Fannie Farmer

Creole Soup

/ sandramervillehart

I recently ran across The Fannie Farmer Cookbook in an antique store. This book was originally published in 1896.

Stock, water enriched by the food cooked in it, is an important ingredient in numerous soups. Homemade stock brings full-bodied flavor to recipes. The recipe for the beef stock used in this recipe is found here.

This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of bacon fat. My husband sacrificed (😊) and fried some bacon to provide this for my soup.

To make this soup, chop enough onion for 2 tablespoons. Finely chop a green pepper to provide 2 tablespoons. Peel and chop tomatoes for 1 cup required for the soup.

Melt 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in a large saucepan. Stir in onion and green pepper. Cook on a medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 3 cups of beef stock or beef broth. (I used beef stock.) Heat this to gently bubbling. Then lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

Strain soup and then return the broth to the saucepan. Add ½ teaspoon of ground pepper, 1 tablespoon of prepared horseradish, and ½ teaspoon of vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon of salt or salt to taste.

I’ve never tasted Creole Soup before—I loved it! This is a delicious, tangy soup.

Serve hot. This recipe makes 3 one-cup servings.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

 

Cream of Cucumber Soup Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I found The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally published in 1896, in an antique store. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

Stock, water enriched by the food cooked in it, is an important ingredient in numerous soups. Homemade stock brings full-bodied flavor to recipes. The recipe for the chicken stock used in this recipe is found  here.

To make this soup, finely chop enough onion to give 3 tablespoons and set aside.

Peel 3 large cucumbers. Remove the seeds and then slice them.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in onion and cucumber. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Cook about 1 ½ minutes.

Add 3 cups of chicken stock or chicken broth. (I had run out of stock so I used broth instead.) Stir in 1 cup of milk. Turn burner to a medium high heat until soup boils.

Remove from heat. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Strain the broth. Rinse the saucepan before returning the strained soup to it.

Beat 2 egg yolks. Stir these into the soup. Add ½ cup light or heavy cream (I used heavy cream) and ½ teaspoon salt or salt to taste. Reheat the soup until hot, stirring frequently. Do not boil.

This is the first time I’ve made this type of soup. There is a light, refreshing taste of cucumber. I thought it tasted delicious and will make it again.

This recipe makes 7 one-cup servings.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

Cream of Asparagus Soup

/ sandramervillehart

I found this recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, a book originally published in 1896. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

Stock, water enriched by the food cooked in it, is an important ingredient in numerous soups. Homemade stock brings full-bodied flavor to recipes. The recipe for the chicken stock used in this recipe is found here.

To make this soup, finely chop enough onion to give 2 tablespoons and set aside.

I used a pound of fresh asparagus, but frozen asparagus is also good. If using fresh, wash the vegetable and then chop off the coarse ends (about two inches from the end of the spear) and discard.

Boil 3 cups of water. Chop each asparagus spear a second time and drop the vegetables into boiling water. I cooked my asparagus for 4 minutes—about 1 minute too long as a few spears were limp. Next time I will boil them for 3 minutes.

Put a colander into a medium bowl and drain the asparagus. Reserve one cup of this water. The green liquid is filled with nutrients and flavor.

Cut off the asparagus tops. Chop them and set aside.

Pour the reserved water and 1 ½ cups of chicken stock or chicken broth into a large saucepan. (I used chicken stock.) Add 2 tablespoons of chopped onion to the liquid. Cook over a high heat until it begins to boil. Add the asparagus (without the reserved tops) and lower the heat to simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Puree the asparagus with the broth in a blender or food processor. I used a blender and had to divide it into two batches to puree.

Run the pureed mixture through a colander one more time for a creamier soup. After rinsing the used saucepan, pour the soup inside. Add 1 cup of milk or heavy cream. (I used milk. Use cream if you prefer thicker soup.)

Salt and pepper to taste. A half teaspoon of salt wasn’t enough so I added more. A teaspoon of salt was about right for me, but this is purely a personal preference.

Heat the soup over a medium heat until hot.

Garnish the creamy soup with the reserved chopped asparagus tops. I thought it tasted delicious and will make it again.

This recipe makes 5 one-cup servings.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

 

 

 

Cheese Soup

/ sandramervillehart

I found this recipe in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, originally published in 1896. Fannie Farmer’s name is still well-known today.

Stock, water enriched by the food cooked in it, is an important ingredient in numerous soups. Homemade stock brings full-bodied flavor to soups and sauces. The recipe for the beef stock used in this recipe is found  here.

To make this soup, finely chop enough onion to give 1 tablespoon.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the onion to the melted butter, cooking until the onion is limp. Stir in 1 tablespoon of flour. The recipe said to stir and cook this for 3 minutes, but mine started to brown after about 90 seconds. I’d suggest cooking this about 1 ½ minutes.

Slowly add 1 cup of beef stock (or 1 cup of beef bouillon or beef broth) and 2 cups of milk. Stirring frequently, heat until it boils.

Turn off the heat and stir in ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese. To achieve a creamier consistency, I added 2 slices of American cheese.

The recipe then calls for 2 teaspoons of paprika. I tasted the soup without it and enjoyed the flavor. Then I added paprika, which gave the soup a bit of zing that I also liked. Try it both ways to see which you prefer.

Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of paprika. The color of the soup made me think it wasn’t going to taste “cheesy” enough, but it did. I liked it.

This recipe makes 3 one-cup servings. Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.

 

Chicken Gumbo Soup Recipe

/ sandramervillehart

I prepared chicken stock using a recipe found in The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, giving me cooked chicken and chicken stock. I decided to make chicken gumbo soup.

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup okra, frozen or fresh

2 stalks of celery, sliced

½ cup carrots, bite-sized slices

1 can (about 16 ounces) diced tomatoes

½ cup uncooked rice, brown or white

2 cups cubed or shredded chicken

Salt

Pepper

Fresh minced parsley (optional)

As Fannie warned, my chicken stock gelled in the refrigerator. Also, it had only made about 3 ½ cups of stock. I added enough water to make 4 cups into a large kettle. I warmed this over medium heat until in liquid form again.

Add okra, celery, carrots, and tomatoes to the warmed stock. Stir in the uncooked rice. Cover and cook on medium heat for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the soup from sticking.

Reduce heat to low. Add chicken. Salt and pepper to taste. (Since I had not salted my chicken stock, I used a teaspoon of salt—the perfect amount for me.) Cook on low for about ten minutes to heat the chicken.

Garnish with a little minced parsley, if desired.

This made a hearty soup that I found delicious. One bowl is plenty for a meal.  I think an extra cup of stock would have been perfect, so I will use 5 cups of stock next time.

I’d love to hear from you if you try these recipes. Enjoy!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Revised by Cunningham, Marion and Laber, Jeri. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, Alfred A Knopf Inc., 1983.