Day 16 Bisque Quick
Hello, my darlings! Sorry that I am so late in getting this out to you, but here is Day 16 of our ongoing journey through Peg Bracken’s “I Hate to Cook Book.” Let me begin by saying we have survived, but it hasn’t been easy. The journey has been fun, but even as it may at times appear that I am starting to like cooking, I am really constantly reminded that I still hate cooking. Look at it this way: Ever see a cat on a leash? Yeah, that’s me. I love cooking just as much as a typical cat loves a leash or a nice long soak in the tub. What I do like about this book is the variety of new flavors and the sense of accomplishment one gets with these easy recipes! The best part is that the recipes are short, sweet, and easy enough for a teen boy (such as my often-recruited son) to help out.
On that note (and just in case you’ve wondered why there have been so few posts lately), I have started working on a project to organize each of these recipes in a separate cookbook so that my treasured original is not handled by the kids. That way I can place it in safety where it belongs.
Now to the “Bisque Quick” (not to be confused with the ready-made baking mix by a similar name). This was, in all honesty, a little intimidating to me because the name has a bit of that French flare in the title which I associate with “Haute” cuisine and therefore… hard. And the fact that I would have to use sherry. If you look at my adventure with the Cheese and Wine Bake, you’ll understand why the use of sherry is daunting to me. Simply because I know little about wines of any kind and I am forced to ask my husband. After he gets started onto the history of sherry and the uses in cooking I have completely decided let’s skip it and try something else. Well, this time I decided I would grin and bear it and try this recipe.
A quick note on wines: I subscribe to the advice that it is a good idea to cook with wines that you will drink. This way you can enjoy a glass while you’re cooking, or if you forget it at least you can serve it after you’ve opened it.
So on to the recipe:
Bisque Quick**
Ingredients 6 Servings
2 cans of tomato soup
1/2 condensed pea soup
1 can chicken broth
1 cup of thick cream
1 can crab, shrimp, lobster meat
3/4 cup sherry
Directions
Heat everything over a double boiler or a watched pot on the stove, add the sherry before you plan to serve the soup. This meal goes really nice with hush-puppies and coleslaw. Can be good without the sherry if you forget it (like I did). You could also add some oyster crackers on the side, a little grated carrot for show and even a nice dessert to round out the dinner. It’s a good strong soup and I loved that I was able to find some crab meat on sale. The same with the shrimp. Actually, finding sales to work these recipes in makes the whole thing like a treasure hunt and is part of the fun.
The kids really liked it and I have to say even though I hate pea soup with a passion (equal to hating spiders in my house) this really turned out good. It was a little rich, but I could have had seconds, thirds, fourths even however, I only had doubled the original recipe due to the family size. Make plenty of this, it’s popular!
As you can see it makes 6 servings so it’s good for a hearty dinner and a little extra for work the next day. It is also good as a luncheon soup. And maybe if you have the courage you could make more for a potluck or large family get-together.
To my mind, we do not do enough with soups and I really love those thick soups especially when it is too hot to turn on the oven and you want something hearty, doesn’t heat up the kitchen to intolerable levels in the summertime and just closes out the day well.
Stay tuned for the next installment of Misadventures in Cooking (cue dramatic music) where we examine the next adventure and ask “Is this all we get?” “Will our heroine survive the battle of the wills… Will-do and Will-not? Are we asking too many useless questions? Has she gotten fed up with the questions? What did happen to the sherry she forgot to add to her soup?
Please let me know what you think of this? Did you try it? What changes did you come up with? Please comment, rate, share. Have fun and always remember, You are Flamazing!
**Bracken, P. (1960). The I hate to cook book. (pg. 25). New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
