Sunday Soup #12: Creamy Potato, White Cheddar, & Kielbasa Soup

This recipe came from: http://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2015/11/creamy-potato-white-cheddar-and.html

*Pic 1 - Picture from http://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2015/11/creamy-potato-white-cheddar-and.html

My Variations from Recipe as Written: I used 12 oz. of white cheddar cheese, rather than the 8 oz. called for in the recipe.

General Thoughts: Holy dicing, Batman! This recipe called for everything to diced... I am surprised it did not tell me to dice the butter! The recipe lists prep time as 10 minutes, but that is a load of beaver spit!  I was so sick of dicing things by the time the prep was done, I was almost no longer interested in the soup itself, but I digress...

This soup delivered as a main dish... A little piece of Eastern European flavor that satisfied for something both exotic and comforting.  It was very hearty, and turned out to be creamier than I thought it would, based on the single pint of Half-and-Half in the recipe.  Using the immersion blender was actually perfect, and I managed to do almost exactly what it said: blend approximately half the diced veggies and potatoes.  If you didn't have an immersion blender, you could just puree half the soup in a normal blender and add it back to the pot. The dollop of sour cream was a nice touch, and I paired it with sourdough bread for dipping.

In my opinion, the main thing this soup was missing was a stronger flavor. It was solid and tasty overall, but (for someone like me that enjoys strong flavors) it left me wanting for some "punch."  I added some Louisiana hot sauce to the bowls I ate, which certainly helped, but that is not for everyone. More salt, more pepper, more... something, would have helped.  On one hand, it is good because each individual person can doctor their own bowl to suit his or her taste, but if you are making it for a crowd that likes strong savory flavors, you might want to kick it up a notch.

I have some alterations I want to try next time I make it... Instead of the butter to sauté vegetables, I would start by cooking up half a pound of chopped bacon and then sautéing the veggies in the result.  Then, I think providing a good German or Polish sauerkraut as a garnish that folks could add to their bowls would provide some of the vinegar-y flavor I felt like it was lacking without necessarily upping the spice level.  Lisa suggested a couple of other items that would definitely be great as well (see below).

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

Polling the Fam: I got to make this one for our best friends, so got some good perspectives... First, for me, I would DEFINITELY make it again, particularly with the changes I mentioned above (although I'd buy some pre-diced veggies!).  Lisa gave the soup "two thumbs up," and made some really good additional suggestions that I would use next time: a smoked sausage instead of plain kielbasa; a much stronger (sharper) cheese (such as Kerrygold's Reserve Irish Cheddar); some green onion; and more sour cream. Jayson said he really liked it and would definitely eat it again, but agreed it needed something to kick up the flavor profile a little bit. And, Andrew thought it was really good, well-made, with tasty potatoes, and nothing he didn't like in his soup.

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)

Sunday Soup #11: Peanut Butter Soup

This recipe came from: My good friend, and professional chef, Jamie Kerr. Since you can't find it on a website (as far as I know), I'll add it for you here:

     Ingredients:

     3 large ribs celery, finely diced
     1/2 stick butter
     Medium onion, finely diced
     2 cartons chicken broth, 32 ounces each (8 cups)
     1-1/2 cups extra chunky peanut butter
     1 pint half and half (2 cups)
     Chopped peanuts
     Salt, hot sauce to taste

     In a large pot, sizzle celery in butter, stirring in onion until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add broth and heat while stirring in peanut butter. Cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender. Stir in half and half and heat through but do not boil. Season to taste and garnish with chopped peanuts.

     Makes about 10 cups

My Variations from Recipe as Written: None! I tried to make it exactly as she recommended. :-)

General Thoughts: A couple of weeks ago, I asked my followers if they had any ideas for recipes that could easily be made while camping. In response, Jamie (who owns and cooks for the best B&B I've ever had the pleasure to visit, TouVelle House - http://www.touvellehouse.com/) submitted this soup.  Unfortunately, I was unable to make it while we were camping, but I was SO intrigued, I decided I'd make it my next Sunday Soup.

It was... interesting. :-) Not bad, but not great, either. As you'd expect, it had a peanut butter taste, but it wasn't as strong as I expected. The soup was also decidedly thinner than I expected and, at times, I had the urge to drink it rather than use a spoon. And, the mouth-feel was a unexpected... The vegetables were not crunchy (maybe the way I cooked them?); in fact, it turned out that I was very grateful for the crushed peanuts used as a topping/garnish, since it provided the only real textural variety.  It was also a bit bland (most of you know I really like strong flavors)... I could have used both more peanut butter flavor (I know, it sounds weird, but I found myself craving it) and some definite spice! It got better when I knocked it up a notch (BAM!) with some hot sauce but, while I got the spice I craved, the flavors did not blend very well.

Despite the fact that it wasn't my favorite, overall, the soup was solid... but not as a main dish. It is a unique flavor that could provide a good palate prepper before a more substantial meal. I would recommend serving in small bowls during the appetizer course.  As an alternative, as is, it was begging to have some Thai noodles and bite-sized chicken breast pieces dropped in! Doing so (and adding some good Thai spice) seemed like it may have produced a delightful Thai peanut soup that I'd love to try again as a main dish.

*Pics 1 & 2 - Pictures from when I made it

UPDATE: Full disclosure, I actually made this soup on Friday (*gasp*)... So I tried it again this morning (Sunday) for breakfast before finalizing this entry. I liked it much more left over! It had more peanut flavor, was thicker and creamier, and I even found a way to add spice that blended perfectly with the soup's flavor: Sriracha! But, that does just reinforce my belief that this would be a great base for a rockin' Asian noodle soup!!

Polling the Fam: I liked, but didn't love it, but think it has great potential. I'd like to try it again with some big additions/alterations (see above), but I would likely not make it again as a primary soup choice in its current form. Becky said she didn't dislike it, but didn't really like it either... Overall, just not very strong feelings about it either way. Hunter said the soup was too bland and seemed to absorb the flavor of whatever he put it in, which was Tabasco sauce. He was likewise fairly ambivalent about it.

It also deserves mentioning that, just because we did not care for this particular recipe, Jamie Kerr is a terrific chef, and I would definitely eat anything she was willing to cook! She is a talent, and is credited with getting my picky youngest son to eat (and enjoy!) things he had never eaten before. Thanks for this great submission, Jamie!

Verdict: It was okay. (3 stars)