Hola from El Cielo de Soup

Shooooo. E. So here’s the dealio. Half of the adult portion of our household decided to go L.C. That’s code for two words I don’t want to use, but basically it means you only eat meat and no starch or breads or fruits or food. My kitchen wept. I wept. Wolfgang Puck wept. But the gang and I think that chapter of our lives is over. The gang being me, my oven, the two dinky knives, fridge and so on and so forth. We’re back in the saddle. And you know how this blog is named Two Dinky Knives because that’s all the kitchen cutlery I possessed when I began this venture? Well, I’m excited to report that my blog name is now a misnomer because for Christmas my dashing one-up got me an actual set of real, real knives. And they cut real, real good. Blog name will remain the same to remind of humble beginnings, which were only three posts ago, but still.

Dinner is potato soup. Chillax. It’s fancy potato soup. It’s actually called Pepperoni Reggiano soup, but it’s chock full of taters, so just keepin’ it real. It has fancy cheese and homemade cream of mushroom goop.  Plus half & half, which I put in everything nowadays. Soup? Half & half! Veggies? Half & half. Grilled cheese sandwich? I totally would if I could. This meal is also pretty kid-friendly because, hey, it’s soup. I served it to the banditos in their little plastic bowls. If you want class, you gotta go the whole nine.

Let me know if you made it! It’ll be souper @ twodinkyknives@gmail.com

8 organic golden potatoes, skins on, diced into about  3-quarter-inch cubes (organic optional, golden a must)

½ cup chopped onion

1 stick of butter (butter does not start with an “m” and end with an “argarine”.)

½ cup of cornstarch or arrowroot powder

4 cups of milk, divided

1 cup half & half

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used white. Use wheat if you want. I don’t care.)

1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves of fresh, minced garlic

2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste

1 teaspoon sea salt

20 very thinly sliced pieces of deli pepperoni (don’t use the bagged kind, slice them yo-self and then quarter them)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella you bought from the cheese counter in a block and not pre-shredded in a plastic bag because you care

Enough water to boil the potatoes

½ cup finely diced fresh mushrooms

The Method

First, make the cream of mushroom goop. Sauté mushrooms in 3 tablespoons butter until tender. While cooking, put cornstarch or arrowroot in a large bowl and whisk in 1 ½ cups of milk. Whisk this mixture into the sautéed mushrooms, stirring constantly on medium heat. Add another ½ cup of milk, s & p and whisk until smooth.

Put golden potatoes into a large pot and add just enough water to cover them and boil along with the onion, minced garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and black pepper. Add ½ stick butter. Boil five minutes more and add pepperoni, then boil until potatoes are tender. Add half & half and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and stir well. Dump in the mushroom goop. Stir with your super big metal spoon and let simmer on medium for five minutes. With a measuring cup, draw out ¾ cup of the soup liquid and add the flour. Mix well and add more liquid if needed to make it runnier instead of bloppier. It won’t mix into the soup well unless it’s runny, not bloppy. Stir really, really well, lower heat to medium low, leave it alone for five or so, then serve immediately with shredded parm over the top. Super good for dipping garlic bread in.