A Cold, Blustery Start

The new year has gotten off to a cold, cold start here on the Shore. For others, like our SD friends, temperatures in the low twenties and teens are no big deal but we just aren't used to them. Worse still is the roaring wind. For two days our old house has been shaking, rattling, and not quite so cozy as it usually is. Thank goodness for our little woodstove. It's been running nonstop for days and making life much more bearable. Paul has even been getting up in the middle of the night to stir the coals and to feed the fire.

I'm also thankful for my dear MIL's holiday leftovers. (That's her in the photo, minus the leftovers.) She knows how much I love a good pot of soup and she makes sure I get either the turkey carcass or the hambone to take home with me after a nice family dinner at her house. This year, I got both. Yaaaay!! So, when I hear it's going to snow, rain, or get cold like it is now, I pull my treasure out of the freezer and set to work. I have a few secrets, that I'm happy to share. First, I always use the chicken or beef stock that comes in a box. It's lower in sodium than most of the canned broth and it's better seasoned. (If you make your own stock, disregard this advice--you've already got the best.) Then, I use a dutch oven--mine is an old Le Creuset--and I cook the soup in the oven, not on the stovetop. I saute the aromatics on the burner, adding a little flour at the end. After that, I throw in a container of stock and the meat. Into the oven it goes at about 325 degrees and I leave it for 90 minutes or so. After that, I add veggies, a little more water, and, at the very end, potatoes, rice or noodles and return it to the oven for 20-30 minutes more, just enough to cook the vegetables but not make them soggy.

Often when I make soup or stew, I make hot biscuits or a loaf of bread (from the breadmaker, of course) but last week I discovered a neat trick. We happened to go into a bakery one afternoon and I bought a loaf of day old bread. I usually freshen stale bread in the microwave but this time, I cut it into wide slices and put two in each soup bowl, pouring the hot liquid over top to serve. It was awesome! (So was the potato and leek soup, by the way.)

I'm sure my methods are far from revolutionary and probably common knowledge to better cooks than I, but I learned this all from reading Cook's Illustrated magazine and from watching their show, "America's Test Kitchens" and it's what works best for me.