First Attempt- Tradd Street Cucumber Soup

the finished product, not so appetizing, but not so bad either

It is quite hot up here in NYC (though Columbia, SC still wins the award for hottest place ever, it's like the subway platform in August, everyday). So I thought for my first recipe out of Charleston Receipts I would try a cold soup. I am having Andrew's brother and his girlfriend over for dinner tonight and we are going to start with Tradd Street Cucumber soup chilled, followed by basil and goat cheese chicken and pasta with truffled butter, really healthy stuff. (and I know Lauren will recognize my go to cookbook here).

   So how did the first experiment go..... It was interesting. I remember Lauren mentioned how vague the cookbook sometimes was when she was reading through it. It didn't really register with me what she meant, but I  quickly realized it today. I really like cookbooks that describe all steps, especially time and temperatures. The recipe never says what temperature you should be working with like medium or low, and it simply says cook until fairly thick. Well, I was never sure how thick fairly thick meant. And I cooked that soup for quite a long time. So I hope it is as Mrs. Robertson wanted it to be!

  So on to my evaluation of the finished product.  I ate it hot for lunch, and saving the rest cold for dinner.I preferred it cold. I needed to add a lot more salt at first because I found it a little bland. And at first I thought the consomme overwhelmed. (another note, the receipt simply says consomme, I only know beef so that went in, I hope it was right!). The cucumbers sorta reminded me of the texture of okra. But than I decided I liked it. It is nothing like other cucumber soups I have had, which are usually blended and often with dill. The receipt titled below-Cold Cucumber Soup- appears to be the more traditional cucumber soup. But I am trying to choose the more unique recipes, and Tradd Street Cucumber Soup fit that bill. Not sure if I will make it again, actually positive I won't because I like my mother's much better. But it tastes pretty good and other than the vagaries as to how long I am suppose to laboring over a hot stove (and a hot apartment, the window unit is way away in the bedroom, gotta love NYC cooking). Let's see what the guest say tonight! **

Recipe: Tradd Street Cucumber Soup

2 cucumbers

Salted water

1/4 tablespoons flour

1quart milk (I assume whole, I don't think the housewives of the 50s messed around with the watered down skim milk, I see a lot of whole milk and butter in my future these days!)

1 can consomme

salt and pepper to taste

paprika or chives

Trying to get transparent cucumber, the biggest challenge of the receipt

Peel and dice cucumbers*. Boil until clear in sufficient salted water to cover, then drain. Melt butter and cook cucumbers in this for ten minutes. Add flour and stir well. Add milk slowly. Cook until fairly thick., than add consomme, salt and pepper. Serve hot with paprika or cold with chopped chives. Serves 6.

This had me wondering the whole time, I never eat soup that looks like this!

* as usually happens when I am cooking I had to ask my mother a questions about seeds. The recipe didn't mention removing the seeds, but I knew I never saw those in soup. Mom said to remove. She also use to say when I lived at home I take recipes too literally, so this cookbook could really be challenging for a baby cook like me. And I am quite the novice.

** The guests liked it. Also several people I spoke to had never had cucumber soup, which I found odd, since my mom loves making it. Not sure if it is a more southern thing or not?

*** I actually made this 2 weeks ago, and the post before we had it all ready. so anyone in nyc reading this and thinking, it's cool today, what is she talking about, that is why.