My mom is in town which means that everyone will be gaining 2 lbs this weekend. My mother is an excellent cook. Her specialties include anything with butter, sugar, and heavy whipping cream. Today I am featuring her comforting potato chowder which features a generous helping of vegetables and homemade miniature dumplings. This soup is great for snowy days, sick days, or nursing a hangover. Feel free to get creative with the toppings. Some suggestions include cheese, crackers, croutons, slivers of almonds, or potato chips. For some extra comfort, try adding some Southern Comfort. A shot of whiskey to the stew is sure to heal what ails you.
Ingredients
6 medium sized Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium Onion, diced
2 stalks of Celery, sliced thin
Carrots
1/2 lbs Ham, cubed
2 cans Chicken Broth
3 cups of Milk (or cream if desire a thicker consistency)
3/4 cups Flour
1 Egg
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1/2 stick Butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
The following fresh spices to taste: Thyme, Rosemary, Parsley, Basil (can be substituted with dried)
Cheddar Cheese, shredded for garnish
1 shot of whiskey (optional)
Directions
Add all vegetables (not the garlic) to a large pot with enough water to cover the vegetables. Boil until tender over medium heat, stirring occasionally and smashing the potatoes. Take care to not mush up the other vegetables. This should take about 20 minutes.
In a separate sauce pan, heat the milk to boiling. Take special care to not scald it.
Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat. Drain vegetables and add them back into the pot. Add 2 cans of chicken broth, hot milk, butter, ham, garlic, salt, pepper, and spices to the vegetables. Let simmer on low heat for at least 30 minutes stirring frequently.
To make the dumplings, crack 1 egg into a pie plate. Beat egg thoroughly and gradually add flour. Using a pastry blender, cut egg into flour forming dough. Shape dough into teaspoon-sized dumplings. Slowly drop dumplings into the hot soup. Continue cooking the soup for 10-15 more minutes being careful to not over cook the dumplings. If desired, add 1 shot of whiskey to the soup before it is served. Garnish with cheese, crackers, or other accompaniments as desired.
Ed's Verdict: Since Ed is currently skiing the slopes out in Colorado, he is unable to comment on the soup at this point. This dish works well being frozen and saved for a later date. However, I'm not sure if there will be any left to freeze!
This was the funniest post so far. I fully agree that your mom's food makes you gain just a tad of weight and that she can cook anything as long as it has plenty of butter or some other type of substantial fat.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could have had some of that soup here on the slopes. That would have been awesome.