1. Heat the slow cooker to high and add the butter; it will start melting.
2. Add the onions, beef broth, sugar, salt and sherry.
3. Cook the soup on high for 6-8 hours or low for 10-12.
4. Ladle soup into oven-proof bowls or crocks.  Layer bread onto the bowls of soup and add a slice (or two) of cheese on top.  Don't worry if it hangs over the edge, it'll melt and stick to the bowl, a true French onion soup experience!
5. Place under a hot broiler for a few minutes, or until the cheese has melted and turned a lovely golden brown.

My First-Ever Korean Table

I have long enjoyed Korean cuisine, but have never attempted to make it myself. Like Indian cuisine, it always seemed rather daunting, even though the ingredients are fairly common (unlike Indian spices). Recently, I decided to make a full-Korean meal for members of my family, including banchan and dessert. I was somewhat trepidatious, as I generally like to test recipes on myself before inflicting them on others. :-)

It was a long, arduous undertaking, but I did it, and most everything was well received. I waffled between making little dishes of banchan myself or buying it, but in the end the things I wanted were simple enough, and only ended up buying the kimchi (I'm not sure I'll ever come to a point where I'll feel I need to make THAT myself).

One learning that came from this experience is that it's well worth taking the time to make the main courses, but maybe not so much the banchan unless I'm feeding a lot of people over the course of several days. The banchan dishes I chose, while very simple to prepare, are nevertheless time consuming, especially when preparing a bunch of other dishes, as I did.

Here, then, are the various dishes I made, along with a few cooking notes and how each was received.

Kimchi, the only dish not made from scratch. It was okay.  I have yet to find a brand of store-bought kimchi that I really like. The kind served at Korean restaurants tend to be much better than what I can find at the grocery store (even H-Mart, a Korean grocery store).

Sigeumchi Namul, or seasoned spinach, made by dropping the spinach into hot water for 1 minute, then seasoning with sesame seeds, sesame oil, and salt. Very good and simple, but quite a bit of work due to all the washing that's required.

Kong Namul, or seasoned bean sprouts, made by steaming the sprouts (in this case, mung bean sprouts, though traditionally it is made with soy bean sprouts) for a few minutes, then seasoning with scallions, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and salt. Very good and simple, but a bit time consuming.

Oi Muchim, or spicy cucumber salad. Small Persian or Kirby cucumbers are sliced, then mixed with scallions, sesame oil, cider vinegar, and gochujang. This was only okay, even though it's usually one of my favorite banchan. The problem was that the gochujang I used was WAY too spicy, so that I wasn't able to put much of it in. That made the cucumbers under-seasoned.

Sangchu Kutjuri, or mixed simple salad, which I've found to be ubiquitous during Korean barbecue meals. However, I'm not sure how traditional it actually is, as it was actually difficult to find a Korean cookbook that had a recipe for it. It's red-leaf lettuce, hand shredded, with thinly sliced scallions and a simple dressing that's sweet, savory, and sour all at once. It's wonderful. My version was pretty good, but not nearly as good as I've had at restaurants. More experimentation is a must!

Jap Chae, or glass noodles with beef and vegetables. This went down like gangbusters. Everyone loved it. It was delicious, and very authentic tasting. The glass noodles are made from sweet potato starch, and turn translucent when stir fried. The noodles are mixed with seasoned beef, matchstick carrots, onion, shitake mushrooms, and spinach (which I added a bit late, so it's kind of clumpy in the dish). Really wonderful, well worth the time it took to make.

Bulgogi, or the well-known sweet and savory "barbecued" beef that's thinly sliced. This was an incredibly simple and delicious dish -- all that's needed is for the beef to mature in the marinade. Also a hit with everyone.

Saenggang Jelly, or ginger jelly. Most decidedly NOT a hit with everyone. First you have to really, REALLY enjoy the taste of ginger. Then you have to enjoy the heat in your mouth after a few mouthfuls of this super strong dessert. It creeps up on you, and just isn't very pleasant. Even those among us who enjoy ginger a lot couldn't handle eating all of it. Granted, we didn't drizzle it with dark corn syrup as the recipe indicated (because we didn't have any), so I don't know if that would have made a big difference. Honestly though, I can't remember EVER having a Korean dessert in a restaurant setting, and recipes for them in cookbooks seem very sparse; maybe dessert just isn't a forte of the cuisine.

I also made something else that I neglected to take a picture of, that everyone absolutely loved: Kom Tang, or beef bone soup. I actually don't even know how Korean it was, since I made a lot of adjustments, especially toward the end when I was running out of time. The recipe calls for beef knuckles, but I couldn't find it at either H-Mart nor 99 Ranch, so I ended up using beef neck bones instead. That right there might make it un-Korean, I don't know. I was also supposed to cut the meat and cartilage from the bones and drop the former but not the latter back into the soup; I skipped this step entirely. We're used to eating meat from bones in soup, after all. I also did not remove the carrot and onion, again due to time contraint. I used daikon, which I had on hand, which I'm not sure if that can be considered "Korean radish" (the recipe does not get more specific than that). Finally, I neglected to add all of the ingredients that I was supposed to at the end, because I just plain forgot, lol. Yet, as I said, everyone LOVED the soup!

I wanted to make "purple rice," which seems to be pretty standard at Korean restaurants, but it turns out that you have to soak black rice (a bit of black rice mixed with white rice is what turns the rice violet in color) for hours and hours before it softens enough to be cooked with white rice, which I didn't realize. So we just had regular sticky white rice.

All in all, a big success, and a few of these dishes will likely find themselves in my permanent repertoire!

Jap Chae (recipe adapted from The Korean Table)

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp Sweet Soy Base Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 tbsp minced green onion
• 1 tsp dark sesame oil
• 1/4 lb sirloin tips or ribeye steak, cut into matchstick strips
• 5 oz dried Korean vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 lb spinach
• 2 tbsp canola or other neutral oil
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchstick strips
• 8 dried shitake mushrooms, reconstituted in water and cut into matchstick strips
• 1 tbsp dark sesame oil
• 5 tbsp Sweet Soy Base Sauce
• 1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a small bowl, add the beef and the first 3 ingredients to make the marinade. Toss the beef strips until thoroughly coated. Let the beef marinate while preparing the other ingredients.
2. Place the dried noodles in a large heatproof mixing bowl. Pour about 4 cups of boiling water over the noodles and let soften, about 8 minutes. Drain the noodles. If they get sticky just give them a quick rinse with warm water.
3. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach and cook for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
4. In a large skillet, add 1 tbsp of canola oil and place over medium heat. Stir-fry the onion, carrot, and mushrooms separately, seasoning each with a pinch of salt. Add additional oil to the skillet as needed. Place each vegetable, when done, into a large serving bowl.
5. In the same skillet, add the beef and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add to the serving bowl.
6. To the skillet, add the 1 tbsp of sesame oil and the 5 tablespoons of Sweet Soy Base Sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the softened cellophane noodles and mix well. The noodles will become transparent over the heat.
7. Add the noodles to the serving bowl along with the cooked vegetables and beef. Toss until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

Sweet Soy Base Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 6 thin slices of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup red or white wine

Method

1. Combine water, garlic, and peppercorns in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar, and wine. Turn the heat to high and boil for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature.
4. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a large mixing bowl. Discard the solids.

Bulgogi (recipe adapted from The Korean Kitchen)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless rib steak, cut into very thin slices 5-6 inches long by 2 inches wide
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or chopped fine
• 3 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp Korean sesame oil

Method

1. Mix the beef and sugar together. Let it rest for 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce, garlic, scallions, pepper, and sesame oil. Toss the mixture well to integrate all the flavors, and let it stand at room temperature for a minimum of 1 hour (or overnight in the refrigerator) to allow the meat to mature.
2. Preheat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Add the beef slices, along with any remaining marinade, to the skillet. Stir fry, without oil, for 2-3 minutes, until done.

Kom Tang (original recipe; my notes on what I changed, after)

Ingredients

• 8 cups water
• 3-5 beef knuckles with meat and cartilage attached, well rinsed
• 1 carrot, halved lengthwise
• 1 medium-size onion, halved
• 1 Korean radish, peeled and cut into a 4-inch piece
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 5 scallions, sliced thin
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp hot chili powder
• 1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

Method

1. Bring the water, bones, carrot, onion, and radish to a boil over high heat for 20 minutes. Skim off and discard the foam. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for at least 2 hours, which should be sufficient to tenderize the ingredients.
2. Remove the bones from the broth; cut off the meat and cartilage and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Discard the carrot and onion.
3. Slice the radish into thin 1-inch squares. Add to the hot broth with the meat pieces, salt, scallions, sesame seeds, hot chili powder, and ginger. Mix briskly and serve immediately.

My Changes

1. I used beef neck bones.
2. I used Daikon radish, and sliced it into 1-inch pieces from the outset.
3. I skimmed the foam at the beginning and at the end.
4. I did not remove the meat/cartilage from the bone and instead served with the bones intact.
5. I did not remove the carrot or onion.
6. I did not add the ingredients from the scallions onward, at the end.
7. I ended up simmering the soup for 4-5 hours, as I was preparing the rest of the meal.

Friday Dinner: Clam Chowder

I've been remiss in blogging about two Friday dinners in a row! Maybe it's because, subconsciously, I want to keep two wonderful recipes to myself. :D Nah, that's not it. I don't really have a good reason; I'm just a procrastinator at heart (and everywhere else).

The previous Friday, Trix and I made our first-ever attempt at clam chowder. It was nearly a rousing success. I say nearly because we had to make individual adjustments to the recipe to get it to our liking -- mostly to do with consistency. The flavor of the chowder is quite good, if a little too infused with bacon (which is something neither of us thought we'd ever say).



I used whole clams, because live Manila clams were available at my local 99 Ranch, and because I can't forget the memory of the best clam chowder I ever had at a Gladstone's in Malibu, which had whole clams in it. It's the only clam chowder I've ever had that used whole clams. This was more than a decade ago, however, and I've heard that they've since stopped doing that (probably cost prohibitive) -- which is too bad. But all the more reason to make it myself, if possible.

If you can't find live clams, using the canned minced kind is perfectly acceptable -- Trix used them and she's made this chowder twice already.

We both found that cooking the chowder for the original time specified wasn't nearly enough time for the soup to thicken to a consistency we liked. I don't particularly like my chowder too thick, but nor should it be as thin as broth. She found that cooking it longer (therefore melting the potatoes further and allowing more moisture to evaporate) made the consistency work better for her; I found that adding more flour made it absolutely perfect for me. I'd recommend trying her method if you have the time, and if it doesn't get to the consistency you want, add flour. Or if you're pressed for time and want to get thicker results more quickly, just add more flour from the start.

We're still doing some experimenting with this recipe (we definitely like it enough to make it many times!), such as trying to figure out if the smoked ham is absolutely necessary, or if there are different points in which we should add potatoes, to make sure they're not all melted in the final result.

Clam Chowder - adapted from a recipe found here

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 4oz. bacon, diced
• 2oz. smoked ham, diced
• 3 cups minced clams, drained and juice reserved
• 3 cups chopped onions
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups water + reserved clam juice
• 3 cups whole milk
• 6 cups potatoes, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Butter and paprika (optional)
• Finely minced chives (optional)

Method:

1. Saute the bacon and ham together, until the bacon is nearly crisp. Add onions and saute until limp. Set this mixture aside, but do not drain.
2. In a heavy bottomed pot, add the potatoes, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour what reserved clam juice you have into a measuring cup and add water until it reaches 2 1/2 cups. Cook until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes.
3. To the bacon, ham, and onion mixture add the flour and make a roux. Mix theroux into the potato mixture and bring to a boil. Stir down when it's boiling, then add the milk and clams.
4. Simmer until hot, stirring often. Do not allow the chowder to boil again once the milk is added or it will separate. If the chowder isn't thick enough, add more flour (if you use a thickener like Wondra, you can just sprinkle it directly into the chowder; if you use regular flour you'll probably want to make a thin paste with some water before mixing it in or it'll just be lumpy).
5. Serve when the chowder is thickened to your liking and hot. Garnish each bowl with a dollop of butter, a dash of paprika, and/or chives.

Note: If you're using fresh clams, as I did, you'll want to steam them first. Get about an inch of water boiling in a large pot that has a lid. Wash the clams and put them in a heatproof bowl that will fit into the pot when covered. Put the bowl into the pot while the water is simmering. Cover. Steam for 3 minutes; you'll probably start to hear some of the clams pop open. Set the lid aside and remove the clams that have opened. The ones on the bottom probably haven't, so you'll want to put the lid back on and repeat those steps until all the clams are open. Remove the clams from their shells (up to you if you want to include the ligament) and place them in a separate bowl until ready to use in the chowder. Discard the shells. The bowl you used to steam the clam will probably be full of clam-infused water; you should reserve it to use in the chowder. Safest thing to do is line a strainer with some cheesecloth and strain the juice through it (in case there's sand).

Creamy Scallop Soup

This soup is not your everyday soup. It takes too much time and too many premium ingredients for that. But it's the perfect thing for a dinner party or special occasion. All the work and effort you put into it is worth the time it takes to concoct this gorgeous, sophisticated soup. The base is silky, creamy, and rich, and yet has a slight tang from the lemon, and a hint of nuttiness from the crème fraîche. And let's not forget the jewels of tender, succulent scallops that are swimming lazily in the broth. The recipe doesn't make much, but it's enough to serve 4. Why? Because something this rich and satisfying doesn't need more than a small bowl. More, in my opinion, lessens the experience; tips it over to the side of being too much. Serve it in small bowls, so each drop can be savored, as it should.



The soup begins with a white fish stock. Where does one obtain the fish heads/bones/frames necessary for the stock? Call a local fish market, or even a regular grocer, and see if they'll reserve you a pound or two of it. They'd likely discard it anyway, so might even give it to you for free (or would charge a nominal fee). I got mine from Whole Foods. I called them the morning I was going to make the stock to have them reserve heads/frames from white fish for me. They charged me $0.99/lb.

Next comes the crème fraîche, the French version of sour cream. But, to no one's surprise, it's better than the usual sour cream. Why? Because crème fraîche has a nutty flavor that imparts itself to the final soup -- so I'd recommend you use the real thing. You can buy a small tub of it (just enough for this soup, actually) made by Bellwether Farms for $2.99 from Trader Joe's. If you can't find it, you could probably subsitute sour cream or whole milk yogurt, but it won't be the same. Alternatively, you could try making an imitation. Do this by adding a tablespoon of buttermilk to a cup of whipping cream, then heating it gently to 110°F (45°C). Let the good bacteria culture grow in a warm place (think rising dough), keeping it there from 8 hours to a couple of days, until it's thick. Once it's the right consistency, transfer it to a small container and store it in the fridge. It'll thicken some more while in there, and will be good for about three weeks. But the truth is, it's a poor substitute. If you can get real crème fraîche, you should definitely splurge.

The recipe calls for whole sea scallops, which are then quartered. I've made this soup twice now, once using whole sea scallops and once using bay scallops. I liked the flavor of the sea scallops more, but bay scallops, with their pleasing whole-mini-scallops look, make for a nicer presentation. Which you use should be determined by which aspect is more important, depending on the occasion for which you're making the soup. A 1-lb bag of frozen bay scallops can be had at Whole Foods for $6.99; a 1-lb bag of frozen, wild sea scallops can be had at Trader Joe's for $10.99; and a 1-lb tub of fresh, wild sea scallops can be had at 99 Ranch for $9.99.

Creamy Scallop Soup

This recipe is originally from Orangette, who calls it "Cream of Scallop Soup," per the Gourmet recipe she got it from. However that makes me think the scallops have somehow been pureed into the soup, which is not the case, so I like my name better.

Ingredients

• ¾ lb. sea scallops, tough ligament removed from side of each if attached
• salt, to taste
• 1 cup white fish stock
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 1 thyme sprig
• 7.5oz (213g) crème fraîche (about ¾ cup)
• 2 large egg yolks
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 2 tbsp. finely chopped chives

Method

1. Rinse the scallops, and then pat them dry. Quarter them, and season them with 1/8 tsp. salt.
2. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine the stock, wine, shallot, thyme, and ½ tsp. salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and boil for 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids before discarding them. Return the liquid to the saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then stir in the scallops and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until the scallops are just cooked through, about 2 minutes. (Do not overcook. If anything, leave them rare; they will continue to cook after you remove them from the heat.) Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon, and keep them warm, covered. Reserve the cooking liquid in the saucepan.
3. Meanwhile, put the crème fraîche in a small saucepan, and bring it to a simmer over medium-low to medium heat. Simmer until it reduces slightly, about 3 minutes. Add it to the cooking liquid in the medium saucepan, stir well, and simmer together for another 3 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, ¼ cup of the crème fraîche-cooking liquid mixture, and pepper. Add half of the remaining crème fraîche mixture to the yolk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Then pour it all back into the medium saucepan, whisking. Cook over very low heat, whisking, until just slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Do not boil. Remove from the heat, taste for seasoning, and salt as needed.
5. Divide the scallops among 4 small soup bowls, and then ladle the soup on top. Sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.