The Soup Loop

So you eat the turkey, and you have some leftovers; if you're lucky, there's some meat on the bones. All the little glossies hanging out on the newstand this month will give you lots of ideas about how to use the remains of your feast, but this-- this is what you should make. Turkey gumbo. I mean no sacrilege by discussing gumbo on the soup loop. I know it's not proper to call gumbo "soup." I'm just saying. I want you to try this. Gumbo can take all day, but it doesn't have to. Now that I live in New Orleans and have talked cooking with lots of folks, I don't feel like I'm cheating with roux from a jar. It isn't a sacrilege here. Again, I'm just saying; you can certainly make your own roux if so inclined (see the Taggert recipe, below, for instructions). And if you find turkey stock at the store, such as Kitchen Basics brand (they do make it!), you can save yourself even more time. If not, simmer your turkey carcass for 45 minutes to an ...

You know how it is: the chill of an October morning, the familiar stripes of your favorite sweater, the desire to come home from work or school and dig into a bowl of something hot and filling. This is such a bowl. "Stuffed Peppers" was one of the first dishes I tackled after moving into my first apartment, when I was attending the University of Oklahoma. I had one cookbook then-- The Betty Crocker Cookbook --and I spent hours poring over the recipes for something I felt I could manage, not having much experience in the kitchen up to that point. Ground beef? Check. Bell peppers? Fine. Rice? A little tricky, but I could try. And it worked out. It was good and, most importantly, I hadn't risked losing any pricey ingredients. Fast-forward a few years. I don't find myself craving stuffed peppers per se, but I crave the time of the stuffed peppers--the times in your life when you're experimenting with everything, even life itself. I'm into soup now. It's time f...

In honor of our nation's economic crisis and the first below-80-degree days of autumn in New Orleans, I offer you a smashing recipe for Split Pea Soup. I've made this recipe, from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, several times over the past ten years, and every time I make it, I'm astounded at how easily I forget that (a) it makes a LOT of soup for very little money, and (b) it's darn good. This is also the kind of food that I crave after weekends filled with fried foods (it is football season, after all). You know how it is when your body aches for something un-fancy, natural, and legumed. You need some green-- stat . FAQ: No ham? This recipe is meatless, and can be made with water instead of stock, which cuts costs considerably. I've made it before with a big ham hock thrown in at the start, with tasty results. But I honestly prefer the vegetarian version for its clear, earthy flavor. 8-qt. pot? You must have a pot that will hold at least 8 quarts of liquid to c...

Talk about your inexpensive, good-smelling, sinus-clearing soup: this is a recipe from Soup by Williams-Sonoma, a book I turn to again and again for simple, accomplishable soup recipes. The first time I made their Carrot Soup with Ginger and Orange, I was expecting a healthy bowl, but one I'd more or less be forcing on myself (and others) for health's sake. Surprised we all were that this soup tasted rich . I'm not sure what magic ginger holds that makes it both clearingly light and duskily filling at the same time, but I like it. The orange zest also contributes to the richness, I think. A tip: buy a real-live orange for the juice and zest (zest is the colorful part of the fruit's skin--just grate the fruit shallowly, before you get to the white underskin). Prepared o.j. doesn't cut it in a soup with so few ingredients. Carrot Soup with Orange and Ginger (from Soup by Williams-Sonoma ) 3 Tablespoons olive oil 2 leeks, including tender green parts, thinly sliced (...

I'm cutting it pretty close here with the title, it being Daylight Savings Time now and a warm-ish Sunday morning in Arkansas, but I know we're still in for some coldness... That being said, I thought I'd share a method for making homemade soup out of little more than a few handfuls of dried beans. I have only two cardinal rules for bean soup: 1. start with dried beans, not canned;* 2. don't add salt until the beans are tender (or they might never become tender!). Here's the "recipe," presented more like a guide, with all kinds of possible omissions, substitutions, and additions. Honestly, I think the simpler you keep a bean soup, the better, so think of a final flavor you'd like to have in the soup, and decide on your seasonings and ingredients before you start making it; otherwise you might end up with a sloggy jumble. The photo soup was made with great northern beans, 1 onion, 2 carrots, 3 stalks celery, 3 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 cups chopped ham, lot...

There are certain dishes which, when I see their photographs and read their lists of ingredients, I'm less than excited about. Take lentils. Lentils, I know, have been eaten by humans for thousands of years, so we've had plenty of time to learn what goes well with them, how to season them, how to prepare them. And we wouldn't still be eating them if they weren't satisfying, right? In this version of lentil soup, we also have the "humble clan" of onions, carrots, celery, garlic. A little smoked sausage for flavor. I have to admit that I've been staring at this recipe in Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris for years now, and haven't been the least bit inspired to make it (although I have made several recipes from the book and have always been pleased). Haven't I learned by now that the simplest players make the best results? Something magical happens when just the right seasonings are paired with just the right combination of time-tested ingredients....