Old School Potato Soup

I might have mentioned before that my maternal grandmother was quirky, but then most things on my mother's side of the family was. One of Granny's favorite stories she liked to tell after I was grown was about when I was very little, and one day  we were making our way to the park only a block from her house,  when a car decided to ignore pedestrians in the crosswalk. She would wrinkle up her nose and mimic my childlike pitch, "Too Aaa! Too Aaa!" My mother had a penchant for using sailor words at other drivers, and apparently one of those phrases must have been "Stupid Ass." Granny pieced it together using the appropriate timing of my usage of the phrase and her inherent knowledge of her daughter.

Besides treating me like a little princess when I had the pleasure of staying the night with her without my pesky brother, Granny would let me request a meal, unlike the Nazi state I lived in under the rule of my mother. Mom never asked; she told. So when Granny allowed me the opportunity to select from some of her more delectable dishes, I often chose Potato Soup. 

Granny continued making me my favorite dishes until her arthritis got too bad for her to hold a knife to slice and chop. She would say, "Old Arthur has me today." I used to worry about that because Granny had been a widow for all of my life.

Hers is an easy recipe for a hesitant cook, but so delicious on a cool fall day.

Dice some onions. It doesn't take too many. It's mostly for flavor and you're going to boil them into oblivion.

Peel and cut potatoes in to whatever size you think you'd like. I don't make mine tiny nor do I leave boulders. Kind of a medium cut. In the picture it shows a mason jar of potatoes because my dad and Pam are gracious and thoughtful enough to can potatoes and give them to family, and it makes preparing this dish so easy. 

Boil the chopped onions and potatoes in water until the potatoes are soft, but not mushy, about 40 minutes. You'll want a medium size pot and the fire needs to be high enough to keep the water boiling but not high enough to make huge rolls. You want the potatoes covered in water at all times, so add plenty of water at the beginning.

Pour this in a colander to get rid of all the water. While that's draining, add a chunk of butter to the pot.

Return the cooked potatoes and onion to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Add enough milk to the pot according to how soupy you like it. I usually add extra because I like the buttery milky liquid. It's funny, I abhor cold milk but warm milk in soup is a palatal delight. Don't judge my taste buds.

Keep the fire really low because you want to heat the milk but not boil it. You might want to hang out nearby and give it a stir every once in a while. Heat until warm enough to melt cheese. Use a spoon to taste how hot it is.

This is my favorite part of potato soup: crumble saltine crackers in a bowl and add a heaping mound of shredded cheddar cheese.

Using a ladle, pour the soup on top of the crackers and cheese. Add your preferred balance of potato and liquid to your bowl. More salt and pepper as desired. And voila! Old school potato soup!

There are hundreds of potato soup recipes online, those with the addition of carrots and celery and bacon and cream cheese and flour and so much more. This is a basic recipe so start here first. Get the hang of the fundamentals. Then the next time you make it, change it and add what you think would enhance it.

The pictures of potato soup on the Internet look very tempting with their colors of orange and green, but I simply can't change the original recipe; it's what I grew up with and it's what I crave when the weather turns frosty.

As always, drop me line and tell me what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Potato Soup

Potatoes, chopped

Onion, chopped

Butter 

Milk

Peel baking potatoes-1 per two people. Chop into bite-sized pieces.

Chop about 1/2 small onion per 2 potatoes.

Place chopped potatoes and onion in a medium or large pot, depending on how much you're making. Cover with about 3-4 inches of water. Turn heat on high until a rolling boil begins. Stir, lower heat to low, put a lid on top and cock the lid to let the steam escape.

After about 30-45 minutes, drain the potatoes and onion in a colander. Return to pot.

Add a tablespoon of butter per potato to the pot and salt and pepper. Fill the pot with about as much milk as you like in proportion to the ingredients.

Keeping the heat on low, warm just until it begins to boil, stirring occasionally, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve in a bowl over crumbled saltine crackers and shredded cheddar