Warm The Holiday Week With Great Soup Recipes

By KATHIE SMITH
Toledo Blade
Scripps Howard News Service

The bounty of Thanksgiving soups keeps growing. There's the pre-holiday soup, such as oyster stew; the Thanksgiving Day favorites for anyone who wants to serve a soup course, and then there's the post-feast tureen of soup made with leftover turkey or stock.

Oyster stew is a seasonal favorite.

When oysters come into season as the weather starts getting cold, it's time to make that classic of oysters cooked in cream. The week of Thanksgiving is a perfect time to buy two pints of oysters: one for stew and one for stuffing.

Oyster Stew from "Fish Without A Doubt" by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore is a classic and easy recipe.

But truthfully, many holiday guests and family members are lukewarm to oyster stew. So it's a natural for 30somethings to give the Thanksgiving dinner soup course a decidedly contemporary turn.

Where traditional menus might be more likely to include the classic oyster stew, the trend for Thanksgiving dinners is likely to include soup with a seasonal ingredient such as squash or pumpkin paired with apples or classic garnishes.

We tested Butternut Squash Soup with Nutmeg Cream from "300 Sensational Soups" by Carla Snyder and Meredith Deeds. "It was great," says recipe tester Kay Lynne Schaller. Plus, the soup has an especially nice presentation. The recipe calls for chicken or vegetable stock or broth and cubes of fresh peeled butternut squash. The nutmeg cream is an added garnish that is worth the little bit of extra time.

For Thanksgiving Day, serving a soup course is a satisfying way to start the holiday meal, especially if the turkey and all the fixings are going to be served later.

Recognizing that the stovetop and oven in many kitchens are full, some cooks use their slow-cooker for a squash or pumpkin soup. Check the manufacturer's directions, but it's amazing how fast -- about two to three hours -- the vegetables for the soup can cook. And then, of course, you mash them and add remaining ingredients.

Another great soup is Classic Onion from the National Onion Association. Made with large yellow onions and reduced-sodium chicken broth, this soup takes about 30 minutes to prepare. It's flavored with a little brandy -- optional, of course.

Simmering the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving is one of the rituals of the season, according to "How to Cook a Turkey," from the editors and contributors of Fine Cooking. Stock from roasted bones will be more subtle than that made from raw bones and meat, but it makes a good background flavor to lighter soups.

Roasted Turkey Stock from the cookbook is strained and freezes well so you can portion it into smaller containers for easy thawing. Turkey stock can be used in place of chicken stock.

Day-After-Thanksgiving Turkey Soup from "300 Sensational Soups" is a great way to use leftover turkey including the cooked turkey carcass.

For cooks who don't want to simmer the turkey carcass after Thanksgiving, make Sensational Turkey Noodle Soup or Leftover Turkey Chowder using convenience ingredients.

Turkey Noodle Soup from Swanson's is made with chicken broth. I keep chicken broth in my pantry for a variety of recipes from soups to side dishes.

From McCormick comes Leftover Turkey Chowder made with red potatoes, onion, cooked turkey, corn and milk; it is flavored with 1 ounce McCormick Original Country Gravy Mix.

All of these are great recipes to use up Thanksgiving turkey. They are hearty, warm soups for cold weather and the holiday decorating that is done in the coming days.

Whatever soups you make before, on or after Thanksgiving, use those soup mugs, soup bowls and favorite holiday dishes.

It's time for soup.

OYSTER STEW

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
Tabasco sauce, optional
1 pint shucked oysters, with their liquor
Oyster crackers

Melt butter in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Season well with salt and white pepper and Tabasco, if desired. Then add oysters and their liquor. Cook until edges of oysters curl; they'll look like ruffled petticoats.

Serve hot with plenty of oyster crackers.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

-- "Fish Without A Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion"


LEFTOVER TURKEY CHOWDER

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups water
4 medium red potatoes, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
2 cups milk
1 ounce McCormick Original Country Gravy Mix
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1 (8-3/4 ounces) can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 teaspoon ground sage

Melt butter in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add water and potatoes; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir milk in to Gravy Mix until smooth. Stir into saucepan. Add turkey, corn and sage; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Yield: 5 servings

-- McCormick

SENSATIONAL TURKEY NOODLE SOUP

3-1/2 cups Chicken Broth
Ground black pepper
1 medium carrot, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1 stalk celery, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup uncooked medium egg noodles
1 cup cubed cooked turkey or chicken

Heat broth, black pepper, carrot and celery in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat to a boil. Stir in noodles and turkey in the saucepan. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Serve with cheese and crackers and a spinach salad.

Yield: 4 servings

-- Swanson Broth (Campbell's)

DAY-AFTER-THANKSGIVING TURKEY SOUP

1 cooked turkey carcass, skin and fat removed
4 carrots, sliced
3 large onions, unpeeled and finely chopped
2 parsnips, sliced
2 potatoes, peeled and diced, optional
12 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
4 cups diced cooked turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot, combine turkey, carrots, onions, parsnips, potatoes, stock, bay leaves and thyme. If the turkey isn't immersed, add more water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium heat; reduce heat and simmer 2 hours.

Using tongs, transfer turkey bones to a large plate and let cool; keep soup simmering. Pick any meat from bones and discard bones. Return meat to pot and add diced turkey; heat until steaming, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves. Ladle into heated bowls.

Yield: 12 servings

-- "300 Sensational Soups"

CLASSIC ONION SOUP

4 large yellow onions (9 or 10 ounces each), sliced
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 tablespoon sugar
2 quarts reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup brandy, optional
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 baguette French bread, sliced, toasted
Grated Romano cheese

Melt butter in large saucepan that holds at least 4 quarts. Add onions; cook over medium heat 12 minutes or until tender and golden. Stir often. Add sugar and cook, stirring 1 minute. Add broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 12 minutes. If desired, add brandy; cook 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, ladle soup into bowl; float toast on soup. Sprinkle with cheese.

Yield: 6 servings

-- National Onion Association

BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP WITH NUTMEG CREAM

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut in 1- inch cubes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup whipping cream
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Cayenne pepper
Soft baby sage leaves, optional

Nutmeg Cream:
1/2 cup cold whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add squash, garlic and onion; saute 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add salt, coriander, thyme and black pepper; saute 5 minutes. Add stock and orange juice; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until squash is tender, about 30 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, or in a food processor blender in batches, puree soup until smooth. Return to pot, if necessary. Stir in cream, nutmeg and cayenne to taste; reheat over medium heat, stirring often until steaming. Do not let boil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and black pepper, if necessary.

Prepare nutmeg cream: In a bowl using an electric mixer, whip cream until soft peaks form. Add nutmeg and whip until well-blended. Ladle soup into heated bowls and top each with a dollop of nutmeg cream. Garnish with sage leaves, if desired.

Yield: 6 servings

-- "300 Sensational Soups"


E-mail Toledo Blade food editor Kathie Smith at food(at)theblade.com.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.