On a chilly day in Vermont, what could be better than soup? How about 12 kinds of soup? The WallGoldfinger family had a soup potluck recently and added in a bit of challenge: the best soup - as voted by our co-workers - would win the newly created "golden ladle."

 

All were good, but only one could win. Err ... make that two as we had a tie. As you can see from the photo above, the winners - Christine Murphy from purchasing and Scott Munger from veneer - took the shared win well.

 

Just for you, their winning recipes are below:  

 

(Christine's) Corn Chowder with Shrimp

 

6 slices bacon, chopped

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 garlic clove, minced

4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed (do not used canned corn)

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 lb peeled and deveined medium shrimp, cut in half

1/3 cup half-and-half

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

 

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add bacon to pan; saut� 4 minutes or until the bacon begins to brown. Remove bacon. Drain on paper towel; set aside. Add onion, celery, thyme and garlic to pan, and saut� for 2 minutes. Add corn, and cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add broth; bring to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes.

 

Place 2 cups of corn mixture in a blender. Remove the center piece of blender (to allow steam to escape), and secure lid. Place a clean towel over opening (to avoid splatter). Blend until smooth. Return pureed corn mixture to pan. (Note: Can use an immersion blender in pot, blending about half the mixture.) Stir in shrimp; cook 2 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in half-and-half, pepper and salt. Crumble reserved bacon over soup.

Serves 4-6.

 

(Scott's) Asparagus Soup

 

2 bunches asparagus

3 cups vegetable stock

� cup butter or margarine

� onion, chopped

2 leeks, chopped

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

� teaspoon coriander

1 tablespoon lemon juice (kept away from a stone surface; see this month's Expert's Corner)

2 cups milk

4 ounces heavy or light cream

Salt and pepper

 

Wash and trim the asparagus, discarding the woody part of the stem. Cut the remainder into short lengths, keeping a few tips to garnish. Cook the tips in a minimum amount of boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside. Put the asparagus in a saucepan with the stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, until soft. Drain and reserve the stock.

 

Melt butter or margarine in a saucepan. Add onion and leeks and fry over low heat until soft, but only barely colored. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the reserved stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until thickened, then stir in the cooked asparagus, seasoning, coriander and lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes. Cool a little. Either press through a strainer or process in a blender or food processor until smooth.

 

Pour into a clean pan, add milk and reserved asparagus tips and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in cream, reheat gently. Serve.

Serves 6.