Archive for the ‘Soup’ Category
New England Clam Chowda
I crave creamy soup when it rains. And to me, the definition of a comforting, creamy soup is none other than New England clam chowder. Spending half my life growing up outside of Boston, ther’s plenty of good memories when someone’s uncle makes a giant pot of chowder and the whole neighborhood gets together to warm their bellies on cold days with oyster crackers. It’s comfort food you want to curl up inside and take a mid-afternoon nap.
So with that found memory in mind and a cold, raining to look forward to I decided to make the genuine article. The Cook’s Illistrated Best New Recipes encyclopedia turned out to be one of the best reference points to work with after browsing over a few other recipes. There isn’t a ton of variation with this dish except with your spices. It’s up to you what you want to add, but as usual I highly recommend some cayenne pepper to give your chowder a nice heat.
If you can’t get your hands on fresh clams, using store bought clam juice for the broth is still a much better option than buying premade chowder.
Butternut Squash Soup with an Apple Twist
Ever since I got a pressure cooker for Christmas I’ve been making soups on the regular. Nothing fancy. Honestly, I’ve only really put together butternut squash soup (and pumpkin soup one time when I stole a whole pumpkin from my neighbor’s yard that had been sitting out since Halloween.. it was still good and Giant was out). But so far my favorite recipe has been one my mom recommended to me that included an apple. Crazy right? Or brilliant?! It’s not fall anymore but it turns out squash and apple are pretty good friends. This recipe is one of the better ones I’ve tried, but all you really need is the veg and some stock.