Now that the weather is getting cooler...

[Laliana]

Anyone have any stew or hearty thick soup recipes to share?

I love cooking in the winter, and nothing warms you up faster than fresh baked bread and a thick stew or cream soup.

I'll be digging up a couple of my favorites soon and will post.

[Sirensa]

Yeah! Nothing beats a giant pot of chili and warm corn bread on a cold day!

[Chidoro]

We don't really make too much creamy soup (have to keep my boyish figure and all) but split pea soup w/ fresh ground pepper is a beautiful thing. We typically make it after thanksgiving if we get a ham. Put the whole damn bone and leftover ham that's on it in the soup and cook it until the meat melts off. Ohh my goodness

[Drolgin Steingrinder]

Will post my winter soups and winter stew when I get my recipe folder out of the moving box!

[Pahreyia]

I'm looking for my chili and cornbread recipie when I get home from work... I think I know what's for dinner

[Pherr the Dorf]

http://veeshanvault.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5679

[Canelek]

I think I posted my chili recipe here somewhere... now, just to remember where the hell I put it...

[Arundel Pajo]

BLACK BEAN, YELLOW PEPPER, AND CUMIN CHILI (vegetarian)

6 tbsp olive oil
1 12-oz onion, coursely chopped (about 3 cups)
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
1.5 tbsp cumin seeds
4 tsp minced canned chipotle chilies
3 15-oz cans of black beans, well drained
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
2 cups vegetable broth

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and cumin seeds; sauté until onion is soft and golden, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add chipotle chilies and stir 30 seconds. Add black beans, diced tomatoes with juices, and vegetable broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes or so. Season chili to taste with salt and pepper.

If thicker chili is desired, transfer 2 cups to processor, and blend to coarse paste. Return to pot and simmer to thicken.

[Arundel Pajo]

CREAMY CHEDDAR CHEESE SOUP

0.25 cup butter
1 onion, chopped
0.25 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth (fake chicken broth available for vegetarians)
3 cups milk
1 lb. shredded sharp Cheddar cheese


In a 3 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook until flour has blended with onion mixture.

Add chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is slightly thickened. Add milk and heat just to boiling, stirring constantly.

In a covered blender at medium speed, blend about 1/4 of soup mixture at a time until smooth. Return to saucepan and, over medium heat, heat just to boiling. Remove from heat.

With wire whisk or slotted spoon, gradually stir in cheese until melted. Do this off of a direct heat source, or cheese will separate.

Serves 6

[Arundel Pajo]

SEAFOOD AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

1 large yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
0.5 lb. fresh okra, stems removed, sliced crossways 1/2 inch thick
0.5 cup canola or vegetable oil
6 tbsp all purpose flour
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
5 cups fish stock or bottled clam juice (fish stock is best)
2 bay leaves
2.5 tbsp creole seasoning
1 tsp gumbo filé powder
0.5 lb. cooked andouille sausage, sliced into 1-inch rounds
1 lb prawns, shelled and deveined
1 cup picked crabmeat
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
Cooked white rice (or dirty rice)

In large, heavy stock pot, heat 2 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the okra and sauté about 15 minutes until golden brown and softened. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pot, over medium heat, warm the remaining 6 tbsp oil for 2 minutes. Whisk in the flour until there are no lumps to make a roux. Cook roux, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes until it is dark brown. Do not let roux turn black, or you have to start it over. Add onion and both bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, about 9 minutes or until softened. Add garlic and continue to cook about a minute.

Add reserved okra, tomatoes and juice, stock, bay leaves, creole seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.

Stir in the sausage, shrimp, and crabmeat and cook until the shrimp are pink and tasty looking - about 3 or 4 minutes. HOOKERWHORESLUT in the filé powder and stir for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves.

To serve, spoon rice into warmed bowls, ladle gumbo on top, and HOOKERWHORESLUT with chopped parsely to garnish. Serve with tabasco sauce.

[Aabidano]

Split Pea soup

1lb dried green peas
4 large smoked hamhocks
1 Large sweet onion
3 bay leaves
3 cloves diced garlic
1tsp celery seed
1 bunch fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp salt
Black pepper to taste

Alternates\extras
Ham or hambone instead of hamhocks
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery (omit celery seed)

4 diced Seranno peppers
1/2 tsp white pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper will give it a nice bite.

more garlic is good

A good dash of malt vinegar immediately prior to serving is very good, but not if you've added the extra pepper(s).

Throw everything in a large pot with enough water to cover the hocks (1 - 1 1/2 qt) and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure the peas don't stick during the first 5 minutes of so. Remove hocks, cut the meat off them, dice it up and return it to the pot.

Can be eaten right then, even better is to allow it to cool and refrigerate it overnight and warm it up again the next day.

[Knarlz]

Split Pea soup
.....
4 large smoked hamhocks
.....
.

While I usually make pea soup with a ham bone and left over ham, I did use smoked hamhocks one time. Just using 2 of them made a batch that was so salty it was basicly ruined. This was in a 4-5 qt pot. Maybe there are different types of smoked hamhocks? None the less I would use caution with those.

[Aabidano]

Maybe there are different types of smoked hamhocks?

Would seem so, I've never bought them outside of the SE US. No salt at all on any I've gotten.