soups on

I finally redeemed myself in regards to my soup making skills.

I like to host Thanksgiving for the family. When my Grandmother moved out of state, there wasn’t anyone willing to go through the effort of creating a big meal and getting everyone together to enjoy it. So I decided to step up to the task.

Aside from Thanksgiving dinners, I enjoy making soups. Chicken, crab, vegetable, bisque, etc… they are all fun and taste great.

Last year I decided to add soup to the Thanksgiving repertoire. I came up with a great Fall soup called Butternut Squash Crab Bisque. The downfall was that last year I put a little bit too much cayenne pepper into the mix and it came out feeling like fire on the throat. You could put it in your mouth and taste it and it tasted great. But you couldn’t swallow or you would really feel the wrath of God.

Over the past year I ran some experiments on the soup to find the right blend of spices. This year at Thanksgiving I revealed the new and improved soup and it was perfect.

In case you’re interested in the recipe, I’ve pasted in the next page for you.

Recipe: Butternut Squash and Crab Bisque

The ingredients:

• 1 pound of crab meat. The lumpier the better.
• 1 large butternut squash, or 2 small ones
• 2 cups dry sherry
• small container of heavy cream
• 2 small cans of chicken broth (or one large can)
• 1 stick of salted butter
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• 2 tsp cayenne pepper (LORD NO! TOO MUCH!)
• 5 shakes of cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• salt to taste (but at least a tablespoon)

The algorithm:

This recipe is a conglomerate of ideas I pulled from various places. This recipe may look familiar to others, but it has been tuned to what I think is perfection.

You can try your pre-pulled crab meat or artificially flavored whatever, but it will never taste as good as if you pulled the meat off of the crab yourself. Go out and purchase 1.3-1.6 pounds of King crab legs and spend an hour or two pull the meat from that. It really makes all the difference in the soup.

With the crab done, start peeling the butternut squash. Once peeled, slice it in half and scoop out the seeds. It looks and smells like pumpkin so scoop that stuff out with a spoon. Chop it into small cubes. I find the small cubes soften better and are easier to puree later. This might take a little while because this vegetable is often hard. This is why I recommend doing it before you start your work on the stove. Put this aside for later.

Put a large stockpot on the stove, and add about a cup of the sherry. Turn it up to high heat, and leave it there until the liquid has almost entirely reduced. In the meantime, start chopping your onion. I like to chop the onion small as the smaller pieces will take less time to soften in the mix.

When the sherry has almost entirely reduced, turn the heat down to medium, and add a stick of butter. When the butter has melted, add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is soft.

Add one can of chicken broth. Then sift in the flour and whisk casually. Then add the other can of chicken broth, and the other cup of sherry, whisk again. Add the butternut squash but don’t over fill the pot. leave some liquid in there or the soup will be too thick. Add bay leaves, and half of the crab meat. Let the mixture boil on medium heat until the butternut squash is soft, about 30 minutes. Stir at least every two minutes, making sure to scrape the bottom, lest the flour burn.

Once the butternut squash is soft, you must puree the entire mixture. This can be tricky. In the amounts listed, it should just barely fit into a standard blender. If not, you must do it in batches. Remember when pouring to and from the blender that the liquid is still boiling hot. Be careful, do it over the sink, and make sure to completely cover the top of the blender while it is on. You probably want to puree for about ten seconds, then take the top off and stir, then puree for another ten seconds or so.

Make sure there are no clumpy bits left in the stock pot, including flour stuck to the bottom. If there are, wipe them off. Then pour the pureed mixture back into the stockpot, and simmer on medium-low. Now you taste it and add the spices to taste. I use roughly the proportions listed above, but feel free to vary those. Make sure you use enough salt, which really makes the whole thing work.

When the whole thing is spiced to deliciousness (and really, it doesn’t absolutely need anything but the salt), add the remaining half pound of crab meat, and keep simmering for about five minutes. You are ready to serve now. Drizzle cream on the top of the soup as you serve to create a nice presentation. The cream also adds a nice flavor to the soup.