Soups

Aguadito de Pollo

This is a delicious, herbal, and fresh-tasting version of chicken soup.

Feel-Good Chicken Soup

Spicy, gingery and fresh-tasting — this is perfect to clear your sinuses and your head.

Leek & Parsnip Soup

This recipe has a beautifully warm color and a nutty, rich flavor. The interesting combination of bay and turmeric save the soup from being overly simple. It it would make an elegant first-course soup for a dinner party, but it’s also a great supper with bread and a salad or some fruit and cheese.

Miso-Shiitake Soup with Napa Cabbage

Easy, filling, tasty, unusual and vegan! Some of these ingredients may be unfamiliar in your kitchen, but none are hard to find. Miso, in particular, should be in everyone’s fridge. It keeps forever, and a tiny bit can add so much flavor to sauces, soups, marinades, glazes, etc.

Mushroom & Barley Soup with Wild Rice

Made with vegetable stock, this is fully vegetarian. It’s also hearty, filling, and delicious — perfect with some bread and cheese on a cool autumn day.

Oyster Stew I

My deeply Midwestern grandparents always served oyster stew at Christmas. In those days, fresh oysters weren’t to be found in rural Iowa, and I have no idea where this tradition came from. Canned oysters not withstanding, this dish captured my imagination. I have never stopped loving its buttery richness and simple elegance. This recipe, from the famed Antoine’s restaurant in New Orleans, is certainly richer than my grandmother’s. I think you’ll like it.

Oyster Stew II

This is more like the Oyster Stew my grandparents served in Iowa, albeit with canned oysters when fresh are sorely wanted here. There’s something truly appealing about the simplicity of it, though – less a stew than hot buttery milk flavored with the lovely saline subtlety of oysters.

Peppery Lobster Bisque with Star Croûtons

This makes a very elegant first course for a Christmas or New Year’s dinner. It’s not a simple recipe, but it’s a lovely one and eminently do-able with a little planning.