Humankind is that much poorer these days as the Soup lady has discovered that Dick Clark's American Bandstand Grill in King of Prussia Pa. has closed up shop. It was not exactly a mecca for gourmet diners, but it did have a lovely White Bean Chicken Chili on the menu that always pleased me.
No, the reason that the Soup Lady is in distress is that they had those lovely Homer Laughlin Star Soup plates there. At one time, I tried to purchase them from the manager and he rebuffed me. Hard to accept, but I boldly forged ahead and contacted their commercial restaurant supplier to see if I could purchase a small quantity retail. The answer was again no and I have been pining for these bowls ever since.
So now the place is closed up and where are those dishes? Are they locked inside and gathering dust? Were they sold at auction? Why was I not informed? I would have gone there to bid on them. Have they been shuttled off to other Dick Clark's, if indeed the chain survived? Where are they? Where are they?
Nevertheless, the Soup Lady must put aside bitter disappointment for the good of soup lovers everywhere. Now that proper soup weather has returned here in the Northeast, let's get back to business and get started again with a surefire winner:
In a soup pot, over medium-high heat, melt 3 Tablespoons butter. Add 1 celery stalk, cleaned and finely chopped, 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped, 1/3 pound porcini mushrooms, chopped and 1/3 pound button mushrooms, finely chopped. Sauté, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft.
Add the cooked rice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 4 cups vegetable broth, 2 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped and freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 20 – 30 minutes.
Add ½ cup heavy cream, and taste for additional seasoning.
Preparation Time:15 minutes / Cooking Time: 45 – 55 minutes
Serves: 6
recipe found at the fabulous (but very light on soup recipes) Break Eggs where they recommend using sliced shiitake mushrooms. The Soup Lady prefers chopped porcinis in this soup.
Imagine how nice this soup would look in a star soup bowl. Boohoo.
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