Teachable...yes!
It's a week of miracles here at Grand Larsony.
First off: earlier this week I go off and post onto this blog....UNAIDED!
Second...I am writing down a winner recipe. Yes, actually writing it down.
I love to experiment in the kitchen. Sometimes things don't work out so well
and then there are times when the stars align and me and my family and neighbors are blessed with fantastic treats from my kitchen. My only problem is that I never write down the ingredients. I am very comfortable with cooking off-the-cuff which is good, but when I want to re-create a dish I am often left short of satisfied with my creation.
No more I say...at least for this recipe.
So this soup started out as a sausage, cheese and wild rice soup I started making years ago from a recipe I got off of allrecipes.com. Long gone is the sausage grease splattered sheet I printed the recipe on so, so long ago. I was going to have to wing it and rely on my terrible memory to get me through to the dinner table.
Started out by browning up a pound of mild Italian sausage.
Peeled and diced up 4 large russet potatoes. However...I'm going with Yukons next time. I'm thinking a waxier tater would do a lot for my texture issues. Love russet potatoes when they're mashed or baked, just not boiled. Is that wierd?
Diced up a whole medium onion.
Diced, not sliced into circles 2 medium carrots.
I go nuts when there are slices of carrtos in soup. Don't know why...but I think it has something to do with my mom's potato soup. Sorry mom. You know I love you anyway.
Just not your potato soup.
1 pkg. wild rice
1 box chicken stock. One day I'll make my own...one day.
3 10.75oz. cans of Cream of Chicken soup.
1 Large box Velveeta cheese, diced.
Tumeric
Salt and Pepper
Garlic Salt
Stock pot or Crockpot. Either one, the assembly is the same.
Add chicken stock and cream of chicken soup. Dillute the soup with 2 cans of water. I did all 3 tonight and it was a bit on the thin side. I'll save the 3rd can for the end, if the soup looks more like stew.
Add browned and crumbled sausage and wild rice.
Wisk to incorporate soup.
Add taters, onions and carrots.
Set to 4 Hour High on the Crock Pot or bring to a rolling boil until rice is done on the stove top.
Just before service bring off the heat and add the cubed cheese. Don't boil after this point.
Stir in cheese until melted.
Season with 1 tsp. ish tumeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
This looks like a load of salt, but with all those taters in there, you might want to add even more.
We served this soup with a pat of butter on top for a bit more richness. I wasn't quite getting the depth of flavor I was hoping for a first.
This made me think maybe the base for the soup should be a browned roux.
I'll have to put that one in my thinking pipe and smoke it for a while.
The soup turned out delicious.
Carrots were there but not obvious. Like I said earlier, I think I'll try Yukon Gold's next time and see where that takes me on the potato front.
Sean was thinking this soup base would be great in cream of broccoli. I'm definitely going to be trying that out.
By the way I can't wait to have this for lunch tomorrow. All those flavors hanging out overnight...this should be good.
In other news, we did have a dessert disaster today. You can't win them all.
Let me just say that chocolate pudding was never meant to be mint chocolate pudding and that said mint chocolate pudding was never meant to be substituted as the chocolate presence in a s'more....and then frozen.
GAG!!
